Kanovitz, Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice, 14th Edition
Multiple-Choice Examination and True/False Questions
Chapter 4: Search and Seizure
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. In order to secure a search warrant, an officer must possess facts sufficient to warrant a
person of reasonable caution in believing which of the following?
a. a crime has been (or is being) committed
b. specific objects associated with the crime exist
c. they will be found at the place to be searched
d. all of the above
2. The Fourth Amendment expressly mentions which of the following as being protected from
“unreasonable searches and seizures”?
a. books
b. equipment
c. letters
d. papers
3. In Chimel v. California, the Supreme Court held that the following violates the Fourth
Amendment?
a. searching the entire house, without a search warrant, after arresting a person inside
b. searching a vehicle, without a search warrant, after the driver has been handcuffed and
locked in a squad car
c. searching the contents of a cell phone without a search warrant
b. none of the above
4. The Chimel decision established which test?
a. plain view
b. immediate control
c. exigent circumstances
d. hot pursuit
5. One of the main purposes for an inventory search is to:
a. establish probable cause for a search warrant
b. protect the police department against false claims of loss
c. locate evidence that was overlooked during an earlier search
d. all of the above
6. Which of the following is always necessary to justify a plain view seizure?
a. The officer must be on the premises searching under a search warrant when the discovery
is made.
b. The discovery must occur by accident, rather than by design.
c. The officer must acquire probable cause to believe that the object viewed is associated
with criminal activity without exceeding the lawful boundaries of her search authority.
d. all of the above
7. Police do not need a search warrant or probable cause to believe that a search will turn up
evidence to search:
a. abandoned property
b. an open field
c. the clothing worn by a person at the time of his arrest
d. any of the above
8. Which of the following individuals can give a valid consent to search the suspect’s
apartment?
a. the suspect’s landlord
b. the suspect’s live-in girlfriend
c. the apartment building maintenance man
d. none of the above
9. In which of the following situations do police have authority to inspect the contents of
Sticky-Fingered Sam’s wallet?
a. Sam is detained for investigation based on reasonable suspicion of possessing a stolen
credit card
b. police issue Sam a traffic citation
c. Sam is arrested for DUI
d. in all of the above situations
10. Which of the following is always required to seize an object for use as evidence?
a. the object must constitute the fruits, instrumentalities, or other evidence of crime or
contraband
b. a search warrant describing the object
c. a statute making possession of the object a crime
d. all of the above
11. Police have the authority to search the trunk of a motor vehicle without a warrant when:
a. the motorist consents
b. a person detained for investigation has a prior conviction for a weapons offense
c. police lawfully arrest the driver
d. in all of the above situations
12. The Fourth Amendment requires a search warrant to search for evidence:
a. whenever police have time to obtain one
b. when police expect armed resistance
c. when police lack search authority under the consent, search incident arrest, automobile or
exigent circumstances exceptions
d. when the search will intrude on a reasonable expectation of privacy
13. The justification for the search incident to arrest exception to the warrant requirement is to:
a. protect officer safety and prevent destruction of evidence
b. gather evidence to establish probable cause for the arrest
c. secure the arrested person’s valuables
d. all of the above.
14. The search of an arrested individual’s person incident to his arrest:
a. may be performed at the scene of the arrest
b. may be postponed until arrival at the stationhouse
c. arises as an automatic incident to a lawful arrest for any offense
d. all of the above.
15. Police have the authority to conduct a Terry pat-down whenever they:
a. have reasonable suspicion that lawfully detained has drugs on his person and may destroy
the evidence unless they act immediately
b. have a reasonable suspicion that a person lawfully detained may be armed
c. encounter a person in a public place who has a visible weapon-like bulge in his or her
pocket
d. in all of the above situations
16. To grounds for the issuance of a search warrant, the officer’s affidavit must contain facts that
establish probable cause to believe that:
a. a crime has been committed
b. specific items exist that are linked to that crime
c. these items are located on the premises to be searched
d. all of the above
17. Police may search the passenger compartment after:
a. making Terry stop
b. issuing traffic citation
c. arresting a motorist for speeding and removing him from the scene
d. none of the above
18. Which of the following is necessary for a search warrant to be issued in conformity with the
Fourth Amendment?
a. a magistrate’s determination of probable cause to believe that specific objects that furnish
evidence of a crime will be found at the location to be searched
b. a provision requiring execution within 72 hours
c. a bond securing the owner against destruction of property during the execution of the
warrant
d. all of the above
19. The exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement permits the police to make a
warrantless entry on private premises when they:
a. have probable cause to believe that specific objects constituting evidence of a crime will
be found on the premises and have reason to believe that this evidence will be destroyed
or removed unless they act immediately
b. are in immediate, hot pursuit of a felon whom they have probable cause to arrest who
flees inside
c. have reason to believe that persons inside are in imminent danger
d. any of the above is present
20. Execution of an arrest warrant inside a residence confers authority to:
a. order persons who regularly occupy the premises to leave and remain outside until the
warrant has been executed
b. perform a cursory visual inspection of the spaces immediately adjacent to the place of
arrest that are large enough to hide a person who might be waiting to launch an attack
c. search any place on the premises where evidence of the crime of arrest might be concealed
d. all of the above
21. Sergeant Davis of the Whosville Police Department received a tip from a reliable informant
that a drug courier is traveling on a bus that departed from Detroit bound for Chicago, which
will be stopping in Whosville in about 30 minutes. Which of the following actions may
Sergeant Davis take without violating the Fourth Amendment?
a. apply for a search warrant identifying “luggage with drugs being transported on a bus that
left Detroit bound for Chicago” as the place to be searched and the object to be seized
b. when the bus arrives, wait for the passengers to disembark for a rest break, board the bus,
and open and search all the luggage
c. when the bus arrives, wait until the passengers disembark for a rest break, board the bus
with a drug detection dog, and walk the dog down the aisle to determine where the
luggage with the drugs is located
d. when the bus arrives, order the passengers to disembark, take their luggage with them, and
go to the security office for questioning
22. Police arrested Sam for stealing a carton of cigarettes from a grocery store, handcuffed him,
and transported him to the police station. Upon arrival, they have authority to search the
following without a search warrant under the search incident to arrest exception.
a. Sam’s clothing and wallet
b. the back pack strapped to Sam’s back that was taken from him at the scene of the arrest
c. Sam’s cell phone
d. all of the above
23. The exclusionary rule does not bar introduction of evidence seized in violation of the Fourth
Amendment when the evidence is offered:
a. for impeachment
b. in a parole hearing
c. against someone other than the person whose Fourth Amendment rights were violated
d. for any of the above purposes
24. In a recent case involving application of the search incident to arrest exception to cell phones,
the Supreme Court ruled that:
a. cell phones are analogous to wallets and handbags and require no justification beyond the
fact of a lawful arrest
b. cell phones may be searched without a warrant when police have reason to believe that
they contain offense-related evidence
c. cell phones may be searched without a warrant if they are in reaching distance at the time
of arrest
d. a search warrant is generally necessary to search data stored on the arrested person’s cell
phone
25. Which of the following constitutes a search?
a. squeezing soft luggage to determine the contents
b. opening checked luggage and examining the contents while the owner is not around
c. rummaging through a half-full garbage can located inside the suspect’s garage
d. all of the above
26. A police officer walking through a motel parking lot hears a loud gunshot and screaming
from inside a motel room. He tries the door, finds it unlocked, and enters. The sounds came
from a television that had been left on at full volume. There is a baggie of marijuana beside
the television. No one is in the room. The officer:
a. may seize the marijuana under the plain view exception
b. may seize the marijuana and search the room without a warrant based on probable cause to
believe it contains contraband
c. may seize the marijuana and search the room, without a warrant, under the inventory
search exception
d. must get a search warrant to seize the marijuana
27. When the police have a reasonable suspicion that a UPS parcel contains narcotics, they may:
a. ask a UPS employee to open it and inspect the contents
b. detain it while applying for a search warrant
c. subject it to a canine inspection
d. all of the above
28. Police need a search warrant to walk a drug detection dog
a. down a hotel corridor
b. on a suspect’s front porch
c. around a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation
d. none of the above
True/False Questions
29. Sally York, who was a passenger on the same flight as Mary Wanna, accidentally picked up
Mary Wanna’s suitcase, thinking it was her own. She opened it up when she got home, saw a
firearm resting on top of bundles of $100 bills and a bag containing cocaine. She
immediately closed the suitcase, took it to police headquarters, and told Detective Jacobs
what she had seen. Detective Jacobs will need to obtain a search warrant to search the
luggage a second time.
a. True
b. False
30. A warrant to search the suspect’s home for drugs grants authority to search vehicles parked
in his garage.
a. True
b. False
31. The automobile exception to the warrant requirement gives an officer who has probable
cause to believe that a motor vehicle contains contraband authority to dismantle parts of the
vehicle if necessary to locate the object of their search.
a. True
b. False
32. Police may not search jointly occupied premises based on the consent of one occupant if
another occupant, present on the scene, objects to the search.
a. True
b. False
33. Police may search the suspect’s bedroom on the consent of a roommate who explains that the
bedroom belongs to the suspect and that she is not supposed to enter, but that the suspect
forgot to lock the door as he normally does.
a. True
b. False
35. Police are required to advise suspects of their right to refuse when requesting consent to
search.
a. True
b. False