c. Police may use vehicle contact or other maneuvers to end a high-speed chase that
endangers the lives of innocent bystanders, even though their actions place the
suspect at risk of death or serious injury.
Scott v. Harris Part II. Police witnessed Harris driving 73 miles per hour in a 55–
mile-per-hour zone. When they tried to pull him over, he sped away and a high-
§3.17 State Arrest Laws
A. The Fourth Amendment establishes the minimum requirements for a constitutional arrest.
States remain free, as a matter of local law, to impose greater restrictions. A valid arrest
§3.18
A. Intrastate limits on arrest authority. A city or county police officer has no authority to take
official action in other parts of the state unless:
1. state statutes confer this authority, or
59
B.
An officer may not take official action in another state unless statutes in the host state confer
authority on out-of-state police officers to enter and perform the acts in question.
Review Questions
1. What besides compliance with the Fourth Amendment is necessary for a valid arrest? (§3.1)
2. An arrest may violate the Fourth Amendment for any of three different reasons. What are
they? (§3.3, 3.5)
3. What negative consequences can ensue from violating the Fourth Amendment? (§3.3)
7. What can police do if a suspect refuses to cooperate during a voluntary investigative
encounter? (§3.4)
8.
(§3.5)
9. Why is it often necessary for courts to pinpoint the exact moment when a seizure occurs?
(§3.5)
10. What test is used to determin
11. What factors are relevant in applying this test? (§3.5)
60
16. Describe the process courts use to determine whether police had reasonable suspicion for an
investigative stop. Probable cause for arrest? (§3.6)
21. What is a
included in this profile? For what purposes do police officers use such profiles? Does the fact
that a suspect exhibits some of the characteristics listed in the drug courier profile guarantee
that a court will find that the officer possessed reasonable suspicion for a stop? (§3.8)
22. When are tips from members of the public regarded as sufficiently reliable to stand on its
own in providing reasonable suspicion for a Terry stop? When is corroboration necessary?
(§3.8)
23. Why are police more restricted during Terry stops than after an arrest? (§§3.6, 3.9)
28. What investigative activities besides requests for identification and questioning are permitted
during a Terry stop? What activities are not permitted? (§3.9)
29. What limitations exist on the duration of Terry stops? (§3.9)
30. What requirements does the Fourth Amendment impose for a valid checkpoint stop? What
are some of the purposes for which checkpoints can be established? (§3.10)
61
writing out the ticket or warning, (2) when police acquire reasonable suspicion of unrelated
criminal activity during the stop; and (3) if the motorist consents to remain after the stop is
over.
34. Do police have authority to search: (a) the motorist after issuing a traffic citation? Answer:
No; (b) the vehicle after issuing a traffic citation? Answer: No; (c) the motorist after making
a traffic arrest? Answer: Yes; (d) the vehicle after making a traffic arrest? Answer: Only if
35. Under what circumstances may police bring a drug-detection dog to the scene of a traffic
stop to perform a sniff? (§ 3.11) Answer: (1) when a sniff can be performed without delaying
36. What two things are necessary for a traffic stop to de-escalate into a voluntary investigative
encounter? (§ 3.11)
37. What is the test for probable cause? (§§3.12, 3.13)
38. When does the Fourth Amendment require an arrest warrant? (§3.12)
43. What three requirements does the text of the Fourth Amendment impose for a valid arrest
warrant? (§3.14)
44. What is necessary to satisfy the Fourth Amendment requirement that an arrest warrant
45. What two Fourth Amendment requirements are generally necessary to arrest someone inside
their own home? (§3.15)
62
51. What test do courts use to determine whether the force used by an officer was excessive?
(§3.16)
52 What factors do courts consider in applying that test? (§3.16)
53. What limitations does the Fourth Amendment impose on the use of deadly force? (§3.16)
Examination Questions (* indicates correct answer)
(§3.2)
1. Which of the following terms is not mentioned in the text of the Fourth Amendment?
(§§3.4, 3.10)
2. Reasonable suspicion is necessary to:
3. No level of suspicion is required to:
(§3.5)
4. Which of the following interactions is not a seizure?
63
(§§3.5, 3.6, 3.8)
5. Reasonable suspicion:
(§§3.7, 3.8)
6. An investigative stop may not:
(§3.9)
7. During an investigative stop, police may not, under any circumstances:
(§3.9)
8.
(§ 3.11)
9. Officer Quisart, acting on a hunch that Mary Wanna is transporting drugs, pulls her car over
because she is not wearing a seat belt. Officer Quisart may, without violating the Fourth
Amendment:
(§ 3.11)
11. Officer Quisart, acting on a hunch that Mary Wanna is transporting drugs, pulls her car over
because she is not wearing a seat belt. He is free to ask her whether she has drugs in her vehicle:
(§ 3.9(D)(4))
12. An arrest occurs as a matter of law whenever the police:
(§3.12)
13. Police must always execute which of following acts in order to effect an arrest?
(§§3.12, 3.15)
14. The Fourth Amendment requires an arrest warrant:
(§§3.12(E)(6), 3.14(C)(5))
15. An arrest warrant will not protect an officer against liability for making an unconstitutional
arrest if the:
(§3.12(F))
16. A post-arrest probable cause determination by a magistrate is required:
(§3.13)
17. In evaluating whether probable cause exists for the issuance of an arrest warrant, the judge
will:
(§3.14)
18. The Fourth Amendment expressly requires that arrest warrants:
65
(§3.14)
19. Assume that police have probable cause to arrest a man who is nicknamed Sticky-Fingered
Sam,
five-unit apartment building on 112 North Street, but mistakenly believe that his real name is
the intended arrestee is most likely to be
regarded as adequate to satisfy the Fourth Amendment?
(§3.15)
20. Sticky-Fingered Sam lives in an apartment at 112 North Street, which he shares with his
sister Mary Wanna. Sam is wanted by the police for theft. Having no luck finding Sam abroad,
the police decide to arrest Sam inside his apartment. Which of the following warrant(s) must the
officers obtain before go
(§3.16)
21. The Fourth Amendment imposes restrictions on the use of deadly force (i.e., force likely to
cause death or seriously bodily injury). Police may not use deadly force unless:
Multiple Choice Questions (* indicates correct answer)
1. The Fourth Amendment protects against the following:
2. The following is the minimum requirement for an investigatory stop:
3. Terry v. Ohio gave police officers the power to:
4. An officer must be able to do the following to satisfy the reasonable suspicion requirement:
5. Probable cause is required to:
6. Which of the following is not a typical requirement for an arrest warrant?
7. Which of the following is a not requirement for the proper execution of an arrest warrant?
8. Which of the following is an exception that excuses the need for a warrant or knocking on the
door to a residence?
9. Fourth Amendment protection against warrantless arrests applies when an individual is:
10. The following are legitimate reasons to use force, except for:
11.
reasonableness for the use of deadly force under Tennessee v. Garner:
12. The Fourth Amendment recognizes ____ classes of seizures.
13.
message that the suspect is not free to terminate the encountered leave. This police officer
conduct is known as:
True/False Questions (* indicates correct answer)
1. Voluntary police/suspect encounters are regulated by the Fourth Amendment.
2. An investigatory detention is a limited seizure made for the purpose of investigating the
3. Tips from concerned citizens who identify themselves and report on matters of which they
have personal knowledge do not need further corroboration before they can provide reasonable
suspicion.
4. Having a criminal record or being in the company of others who have criminal records is
insufficient standing alone to provide reasonable suspicion.
5. A warrant must always identify the person to be arrested by his or her full name.
6. Information given under oath is not required for an arrest warrant to be valid.
7. States may not categorically exclude drug offenses from the knock-and-announce requirement.
8. Police officers carry their authority with them when they enter another state.
68
9. One of the requirements of an arrest warrant is that a particularized description of the person
to be arrested is provided.
10. When deadly force is used in self defense by a police officer, probable cause is not needed to
show that such force was necessary.
Discussion Questions
Problem 1
At approximately 11:30 p.m. on January 4, 2005, the Whosville, Arkansas, Airport Drug
Enforcement Agents received a phone call from the Los Angeles Airport Drug Enforcement
Agents, who related the following information. A nervous-looking young man in a brown leather
jacket and tan pants, traveling under the name John Roby, just purchased a one-way ticket for an
overnight flight to Whosville with cash; he was carrying a briefcase, but no other luggage.
1. Students need to become attuned to thinking in the following sequence: Was there a seizure?
If so, did the police have reasonable suspicion? The first issue is whether there was a seizure.
A seizure does not occur simply because a law enforcement officer approaches an individual and
asks a few questions and requests identification, provided that the officer does not indicate by
69
2. Did Detectives North and South have reasonable suspicion that Roby was a drug courier
when they seized his briefcase?
In determining whether reasonable suspicion exists, courts consider the totality of the
circumstances. The detectives must be able to point to specific, articulable facts that, along with
the infer
suspicion that the particular individual stopped was engaged in wrongdoing. At the point when
Courts give little weight to nervousness and refusal to grant permission to search in determining
whether an officer has an objective basis for a reasonable suspicion. The reason is that most
people are nervous when they are questioned by a police officer. Moreover, guilt may not be
inferred from the fact that a citizen asserts his or her legal rights. The bottom line is that police
lacked reasonable suspicion for detai As a result, evidence derived from
the canine examination will be suppressed.
Problem 2
Officer Jones of the Rock Hill Police Department stopped Smith for driving 45 miles per hour in
a 35 mile-per-hour zone. He informed Smith that he had been stopped for speeding and asked
that Smith looked nervous and asked Smith to step out of his car and walk to the rear of the
vehicle. He then asked Smith to place his hands on the trunk of the vehicle. As Officer Jones was
conducting a pat-
his prior experience, he instantly recognized as a bag of marijuana. Jones removed the bag from
pocket and arrested him for possession of marijuana. Is the marijuana admissible?
The answer is no because the weapon frisk was not justified. Officer Jones was on firm ground in
70
Problem 3
Officer Quisart, acting on a hunch that Mary Wanna was transporting drugs, pulled her vehicle
over for a seatbelt violation. While in the middle of writing out the ticket, he asked Mary whether
this, he stopped writing out the ticket, turned on a tape-recorder, and for the next five minutes
prodded her for information about her drug activity. She finally gave in and granted him
permission to search her vehicle. Drugs were found in her trunk. Prior to her trial, she moved to
suppress the drugs. Are the drugs admissible?
The facts are based on United States v. Turvin, 442 F. Supp. 2d 796 (D. Alaska 2006). The
Problem 4
Two officers who had the Mary Wanna under surveillance for suspected drug activity stopped her
vehicle when she ran a red light. After the officers handcuffed her and locked her in their patrol
car, they searched her purse, which had been in the passenger compartment of her vehicle, and
found methamphetamines. Is this evidence admissible?
No. Under Arizona v. Gant (Part II), police may search a vehicle incident
Problem 5
Officer Jones received a radio dispatch concerning a prowling complaint. According to the
dispatch, the prowler was a young white male wearing a green striped shirt and camouflage pants.
After arresting him, Officer Jones performed a search and discovered a flashlight and some
71
jewelry, later determined to have been stolen from a neighboring home. Is this evidence
admissible?
The facts of this problem are taken from D.L.D. v. State, 685 So. 2d 1340 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App.
1996).
Whether the arrest was proper will depend on whether the arrest laws of this jurisdiction require