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Criminal Procedure âą Exclusionary Rule
CRIMPRO#022
Legal Definition
Inventory Searches: Before incarceration, the police may inventory the arrestee's personal belongings and his entire vehicle, including closed containers.
Public School Searches: Students engaged in extra-curricular activities can be drug-tested, and administrators can reasonably search a student's effects in order to investigate violations of school rules, meaning there must be (1) a moderate chance of finding evidence of wrongdoing, (2) the measures are reasonably related to the objectives of the search, and (3) the search is not excessively intrusive.
Public School Searches: Students engaged in extra-curricular activities can be drug-tested, and administrators can reasonably search a student's effects in order to investigate violations of school rules, meaning there must be (1) a moderate chance of finding evidence of wrongdoing, (2) the measures are reasonably related to the objectives of the search, and (3) the search is not excessively intrusive.
Plain English Explanation
In certain situations, the government can search people without getting a warrant, but these searches must serve specific purposes beyond regular law enforcement. These are called âspecial needsâ searches.
One example is inventory searches. When someone is arrested, police often need to take an inventory of their belongings to prevent theft or damage while in custody. Imagine if someoneâs car got impounded. The police would check whatâs inside to protect both the ownerâs belongings and the police from false claims of theft.
Another example is public school searches. If a student is suspected of breaking school rules, administrators can search their belongings, such as a backpack, if there is a moderate chance theyâll find evidence, like drugs or stolen items. To be fair, the search must be directly related to what theyâre looking for, and it canât be too intrusive. For instance, checking a backpack is okay, but strip-searching a student for minor rule violations would be excessive.
The underlying idea is that, while protecting privacy is important, certain situations require balancing safety and practicality. In schools, maintaining order and safety is crucial, so searches are allowed when there's reason to believe rules are broken. But the search has to be reasonable and not go too far. Similarly, inventory searches serve a logistical purpose, making sure property is accounted for when people are taken into custody.
One example is inventory searches. When someone is arrested, police often need to take an inventory of their belongings to prevent theft or damage while in custody. Imagine if someoneâs car got impounded. The police would check whatâs inside to protect both the ownerâs belongings and the police from false claims of theft.
Another example is public school searches. If a student is suspected of breaking school rules, administrators can search their belongings, such as a backpack, if there is a moderate chance theyâll find evidence, like drugs or stolen items. To be fair, the search must be directly related to what theyâre looking for, and it canât be too intrusive. For instance, checking a backpack is okay, but strip-searching a student for minor rule violations would be excessive.
The underlying idea is that, while protecting privacy is important, certain situations require balancing safety and practicality. In schools, maintaining order and safety is crucial, so searches are allowed when there's reason to believe rules are broken. But the search has to be reasonable and not go too far. Similarly, inventory searches serve a logistical purpose, making sure property is accounted for when people are taken into custody.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: On Saturday morning, Bob decides to pour himself a cup of coffee, do some light yoga, and then snort a comically long line of cocaine. Little does Bob realize that his neighbor had just committed an armed robbery of a bank. The neighbor, in trying to flee from police, breaks through Bob's front door, runs past him, through the kitchen, and out the back door. Moments later, police come running through Bob's apartment. One of the officers notices Bob's line of cocaine and white powder on the tip of his nose. That officer stops and arrests Bob while seizing the cocaine. Result: Had police decided to randomly break down Bob's door without a warrant, the evidence of his cocaine use would have been inadmissible due to the police's unlawful, warrantless search. However, here, the officer was in hot pursuit of a felon when he entered Bob's house and saw the cocaine in plain view. Thus, the warrantless seizure is valid under this exception.
Related Concepts
What are the 5 exceptions to the fruit of the poisonous tree exclusionary rule?
What are the exceptions to the warrant requirement?
What are the Terry stop and frisk rules?
What are the wiretapping and eavesdropping exceptions to the warrant requirement?
What does the 4th Amendment protect against?
What is a facially valid warrant?
What is the automobile exception to the warrant requirement?
What is the consent exception to the warrant requirement?
What is the evanescent evidence, and hot pursuit exception to the warrant requirement?
What is the exclusionary rule?
What is the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine?
What is the good faith defense to an invalid warrant?
What is the harmless error rule?
What is the plain view exception to the warrant requirement?
What is the search incident to arrest exception to the warrant requirement?
What is the stop and frisk exception to the warrant requirement?
When are police checkpoints valid?
When are police excused from knocking and announcing?
When does a person have automatic standing and a reasonable expectation of privacy in a 4th Amendment violation claim?
When do individuals have no standing and no reasonable expectation of privacy in a 4th Amendment violation claim?
When is a warrant based on a tip by an informant sufficient?
When is the exclusionary rule inapplicable?
