Questions tagged [fourth-amendment]
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable search and seizure by law enforcement; in most cases, it requires police to obtain a search warrant before conducting a search, and requires police to show probable cause to get a warrant.
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4th Amendment violation during a terry stop?
Lets say Bob is walking down the street, somewhere in the US. A police officer stops and detains Bob. Bob has not broken any laws. The officer asks Bob for an ID and he refuses.
Terry v. Ohio 392 U.S. ...
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Can I take my teacher to court if they search my phone for absolutely no reason?
If a teacher searches through my phone without my consent, warrant or with reasonable suspicion is it illegal and can I take them to court?
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Before Terry, did the Fourth Amendment require a warrant for all searches and seizures or only the "unreasonable" ones?
I'm trying to understand the direct meaning of the Fourth Amendment as best as possible. The Amendment states the following (emphasis added):
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, ...
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Does the exclusionary rule attach to the illegality of the search or to the person whose rights were violated?
Police blatantly illegally searches Bob's house and finds very strong evidence that Bob and Rob independently committed a horrific crime each. A variation: the crime is the same and Bob and Rob ...
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Why isn't FBI's access to our data against the right of privacy?
In many blogs, it's said that your search history may get you in jail, like Can Your Internet Search History Get You Arrested and Internet Searches That Could Get You Arrested. Seems that FBI can have ...
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Do police need to present warrant prior to seizure?
In the United States, suppose a warrant was required for a seizure and the police properly obtained one.
Do the law enforcement officials who execute the warrant need to present that warrant prior to ...
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If a law is blatantly unconstitutional, is a search warrant based on that law valid?
Applications for search warrants are typically ex parte. In such a proceeding the person who owns the property to be searched and/or seized cannot challenge the unconstitutional laws that form the ...
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What is the case law on the admissibility of warrantless drone footage in court?
There's some government agencies that are using drones to gather footage of places not usually viewable by naked eye by people at ground level.
These agencies' reasoning is that if a person lawfully ...
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Does the activation of a burglar alarm give police cause to enter a house without a warrant?
If police are advised that a burglar alarm has been "set off," does that in itself mean police can intrude into the home to determine the cause of the alarm, absent evidence to the contrary?
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Does California v. Greenwood apply to trash still on private property?
In the 1988 case California v. Greenwood, the U.S. Supreme Court held that no warrant is needed to search or seize garbage that is placed on the street for collection, as there is "no expectation ...
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Are defendants legally obliged to provide all culpatory evidence to prosecution?
There is a similar question that doesn't address this one. The question here is whether or not all evidence requested by prosecution must be provided by the defense? If the defense plans on only using ...
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Can evidence a person gives to aid an investigation then be used to prosecute that person for an unrelated crime?
Consider the following scenario: a person consents to giving some evidence to aid the investigation or prosecution of a criminal,with the reasonable, good-faith assumption that the use of that ...
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Do you have the same right to privacy in regards to your car than what you have to your house?
Im just curious to know if the same rules of lawful and unlawful searches apply to your car than what applies to your house?
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Can a bank be compelled to ID a dozen of its customers for an investigation of an alleged misdemeanor vandalism charge in California?
Could the police request that, for example, all users of an ATM in the vicinity of the alleged crime within, say a 30-minutes time frame be listed and personal information including name, date of ...
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Can police arrest you to later fish for probable cause?
Do police need to have established probable cause before they arrest you, or can your actions later validate the lack of probable cause that they had when they arrested you?
I suspect this may just be ...
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What would happen if there is an attempt by police to deceive a judge to get a warrant?
Would I be correct in saying that police have a duty to fairly represent the facts to a judge when they attempt to get a warrant to search premises? Is there some sort of oversight in regard to how ...
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What was wrong with the warrant application in Malley v. Briggs?
The beginning of the Court's opinion in Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335 (1986) describes a wiretapped phone call that led police to obtain a warrant against Plaintiff James Briggs:
"General ...
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What kind of attorney do I need to do the city for violating my 4th amendment? [closed]
Can the city have my truck towed out of my driveway? The tags are up today and I'm working on it with no warning.
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Does the United States' Fourth Amendment cover privacy violations by private corporations?
For the sake of contrast, consider the wording of the First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the ...
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Thompson v Louisiana 1984 - Murderer convicted?
I am reading about the case Thompson v Louisiana from 1984 when SCOTUS decided that evidence obtained during a search without a search warrant couldn't be used in the case. But besides the SCOTUS-case ...
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Is there an implied consent to a frisk in a stop in the US?
This question regards US law, and the Fourth Amendment to the US Federal Constitution.
Suppose I am walking on the sidewalk, when a police officer stops me.
He then says the following: "I will ...
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Arizona law requires you to admit to carrying a firearm. Would that be admissible evidence?
This question describes an Arizona law which requires a person stopped by the police to answer honestly when asked if they have a concealed deadly weapon.
Suppose that someone in Arizona is carrying ...
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Lawyer-approved statement to say to the police to unequivocally retain all rights
I understand that I have the right to remain silent, and that I shouldn't need to explicitly say that in order for my rights to be in effect. But we don't live in a perfect world. And should we end up ...
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Police questioning in Arizona regarding gun possession
Is it possible to legally have a firearm (handgun/rifle/shotgun) in a vehicle that a person is the driver of, and NOT tell the police in Arizona whether they have a firearm or not?
According Arizona ...
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Harper v. IRS and the third-party doctrine
On tax day 2020, plaintiff James Harper accused the IRS of obtaining his cryptocurrency transaction history from Coinbase without a warrant.
Harper is claiming the IRS violated his rights under the ...
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Can a university in the U.S. legally force students to get regularly tested for COVID-19?
I attend a university in the United States which has recently released its COVID-19 response plan, and part of that plan includes requiring that students get testing before coming to campus, and then ...
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What is the difference between "probable cause to believe" and "probable cause to suspect"?
In Note, ‘The “Probable Cause” Requirement for Search Warrants’, Harvard Law Review, 46.8 (1933), 1307–1311 https://doi.org/10.2307/1331624, the following text appears:
The exact limits which the ...
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Does allowing a police officer into your house implicitly waive your Fourth Amendment rights?
Suppose a police officer knocks on your door and tells you there was a robbery in the neighborhood and asks if he can ask you some questions about it, but really what he wants is to collect evidence ...
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How far can I go to protect my 4th amendment right?
How far can one go to defend him/herself from an unreasonable search and seizures, in the same sense of one defending him/herself from an unlawful arrest?
For example (hypothetical), an officer ...
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If a valid warrant uncovers a suspect's passwords, is another warrant needed to use them?
Scenario: a valid search warrant is executed on John Doe and his computer is seized. Somehow, this manages to net the police Doe's passwords for a bunch of sites (for example, Doe stored all his ...
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Could evidence obtained through time travel be admitted under the Fourth Amendment?
This is of course a wild hypothetical question and there is probably no good answer. Suppose a police force obtained a time machine and wanted to use this to obtain evidence to investigate crimes and ...
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Can improperly gathered evidence be used to exonerate someone?
There are many rules governing whether or not a particular piece of evidence can be introduced at trial. Often, these rules are applied to prevent the prosecution from introducing evidence. Do the ...
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Bill of Rights protection against mandatory vaccination?
Does the the "privacy" protection afforded by the Bill of Rights covers unwanted medical treatments, including unwanted drug taking, notably mandatory vaccines?
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Would a confession obtained via Wonder Woman's Magic Lasso be admissible in US court, or any court?
There's a scene in Justice League (the movie from 2017) where a policewoman is taking down the stories of three criminals who are wrapped in in Wonder Woman's magic Lasso.
The Lasso does a couple of ...
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What is the US standard for reasonable detention duration for immigration checks?
The CBP has the authority to conduct inspections within 100 miles of borders. This region engulfs major cities (NYC, LAX, etc.) as well as populous states like Florida. If the response to an agent's ...
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Can the TSA still give you a pat down even if you change your mind about flying?
I recently discovered that the TSA will pull you aside and inform you that they have to give you a full pat down for failing to empty everything out of your pants pockets before going through the ...
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Do photos violate the 4th amendment?
Can a municipal worker photograph over a privacy fence when given permission to enter an adjacent property without violation 4th amendment?
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How can I tell whether my 4th amendment rights have been violated?
From what I understand, a police officer can stop and harass (detain and ask questions with zero apparent "probable cause") all their hearts desire without being required to tell the detainee what the ...
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How do I authenticate that a warrant and its bearers are authentic?
Questions...
How can I tell if the warrant is authentic and authorized by an authentic court?
How can I identify that the persons approaching me with the warrant are indeed authorized law enforcement ...
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If police don't know which apartment has criminal evidence, can they search all of them?
Suppose the police have probable cause that there is evidence of a crime in an apartment that is part of a complex, but they can't figure out which apartment it is. Can they search all of them with a ...
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state statute violate 4th
If ny state vehicle statute declares it to be a misdemeanor for failing to update ones home address marked on the drivers license, punishable up to 250 dollar fine and or 15 days imprisonment, after ...
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Who can give the police consent to search my property?
If the police want to obtain consent to perform a search of a property, who do they have to obtain it from?
Can my friend who doesn't legally own the house, or pay rent, but is just staying with me ...
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Must the State compensate individuals from whom property is seized as evidence?
Pursuant to the Fourth Amendment, law enforcement officers routinely obtain warrants under a "probable cause" standard to seize items that may contain evidence of a crime.
This is a taking of private ...
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If I do not password protect my phone, do I forfeit reasonable expectation of privacy?
Let's say I am arrested and I have a smartphone in my possession. A police officer cannot, without a warrant, seize my phone, unlock it and go through my pictures, messages, etc. The US Supreme Court ...
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Why are SEC lawyers kept in the dark about surveillance and wiretaps?
I understand that, unlike United States Department of Justice lawyers, Securities and Exchange Commission lawyers are not allowed the benefit of surveillance evidence or wiretaps gathered by agencies ...
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Use of anonymous informants to obtain search warrants
In the United States is it commonly accepted by judges to issue search warrants based on anonymous tips or unidentified informants?
The reason I ask is that the 4th ammendment to the US Constitution ...
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How far does the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine extend?
Suppose that an individual has been arrested, multiple times, for possession of controlled substances (i.e. illegal drugs), but has managed to get the charges dropped or dismissed by a court after a ...
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Can law enforcement use a GPS tracking device without a warrant?
In 2007, a man named Juan Pineda-Moreno was suspected of purchasing products to grow Cannabis. Rather than put a GPS tracking device on his car and leaving it, they put several GPS devices on his car ...
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When is it OK for law enforcement/intelligence-gathering agents to go undercover as journalists?
Previously, I had thought there might have been prohibitions against spies and law enforcement officers from going undercover as journalists, e.g. because this puts real journalists in greater danger ...
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Fourth Amendment traffic stop followup question
This is a follow up question from why doesn't the 4th amendment apply to traffic stops.
So, the current answer states that the 4th amendment applies to traffic stops, which makes sense to me. So ...
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