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Burden of Proof and 4Th Amendment

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Burden of Proof and 4Th Amendment Burden of Proof and 4 th Amendment Burden of Proof Standards • Reasonable suspicion • Probable cause • Reasonable doubt Burden of proof • In the United States we enjoy a ‘presumption of innocence’. What does this mean? • This means, essentially, that you are innocent until proven guilty. But how do we prove guilt? • Law enforcement officers must have some basis for stopping or detaining an individual. • In order for an officer to stop and detain someone they must meet a standard of proof Reasonable Suspicion • Lowest standard • A belief or suspicion that • Officers cannot deprive a citizen of liberty unless the officer can point to specific facts and circumstances and inferences therefrom that would amount to a reasonable suspicion Probable Cause • More likely than not or probably true. • Probable cause- a reasonable amount of suspicion, supported by circumstances sufficiently strong to justify a prudent and cautious person’s belief that certain facts are probably true. • In other terms this could be understood as more likely than not of 51% likely. • This is the standard required to arrest someone and obtain a warrant. Reasonable Doubt • Beyond a reasonable doubt- This means that the notion being presented by the prosecution must be proven to the extent that there could be no "reasonable doubt" in the mind of a “reasonable person” that the defendant is guilty. There can still be a doubt, but only to the extent that it would not affect a reasonable person's belief regarding whether or not the defendant is guilty. 4th Amendment • Search and Seizure • "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." Search and Seizure • This means that Under the Fourth Amendment, law enforcement must receive written permission from a court of law, or otherwise qualified magistrate (judge), to lawfully search and seize evidence (including people) while investigating criminal activity. 4th Amendment Background • Has it’s roots in English legal doctrine • The King did not have unbridled authority to intrude on his subjects' dwellings but recognized that government agents were permitted to conduct searches and seizures under certain conditions when their purpose was lawful and a warrant had been obtained History of 4 th Amendment • American colonists did not enjoy this same security as their British counterparts. • British authorities possessed almost unlimited power to search for anything at any time, with very little oversight. • The justification for this was to collect revenue. What is a search? When has it occurred? • Originally understood as "when the government physically intrudes on "persons, houses, papers, or effects (physical belongings)" for the purpose of obtaining information." • Basically a physical intrusion. • Under this understanding of the 4th Amendment, would wiretapping a phone conversation (listening in) be considered a search? 1967 Katz v United States case • A "search" occurs for purposes of the Fourth Amendment when the government violates a person's "reasonable expectation of privacy. • Following Katz , the vast majority of Fourth Amendment search cases have turned on the right to privacy Two-pronged test • This decision in Katz was later developed into the now commonly used two-prong test, for determining whether the Fourth Amendment is applicable in a given circumstance: – a person "has exhibited an actual (subjective) expectation of privacy"; and – society is prepared to recognize that this expectation is (objectively) reasonable. Florida v. Jardines (2013) • Use of a police dog What is a seizure? When has it occurred? • A seizure of property occurs when there is "some meaningful interference with an individual's possessory interests in that property", such as when police officers take personal property away from an owner to use as evidence, or when they participate in an eviction. The amendment also protects against unreasonable seizure of persons, including a brief detention. When is a person seized? Can you be seized but not arrested? • A person is seized within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment only when, by means of physical force or show of authority, his freedom of movement is restrained and, in the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would believe that he was not free to leave. Stop and Frisk (Terry Frisk) • Police may do a limited search of the suspect’s outer garments for weapons if they have a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the person detained may be “armed and dangerous”. When a search for weapons is authorized, the procedure is known as a “stop and frisk” Consent • The simplest and most common type of warrantless searches are searches based upon consent. No warrant or probable cause is required to perform a search if a person with the proper authority consents to a search. • • Unspoken law enforcement rule: Always ask for permission first! Plain view and open fields doctrine • Allows an officer to seize – without a warrant evidence and contraband found in plain view during a lawful observation. • For the plain view doctrine to apply for discoveries, the three -prong Horton test requires: – the officer to be lawfully present at the place where the evidence can be plainly viewed, – the officer to have a lawful right of access to the object, and – the incriminating character of the object to be “immediately apparent.” Carroll doctrine • Plain view doctrine often leads to the Carroll doctrine. • Carroll doctrine refers to a principle that permits a police officer to search an entire motor vehicle it if there is probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or the fruits, instrumentalities or evidence of criminal activity. Exigent Circumstances • An emergency situation requiring swift action to prevent imminent danger to life or serious damage to property, or to forestall the imminent escape of a suspect, or destruction of evidence. • No litmus test but generally understood to mean that a reasonable person would believe that entry (or other relevant prompt action) was necessary to prevent physical harm to the officers or other persons, the destruction of relevant evidence, the escape of a suspect, or some other consequence Search incident to arrest • Someone arrested is subject to a search • The justification for such a search is to prevent the arrested individual from destroying evidence or using a weapon against the arresting officer. Administrative checkpoints • A roadblock procedure where enforcement officers stop all, or a designated sequence of, motor vehicles traveling on highways and roads and subject those vehicles to inspection or testing and the drivers or occupants to questioning or the production of documents. • drivers that may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs; • license plates, registration certificates, insurance certificates, or driver licenses; • violations of Title 23, Wildlife Resources Code of Utah; or • other circumstances that are specifically distinguishable by the magistrate from a general interest in crime control. • *Requires a magistrate to authorize Wildlife Officers • Misconception that wildlife officers have more authority than other LE. • Not completely accurate because by participating in a highly regulated activity (hunting, fishing, trapping), that person has a lower expectation of privacy. • This is unique to wildlife activities Wildlife Officers • The laws in many U.S. states allow game wardens to conduct certain types of searches with or without search warrants. • In Utah for example: • Any conservation officer who has a reasonable belief that a person is engaged in any wildlife activity may stop and temporarily detain that person in order to demand and inspect: • the required license, permit, or tag; • any device or apparatus in that person's possession used for any activity regulated under this title; or • any wildlife in that person's possession. Wildlife Officers • 23-20-14 • (2) (a) While taking wildlife or engaging in wildlife related activities, a person may not: • (i) without permission, enter upon privately owned land that is cultivated or properly posted; • (ii) enter or remain on privately owned land if the person has notice to not enter or remain on the privately owned land; or • (iii) obstruct any entrance or exit to private property. • (4) Subsection (2)(a) does not apply to peace or conservation officers in the performance of their duties. • exceptions to warrantless searches (consent) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrqhftSg_Gg • (plain view doctrine) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPsQXvepIRo • search incident to arrest and plain view doctrine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcRZQljHE0g • Stop and Frisk (Terry Frisk) and consent search: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFAz9aqzoH0.
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