Exceptions
The most commonly used of the exceptions to the search warrant requirement.
What is consent.
This 1925 U.S. Supreme Court verdict held that Police can conduct warrantless searches of vehicles when they have probable cause to believe contraband is present.
What is Carroll v. United States.
Evidence observed by an officer who enters a private apartment without a warrant and no other legal justification would be inadmissible due to this rule.
What is the Exclusionary Rule.
This exception to the search warrant requirement is based upon officer safety, and allows officers to enter a property without a warrant to prevent imminent harm to themselves or others.
What is the Exigent Circumstances exception.
This 1968 U.S. Supreme Court established that consent to search given after police lie and say they have a warrant is not voluntary.
What is Bumper v. South Carolina.
This exception to the search warrant requirement allows officers to seize evidence that is visible if they are standing in a legally allowed viewpoint, also known as "right to be, right to see".
What is the plain view exception.
The Carroll Doctrine is based on this.
Because of a diminished expectation of privacy, this location is treated differently than a home under the plain view doctrine.
What is a vehicle.
This exception to the search warrant requirement is based on officer safety, and holds that police can search a lawful arrestee and the area within their immediate control (their "wingspan").
What is Search Incident to Arrest.
This 1973 U.S. Supreme Court verdict narrowed the consent exception by establishing that Police do not have to warn that consent is not mandatory.
Schneckcloth v. Bustamonte
This exception allows an officer to pursue a felon into a home to effect an arrest.
What is Hot Pursuit.
The level of legal proof required to stop a vehicle.
What is probable cause to believe that a driver has violated traffic laws or probable cause to believe that a suspect for a non-traffic related crime is in the car.
Where officers legally go, so also goes this exception to the search warrant requirement.
What is Plain View
This exception to the search warrant requirement is based on officer safety, and allows officers to briefly pat down a suspect if they have a reasonable suspicion that the suspect might be dangerous.
What is the Stop and Frisk exception.
This 1961 U.S. Supreme Court verdict established that despite having a possessory interest in a home do not have a privacy interest in the home, and as such, they cannot consent to search the property in their tenants stead.
What is Chapman v. United States.
This exception to the search warrant requirement allows an officer to enter a location to stop the destruction of evidence.
What is Preservation of Evidence.
The level of legal proof required for a vehicle Terry Stop.
What is a reasonable suspicion based on indirect evidence such as a 911 call reporting driver behavior, or a reasonable suspicion based on warrants,flawed documentation for the vehicle, and if the driver matches owner description.
The item's incriminating nature must be this to the officer, without requiring any further search or manipulation.
What is immediately apparent?
This exception to the search warrant requirement holds that if an officer can articulate why they suspect someone else might be in the home while they are arresting their suspect, then they are permitted to conduct a security sweep of the house.
What is Search Incident to Arrest.
This 2018 U.S. Supreme Court verdict held that withdrawal of consent must be stated explicitly.
What is United States v. Williams
This exception to the search warrant requirement holds that the area outside of the curtilage of the home does not possess Fourth Amendment protections.
What is Open Fields.
This 1996 case held that a traffic stop is valid under the Fourth Amendment as long as there is probable cause that a traffic violation occurred, even if the officer's real motive was to investigate a different crime.
Whren v. United States.
In addition to observing the item from a lawful position, the officer must also have this to be able to seize it.
What is a lawful right of access.
This U.S. Supreme Court verdict was decided based on the principle of officer safety, and limited the ability of police to search a vehicle once the occupants of the vehicle have been removed/restrained and no longer have access to the vehicle.
Arizona v. Gant, 2009
This 2014 U.S. Supreme Court Verdict established a clear rule that warrantless searches of cell phones incident to arrest are unconstitutional.
What is Riley v. California.