Rules
This constitutional amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Level of privacy expectation in a home
(high, medium, low)
HIGH
Police typically need this legal document, signed by a judge, to search a person’s home.
Warrant
A high schooler was caught skipping class and brought to the principal’s office. The principal demanded access to the student’s phone without justification. The student could argue this right was violated.
4th Amendment Right
This principle requires law enforcement to have a reasonable belief, based on facts, to conduct a search or make an arrest.
Plain View Exception
Level of privacy expectation in a car
(high, medium, low)
MEDIUM
A search is allowed when a person voluntarily agrees without coercion.
Consent
A student's backpack was searched without their consent, and contraband was found. The search was deemed unconstitutional because the school lacked what.
Reasonable Suspicion
Police may conduct this limited search for weapons during a stop if they have reasonable suspicion that a person is armed and dangerous.
Stop and Frisk (called a "terry stop" - 100 bonus points if you get this!)
Level of privacy expectation on a sidewalk
(high, medium, low)
LOW
If police fail to obtain a warrant, the evidence they obtain can be excluded from trail.
Exclusionary Rule
During a lawful traffic stop, an officer sees a weapon on the backseat in plain view and seizes it without a warrant. This seizure is lawful under this doctrine.
This legal standard allows police to detain a person briefly to investigate possible criminal activity, even without probable cause.
(responsible suspicion, probably cause, beyond a reasonable doubt)
Reasonable Suspicion
Level of privacy expectation in a public school
(high, medium, low)
LOW
Before executing a warrant, law enforcement must typically do this to notify occupants in a house.
Knock and announce
A warrant is issued to search a suspect’s home for stolen electronics, but police also searched a small locked drawer and seized unrelated drugs. The seizure of the drugs violated this Fourth Amendment requirement.
Law enforcement must have a reasonable belief, based on facts they can show, to conduct a search or make an arrest.
(reasonable suspicion, probable cause, beyond a reasonable doubt)
Probable cause
Level of privacy expectation in another person's home
(High, medium, low)
MEDIUM
Warrants must describe these two things with particularity (specifically) to comply with the Fourth Amendment.
The place to be searched and the items to be seized
Officers searched a suspect’s garbage left at the curb without a warrant. The search was deemed constitutional because the suspect no longer had this in the trash.
Reasonable Expectation of Privacy