Criminal Procedure Spring 2013
The Criminal Process
The process by which substantive criminal laws are enforced
Introduction to the Criminal Justice System
– Criminal Justice Process
o The process begins with the commission of a crime
o Our procedural system is a series of response to that crime
The Right to be Let Alone – KATZ
The Fourth Amendment
The fourth amendment provides that people should be free in their persons from UNREASONABLE searches and seizures; The right of the people to be secure in their person, house, papers and effects
Person: Defendant’s body as a whole; the items in defendant’s clothing; defendant’s bodily fluids and organs; and defendant’s oral communication
House: A place of residence including places where defendant rests overnight (i.e. hotel rooms); the curtilage of the house
– The proximity of the area claimed to be curtilage to the home; Whether the area is included within an enclosure surrounding the home; The nature of the uses to which the area is put; The steps taken by the resident to protect the area from observations by people passing by
Papers and Effects: Papers encompass personal items – letters and diaries – as well as business documents; Effects are all other personal items that are not covered by Person or House – BUT DOES NOT APPLY TO LAND, thus it does not include OPEN FIELD
– Reasonableness Clause: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated
o What is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment depends on the circumstances
– Warrant Clause: No warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or thing to be seized
– Search: A search can be defined as a governmental intrusion into an area where a person has a reasonable and justifiable expectation of privacy
o It violates an individuals reasonable expectation of privacy
§ Reasonable Expectation of Privacy: A person must have a reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to the PLACE searched or the item seized
· AN OVERNIGHT GUEST may successfully challenge a search of another person’s residence (Olsen)
· It DOES NOT APPLY to defendants who were merely present in the premise (Carter); courts considered these factors –
o The purely commercial nature of the transaction engaged in there
o The relatively short period of time in the apartment
o The lack of any previous connections between the two defendants and the occupant of the apartment
o KATZ Test (2 Parts):
§ Person must have a subjective expectation of privacy
§ Society must be prepared to recognize that expectation as reasonable
§ Standing: It is not merely enough that someone has an expectation of privacy in the place searched or the item seized – there is a standing requirement which stipulates that a person must have standing (must violate his/her OWN reasonable expectation of privacy)
· He/she owned or had a right to possession of the place searched
· The place searched was in fact his/her home, whether or not she owned or had a right to possession of it
· He/she was an overnight guest of the owner of the place searched
A Search
NOT a Search
One does have a reasonable expectation of privacy in luggage against physically invasive inspection such as squeezing luggage to discern its contents
Aerial surveillance not a search when officers fly over property in a commercial aircraft at 1,000 ft (Ciraolo)
The use of a tracker to observe the movement within a private residence (Karo)
Aerial surveillance not a search when officers fly over property in a helicopter at 400 ft (Riley)
High-tech devices (thermal imaging) not common to the public and used to observe the information within a private residence (Kyllo)
The sound of one’s voice; handwriting; the smell of one’s luggage and/or car (by drug sniffing dog – Sui Generis)
o Open Field Doctrine/Plain View
§ What one knowingly exposes to the public does not enjoy privacy protection
§ Areas outside the curtilage (dwelling house and outbuildings) are subject to police entry and search – these are held out to the public and are not protected under the Fourth Amendment
§ Greenwood – No reasonable expectation of privacy in garbage placed at curb
o Fly-Over
§ The police may, wi
confiscation of a luggage for a dog-sniff, so long as the confiscation is reasonable
Probable Cause
There is a strong presumption that searches and seizures must be supported by probable cause – a substantive standard that defines the level of suspicion police must have before they search or seizure
– The officer has within her knowledge reasonably trustworthy facts and circumstances sufficient to enable a reasonably prudent person to believe that the suspect has committed or is committing a crime (SUBSTANTIVE STANDARD)
– Probable cause MAY GET YOU A WARRANT and may be founded on:
o Direct information the officer secured by personal observation
o Hearsay information (i.e. informant/snitch)
§ SO LONG AS the informant is reasonably trustworthy
§ TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES TEST requires balancing the relative weights of all the various indicia of reliability attending the informant’s tip (Gates)
– Must be authorized by a warrant (PROCEDURAL STANDARD)
The Warrant Requirement
Unless the case falls into one of the specifically delineated exceptions, the police must meet both the substantive and procedural standard; To be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment, most searches must be pursuant to a warrant; A search or seizure conducted without a warrant is presumed invalid
– To be valid, a warrant must:
o Neutral Magistrate: Be issued by a neutral and detached magistrate
§ Magistrate must be detached from the law enforcement side of government
§ Examples:
· The state attorney is not neutral and detached
· A magistrate who receives no salary other than compensation for each warrant issued is not neutral and detached
· A magistrate who participates in the search to determine its scope is not neutral and detached
