Impact of Supreme Court Cases on Law Enforcement Law Enforcement I

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Criminal Procedure Purpose Protect citizens Before arrests During arrests After arrests Protect law enforcement officers From liability In obtaining admissible evidence Specific methods and limitations

Criminal Procedure (continued) Location Federal Statutes U.S. Code Title 18: Crimes and Criminal Procedure State Statutes Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP, Art. 39.14) Case Law From federal court decisions From state court decisions

Fourth Amendment “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable reaches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrant 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.”

Fourth Amendment (continued) Search – the exploration or examination of an individual’s home, vehicle, or person by a law enforcement officer to obtain items that may be used by the government as evidence in court proceedings Seizure – the taking, by law enforcement officers, of potential evidence in a criminal case. Also applies to the exercise of dominion over a person or thing because of a law violation (i.e. stopping, deterring, or arresting a person)

Fourth Amendment (continued) When the Fourth Amendment applies An individual is stopped by an officer for questioning while walking down the street An individual is stopped by an officer in a vehicle for a traffic violation Search of vehicle Questioned by officer An individual is arrested An officer enters an individual’s residence to place him/her under arrest An officer enters an individual’s residence to search for evidence of a crime An officer enters a place of business to search for evidence of a crime An officer takes possession of an individual’s vehicle or personal property and places it under police control

Fourth Amendment (continued) Requirements Search Warrant A written order issued by a magistrate and directed to a peace officer to look for property/evidence Peace officers must have probable cause to request search warrants

Fourth Amendment (continued) Requirements (continued) Exceptions to search without a warrant (A COP IS ME) Abandonment Consent Open view/plain view Public place Inventory Search incident to arrest Mobile Doctrine Exigent Circumstances

Mapp v. Ohio (1961) Facts of the Case Police went to Dollree Mapp’s home to look for a bombing suspect thought to have bombed Don King’s home Ms. Mapp asked for the search warrant, which they did not have Police returned and forced their way into Ms. Mapp’s home Ms. Mapp asked to see the warrant Officer waived a piece of paper Ms. Mapp grabbed paper and put it down her shirt

Mapp v. Ohio (1961) (continued) Facts of the Case (continued) The paper was not a warrant, but police searched her house anyway They found the suspect but did not find any evidence pertaining to the bombing They also found pornography (which was illegal at the time) She was charged with possession of obscene material (even though it did not belong to her) Ms. Mapp was convicted and appealed the case to the US Supreme Court

Mapp v. Ohio (1961) (continued) Issue Addressed by the Supreme Court Did the exclusionary rule apply to the states? And may evidence obtained through a search in violation of the Fourth Amendment be admitted in a state criminal proceeding? Exclusionary Rule – a provision that excludes any illegally obtained evidence by the government from being admissible in court proceedings

Mapp v. Ohio (1961) (continued) Rule Established by the Court’s Decision The court found that "all evidence obtained by searches and seizures in violation of the Constitution is, by [the Fourth Amendment], inadmissible in a state court" Using the Fourteenth Amendment, the court extended the exclusionary rule to all levels of government, not just the federal government

Mapp v. Ohio (1961) (continued) Application of the Finding Any evidence obtained unlawfully is inadmissible in court Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine Established in Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. US (1920) The doctrine holding that if evidence is initially obtained in an illegal way, all subsequent evidence gathered from the unlawful manner is “poisoned,” as well. If the tree is poisoned, so is the fruit coming from it

Terry v. Ohio (1968) Facts of the Case Plain-clothes police officer observed the Defendant and two other men suspiciously loitering near a store Officer believed they were “casing a job, a stick-up” Officer stopped the men and frisked them Two of the men were armed Defendant was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon

Terry v. Ohio (1968) (continued) Issue Addressed by the Supreme Court Did the warrantless search of the three men violate their Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures? Rule Established by the Court’s Decision The search was reasonable, and the weapons seized could be introduced as evidence The court found that "a reasonably prudent man would have been warranted in believing [Terry] was armed and thus presented a threat to the officer's safety while he was investigating his suspicious behavior"

Terry v. Ohio (1968) (continued) Application of the Finding Stop and Frisk – a police practice, based on reasonable suspicion, giving a law enforcement officer the ability to stop an individual in a public place, to ask questions to determine whether that person has or is about to commit a crime, and to frisk that person for weapons if the officer is reasonably concerned for his or her own personal safety This type of search is known as a Terry stop

Tennessee v. Garner (1984) Facts of the Case Police went to answer a “prowler in the house” call Upon arrival, the resident pointed in the direction where the suspect fled Police saw no sign of the suspect having a weapon Police called out for the suspect to halt Suspect continued to flee by climbing over a fence Police officer shot the suspect in the back of the head, which later killed him

Tennessee v. Garner (1984) (continued) Issue Addressed by the Supreme Court Is the use of deadly force to stop a suspected unarmed fleeing felon unconstitutional? Rule Established by the Court’s Decision “The Fourth Amendment prohibits the use of deadly force unless it is necessary to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of violence to the officer or the community” Killing a fleeing suspect is a “seizure” under the Fourth Amendment

Tennessee v. Garner (1984) (continued) Application of the Finding The police may not “seize” an unarmed, non-dangerous suspect by shooting him dead Deadly force – the amount of force used by a law enforcement officer that would reasonably pose a high risk of death or serious injury to another person

Resources Del Carmen, Rolando V. Criminal Procedure: Law and Practice. (8th edition) Wadsworth, 2009. U.S. Code Title 18: Crimes and Criminal Procedure http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/RulesAndPolicies/rules/2010%20Rules/Criminal%20Procedure.pdf Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP, Art. 39.14) http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CR/htm/CR.39.htm http://www.law.cornell.edu/ www.oyez.org www.findlaw.com http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/