Search and Seizure Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 957 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1+

Page 1 of 3

Traffic Stop

In the example, four men of unidentified race, acting in an unpredictable way in a marginal area of a city, fled in a car when asked simple questions by police. The police pursued, pulled them over, questioned them, and found that their stories did not seem truthful. Items found in the car were eventually connected to a crime.

According to LaFave (2004), the only issue in such a case is whether the traffic stop was legitimate or not (LaFave, 2004). To establish that, the police must have "probable cause." In this case, the officers suspected that the men may have engaged in a crime, but were essentially acting on a hunch. LaFave illustrates that such traffic stops meet such probable cause even when the evidence is not clear. Other rulings have demonstrated that during this stop, officers can ask questions of the occupants of the car, and that these initial questions do not constitute an "interrogation. Called a "Terry Stop" based on a famous case, they fall short of questioning done after an arrest, and do not require Mirandizing the individuals being questioned (LaFave, 2004). The Terry case ruled that whether initial questioning turns into questioning that should have been Mirandized depends on the length of time the individuals were questioned and whether the questioning was justified. In this case, the indications are that as soon as the officers believed they were not getting truthful answers, they did Mirandize and repeated their questions, so the stop seems legitimate under the Terry rule: they did not question the individuals long before Mirandizing, and they had some suspicion that a crime might have been committed.

Stuck Writing Your "Search and Seizure" Term Paper?

View All Our Example Search and Seizure Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written



In a ruling in Florda (Florda v. Royer), the court ruled that the investigative detention (questioning the individuals without an arrest or Mirandizing) must be short and limited to the purpose of the stop, and that this investigation must be as non-intrusive as possible in order to answer the questions that caused the stop (LaFave, 2004). In this case, the officers may have had more leeway. Although they did stop a moving car, they did not do it because of a traffic violation but because the occupants fled when faced with a Terry interrogation. LaFave goes on to explain that when the stop was made because the occupants were suspected of having committed a crime, the courts have supported the idea that the officers must take that into consideration when questioning (LaFave, 2004). Again, the officers did this by providing their results under Miranda early in the stop.

In fact, rulings have established that the police may question people who are simply walking down the street (LaFave, 2004), so the situation these men were in, in an area not typically occupied by people simply standing around on the street, has more justification. However, there are restrictions. The city of Chicago, as part of….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Related Essays

Terry V Ohio Court Case

offices, clothes, bags,cars, etc. (Search and Seizure and the Fourth Amendment – FindLaw). Amendment IV offers safeguards to citizens in matters related to investigations and arrests, and forbids the utilization of articles seized without authority as court-room evidence (Search and Seizure and the Fourth Amendment – FindLaw). How much protection a citizen enjoys in any given instance is dependent on apprehension nature, searched location characteristics, and circumstances of search. However, for stopping or keeping any citizen in custody, law enforcement officials need to have satisfactory suspicion (in other words, impartial, soundgrounds to believe the… Continue Reading...

Ethics and Technology at Homeland Security

person to privacy? These questions have very clear ethical domains that must be addressed. Search and Seizure Applications Search and seizure issues have to be addressed as well. The Fourth Amendment states that citizens have “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” (U.S. Const. amend. IV). While numerous court cases have shown that law enforcement must give notice before breeching a person’s privacy—… Continue Reading...

Team America Surveillance and Espionage

media accounts. What the government views as being "unreasonable search and seizure" under the Fourth Amendment might be defined differently from the common person, which is why civil liberties organizations make a determined effort to work with legal teams to protect the rights of Americans. The judiciary has, as a result, been called upon increasingly to rule on individual cases. Emerging technologies demand each case be heard differently, because from year to year hardware and software considerations will change. Legislation also changes, often in favor of the government and its expanding powers of surveillance. Some legislation may redefine what… Continue Reading...

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Search And Seizure" (2005, August 07) Retrieved May 16, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/search-seizure-67169

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Search And Seizure" 07 August 2005. Web.16 May. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/search-seizure-67169>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Search And Seizure", 07 August 2005, Accessed.16 May. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/search-seizure-67169
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example