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Question: The exclusionary rule prohibits the introduction of improperly seized evidence at trial. The foll...
The exclusionary rule prohibits the introduction of improperly seized evidence at trial. The following scenario illustrates how the exclusionary rule works:
Jeff owns a pawnshop with his father. Unbeknownst to Jeff, law enforcement has been investigating Jeff’s role in a motorbike theft ring. Two teams of officers stake out Jeff’s home and business around the clock. Team A’s officers frequently snoop through the windows of Jeff’s work van parked in the driveway of his home. One morning, the officers think they have hit the jackpot when they spot construction equipment in Jeff’s work van. Based on their hunch, the officers immediately seize the equipment. There was no reason to believe the evidence would be destroyed. In addition, the officers were standing on Jeff’s front lawn when they looked into the van. Jeff’s father is at home at the time and tries to no avail to convince the officers that the construction equipment belongs to him.
Meanwhile, at the pawnshop, Team B’s officers execute a search warrant based on probable cause that was established through tips from reliable police informants. What gave them probable cause? They seize the stolen motorbikes pursuant to the search warrant. They also arrest Jeff for theft of property.
At trial, the court would admit into evidence the motorbikes recovered from the pawnshop because they were seized pursuant to the search warrant. The court would exclude the construction equipment as evidence because the authorities seized it without a search warrant or a justification for seizing without a search warrant.
Consider the following scenario:
Before Simon returned home from his State B fishing trip, a State B wildlife officer, who overheard Simon’s conversation with the clerk, stopped Simon in the parking lot. As he peered through Simon’s car window, the wildlife officer asked Simon about the minnows. The wildlife officer explained that the minnows were contraband and asked Simon to turn them over so that he could confiscate them. Simon objected and told the wildlife officer that the minnows appeared to be healthy and that they were purchased from a reputable State A dealer. Simon demanded that the wildlife officer prove to him that the State A minnows had parasites. The wildlife officer declined. Eventually Simon turned over the minnows to the State B wildlife officer.
Simon feels that his Fourth Amendment rights have been violated. Is he right?
1. Explain the purpose of the Fourth Amendment.
2. Was a government actor involved in the seizure of Simon’s minnows?
3. Was there a legal basis for confiscating the minnows? Explain.
4. Did the seizure of the minnows from Simon’s car require a warrant? If not, did the confiscation of the minnows meet the warrant less search exception?
5. Did the seizure of the minnows meet the probable cause standard? Explain.
6. Explain the Fourth Amendment and how it protects citizens and others.
7. Also, analyze and conclude whether or not Simon’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated.
Explanation / Answer
1. The Fourth Amendment tries to protect the right of privacy of people and protects them against any kind of unreasonable search or seizures.
2. There may be a government order regarding the seizure of minnows, which were unhealthy or had parasites on them. However, in this case, it was the duty of the wildlife officer to prove that the minnows were contraband and seizure was the correct step to be followed.
3. As there might be a government order regarding the seizure of minnows, so there is a probability of a legal basis being involved in the case. However, there is no search warrant with the wildlife officer to search Simon’s car and seize the minnows.
4. A warrantless search is permissible in cases or scenarios where there is a probable valid reason for search and the officer may have the belief that the evidence can be removed or destroyed till the time the search warrant is obtained. in this case, the wildlife officer may have doubt that Simon may consume the minnows, so he decided to go for a warrantless search.
5. Probable cause is basically a Fourth Amendment’s requirement, which needs to be met before the police conducts a search or receive a warrant. This is also applicable in cases of warrantless search. The seizure would be immediately required to be presented before court to determine the probable cause. Hence, in this case, the probable cause standard has been rightfully met and the wildlife officer needs to present the seized minnows before court to explore the probable cause statement.
6. The Fourth Amendment has specified that the absence of a probable cause may render a warrant or warrantless search as invalid. This is so because the absence of probable cause makes the search or seizure unreasonable. Probable cause includes suspicion of the officer as well.
In absence of a probable cause for arrest or search, the effectiveness of warrant becomes zero and hence the officer can’t take nay kind of substantial action. This limits the legal power of any officer.
7. In my views, the Fourth Amendment rights of Simon were not violated as the wildlife officer was performing his duty and conducted a warrantless search. Minnows are entities which can be easily hid or consumed, hence the officer needed to act fast. Everything was conducted under law and hence Simon’s fourth Amendment rights were not violated.
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