Obtaining Physical and other Evidence

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Chapter 14

• Obtaining Physical and other Evidence

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Obtaining Physical and other evidence

• Real evidence
• Must be tangible, such as a weapon, drugs,
  cash, records, etc.
• Also referred to as Physical evidence

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Examples of physical evidence

• Weapons (guns, knives, etc)
• Illegal drugs
• Fingerprints
• Clothing
• Documents
• Footprints
• Hair
• Blood
• Grass marks or other stains on clothing

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Obtaining physical evidence from the person of a
suspect

• Encounters between citizens police include
• Voluntary encounters or Consensual stops
• The investigative stop or Terry stop
• An arrest based on probable cause to believe that
  the person has committed a crime

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Obtaining evidence and information by means of
voluntary conversations

• Most persons will engage in voluntary
  conversations, however, with law enforcement
  officers.
• If at some point they wish to discontinue the
  conversation, they may do so.

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Free to leave test

• The test used by courts to determine whether such
  situations are voluntary or not is the free to
  leave test , which is defined by the U.S. Supreme
  Court as follows
• A person has been seized within the meaning of
  the Fourth Amendment only if in view of all the
  circumstances surrounding the incident, a
  reasonable person would have believed that he was
  not free to leave.

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Terry Stops

• The amount of evidence known as reasonable
  suspicion is needed to authorize an investigative
  detention, or Terry Stop.
• Reasonable suspicion is less than probable cause
• Terry v Ohio (1968)

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Stop Frisk

• Terry v Ohio also established the Stop Frisk
  or Pat-Down rules
• The police must have reasonable suspicion both
  to stop someone and
• To pat down their outermost garments for
  WEAPONS ONLY, based on
• A reasonable suspicion their safety is in
  jeopardy!

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Searches that can be justified during an
investigative detention

• Consent to search would have to be voluntarily
  and clearly given. Consent searches would be
  limited to the area or object consented to the
  searched.
• Protective search can be made if an officer who
  has made a valid investigative stop has
  reasonable suspicion to believe that the suspect
  may be armed and presently dangerous. TERRY
  RULES APPLY TO STOP FRISKS!

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Searches that can be justified during an
investigative detention cont

• Anonymous tips require indicia of reliability,
  that is corroborating information from the person
  giving the tip showing that person to have
  predictive information about the suspects
  behavior that allowed the police to judge the
  reliability of the anonymous stop.

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Obtaining physical evidence during and after an
arrest

• A search for weapons and evidence of the crime
  may be made in the search incident to an arrest.

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Obtaining physical evidence during and after an
arrest cont..

• Protective sweep or safety check Arresting
  officers have a right to conduct a quick and
  cursory check of the arrestees lodging
  immediately subsequent to arrest even if the
  arrest is near the door but outside the lodging
  where they have reasonable grounds to believe
  that there are other persons present inside who
  might present a security risk.
• Note This is for PEOPLE, NOT Evidence!

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Evidence obtained during inventory searches

• The U.S. Supreme Court listed the following for
  inventorying property that is being held by the
  police
• The protection of the owners property while it
  remained in police custody
• The protection of the police against claims or
  disputes over lost or stolen property
• The protection of the police from potential
  danger

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Evidence obtained during inventory searches

• Inventory searches are not searches for
  incriminating evidence.
• They are a common and sensible police procedure
  to determine what the law enforcement agency is
  responsible.

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Searches of Private Premises

• Arrest Warrants vs. Search Warrants
• In Arrest Warrants, youre looking for a PERSON
• In Search Warrants, youre looking for EVIDENCE

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Authority needed by police officers to enter
private premises

• Arrest Warrants
• Carries with it the limited authority to enter a
  dwelling in which the suspect lives when their is
  reason to believe the suspect is within, police
  may enter under the following limitations
• Entry with an arrest warrant is limited to a
  suspects own residence and
• Where there is reason to believe the suspect is
  within

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Authority needed by police officers to enter
private premises

• Search Warrant
• if the conditions from an arrest warrant do not
  exist, law officers should obtain a search
  warrant in addition to the arrest warrant or
  they could wait until the suspect appears in a
  public place to make an arrest.

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Searching Homes

• Officers must comply with knock notice when
  serving arrest and search warrants
• Absent exigent circumstances, an officer must
  have an
• arrest warrant to justify a nonconsensual entry
  into a residence to make an arrest.

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Otherwise

• To enter a home you must have
• Consent
• Warrant
• Exigent Circumstances
• This is based on the Castle Exception,
• E.g., a mans home is his castle, and should be
  protected from government intrusion

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Vehicle stops

• Police need at least reasonable suspicion to
  make a stop
• Most are temporary, brief and public
• It does curtail ones freedom of movement
• Drivers and Occupants may be questioned
• All occupants may be ordered out of the vehicle

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Evidence during traffic stops

• Plain-view doctrine may allow officers to seize
  evidence that they can see while in plain
  view.
• This can give probable cause to search the entire
  vehicle!
• Consent can be also used to ok a search
• Police have an Automobile Exception to search
  vehicles that is unique

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The Automobile Exception

• Carroll v U.S. (1925)
• Established the Carroll Rule, or the PROBABLE
  CAUSE rule in dealing with vehicles.
• Essentially, because vehicles can be moved
  easily, and evidence destroyed, etc., the police
  can search the vehicle where it is, as long as
  they can articulate PROBABLE CAUSE for the
  search.
• A warrant is not needed, nor is consent, as long
  as PC is present

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Key Cases

• Carroll v. U.S. 45 S. Ct. 280 (1925)
• U.S. v. Ross, 102. S. Ct. 2157 (1982)
• Ross extended searches to the ENTIRE vehicle,
  including the trunk as well as closed containers,
  AS LONG AS THE POLICE HAD A LEGAL REASON TO STOP
  THE VEHICLE AND PROBABLE CAUSE TO SEARCH!