| A | B |
|---|
| anticipatory warrant | A search warrant issued on the basis of probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime, while not currently at the place described, will likely be there when the warrant is executed. |
| arrest | The act of taking an adult or juvenile into physical custody by authority of law for the purpose of charging the person with a criminal offense, a delinquent act, or a status offense, terminating with the recording of a specific offense. Technically, it occurs whenever a law enforcement officer curtails a person’s freedom to leave. |
| Bill of Rights | The popular name given to the first ten amendments to the U. S. Constitution, which are considered especially important in the processing of criminal defendants. |
| compelling interest | A legal concept that provides a basis for suspicionless searches when public safety is at issue. ( Urinalysis tests of train engineers are an example.) It is the concept on which the U. S. Supreme Court cases of Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives’ Association ( 1989) and National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab ( 1989) turned. In those cases, the Court held that public safety may sometimes provide a sufficiently compelling interest to justify limiting an individual’s right to privacy. |
| digital criminal forensics | The lawful seizure, acquisition, analysis, reporting, and safeguarding of data from digital devices that may contain information of evidentiary value to the trier of fact in criminal events. |
| Electronic Communications Privacy Act ( ECPA) | A law passed by Congress in 1986 establishing the due process requirements that law enforcement officers must meet in order to legally intercept wire communications. |
| electronic evidence | Information and data of investigative value that are stored in or transmitted by an electronic device. |
| emergency search | A search conducted by the police without a warrant, which is justified on the basis of some immediate and overriding need, such as public safety, the likely escape of a dangerous suspect, or the removal or destruction of evidence. |
| exclusionary rule | The understanding, based on U. S. Supreme Court precedent, that incriminating information must be seized according to constitutional specifications of due process or it will not be allowed as evidence in a criminal trial. |
| fleeting- targets exception | An exception to the exclusionary rule that permits law enforcement officers to search a motor vehicle based on probable cause but without a warrant. It is predicated on the fact that vehicles can quickly leave the jurisdiction of a law enforcement agency. |
| fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine | A legal principle that excludes from introduction at trial any evidence later developed as a result of an illegal search or seizure. |
| good- faith exception | An exception to the exclusionary rule. Law enforcement officers who conduct a search or who seize evidence on the basis of good faith ( that is, when they believe they are operating according to the dictates of the law) and who later discover that a mistake was made ( perhaps in the format of the application for a search warrant) may still use the seized evidence in court. |
| illegally seized evidence | Any evidence seized without regard to the principles of due process as described by the Bill of Rights. Most illegally seized evidence is the result of police searches conducted without a proper warrant or of improperly conducted interrogations. |
| inherent coercion | The tactics used by police interviewers that fall short of physical abuse but that nonetheless pressure suspects to divulge information. |
| interrogation | The information-gathering activity of police officers that involves the direct questioning of suspects |
| landmark case | A precedent-setting court decision that produces substantial changes both in the understanding of the requirements of due process and in the practical day-to-day operations of the justice system. |
| latent evidence | Evidence of relevance to a criminal investigation that is not readily seen by the unaided eye. |
| Miranda triggers | The dual principles of custody and interrogation, both of which are necessary before an advisement of rights is required. |
| Miranda warnings | The advisement of rights due criminal suspects by the police before questioning begins. Miranda warnings were first set forth by the U. S. Supreme Court in the 1966 case of Miranda v. Arizona. |
| plain view | A legal term describing the ready visibility of objects that might be seized as evidence during a search by police in the absence of a search warrant specifying the seizure of those objects. To lawfully seize evidence in plain view, officers must have a legal right to be in the viewing area and must have cause to believe that the evidence is somehow associated with criminal activity. |
| probable cause | set of facts and circumstances that would induce a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe that a particular other person has committed a specific crime. Also, reasonable grounds to make or believe an accusation. It refers to the necessary level of belief that would allow for police seizures ( arrests) of individuals and full searches of dwellings, vehicles, and possessions. |
| psychological manipulation | The manipulative actions by police interviewers, designed to pressure suspects to divulge information, that are based on subtle forms of intimidation and control. |
| reasonable suspicion | The level of suspicion that would justify an officer in making further inquiry or in conducting further investigation. It may permit stopping a person for questioning or for a simple pat- down search. Also, a belief, based on a consideration of the facts at hand and on reasonable inferences drawn from those facts, that would induce an ordinarily prudent and cautious person under the same circumstances to conclude that criminal activity is taking place or that criminal activity has recently occurred. It is a general and reasonable belief that a crime is in progress or has occurred, whereas probable cause is a reasonable belief that a particular person has committed a specific crime. |
| search incident to an arrest | A warrantless search of an arrested individual conducted to ensure the safety of the arresting officer. Because individuals placed under arrest may be in possession of weapons, courts have recognized the need for arresting officers to protect themselves by conducting an immediate search of arrestees without obtaining a warrant. |
| “ sneak and peek” search | A search that occurs in the suspect’s absence and without his or her prior knowledge. Also known as a delayed notification search. |
| suspicionless search | A search conducted by law enforcement personnel without a warrant and without suspicion. They are permissible only if based on an overriding concern for public safety. |
| writ of certiorari | A writ issued from an appellate court for the purpose of obtaining from a lower court the record of its proceedings in a particular case. In some states, this writ is the mechanism for discretionary review. A request for review is made by petitioning for a writ of certiorari, and the granting of review is indicated by the issuance of the writ. |
| Alabama v. White | Anonymous time even in the absence of other corroborating information about a suspect could form the basis for an investigatory stop if the informant accurately predicted the future behavior of the suspect. Informant is likely to also have access to reliable information about the that individual's illegal activity. |
| U. S. v. Dunn ( 1987) Oliver v. U. S. ( 1984) Hester v. U. S. ( 1924) | Authority to enter and/ or search an “ open field” without a warrant |
| Maryland v. Buie ( 1990) U. S. v. Edwards ( 1974) Chimel v. California ( 1969) | Authority to search incident to arrest and/ or to conduct a protective sweep in conjunction with an in-home arrest |
| Yarborough v. Alvarado ( 2004) Thompson v. Keohane ( 1996) Stansbury v. California ( 1994) U. S. v. Mendenhall ( 1980) Beckwith v. U. S. ( 1976) U. S. v. Patane ( 2004) | Gathering of incriminating evidence during interrogation in noncustodial circumstances |
| U. S. v. Patane ( 2004) | Gathering of incriminating evidence during Miranda- less custodial interrogation |
| Nix v. Williams ( 1984) | Inevitable discovery of evidence |
| Brigham City v. Stuart ( 2006) Hudson v. Michigan ( 2006) U. S. v. Barnes ( 2003) Richards v. Wisconsin ( 1997) Wilson v. Arkansas ( 1995) | No-knock” searches or quick entry |
| U. S. v. Banks ( 2003) Borchardt v. U. S. ( 1987) New York v. Quarles ( 1984) Warden v. Hayden ( 1967) | Prompt action in the face of threat to public or personal safety or destruction of evidence |
| Illinois v. Krull ( 1987) U. S. v. Leon ( 1984) | Seizure of evidence in good faith, even in the face of some exclusionary rule violations |
| Horton v. California ( 1990) Coolidge v. New Hampshire ( 1971) Harris v. U. S. ( 1968) | Seizure of evidence in plain view |
| Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada ( 2004) Terry v. Ohio ( 1968) | Stop and frisk/ request personal identification |
| Arizona v. Fulminante ( 1991) Illinois v. Perkins ( 1990) Kuhlmann v. Wilson ( 1986) | Use of police informants in jail cells |
| Florida v. Riley ( 1989) California v. Ciraolo ( 1986) | Warrantless naked-eye aerial observation of open areas and/ or greenhouses |
| U. S. v. Rabinowitz ( 1950) | Warrantless search incident to a lawful arrest |
| California v. Greenwood ( 1988) | Warrantless seizure of abandoned materials and refuse |
| Thornton v. U. S. ( 2004) Ornelas v. U. S. ( 1996) California v. Acevedo ( 1991) California v. Carney ( 1985) U. S. v. Ross ( 1982) New York v. Belton ( 1981) Carroll v. U. S. ( 1925) | Warrantless vehicle search where probable cause exists to believe that the vehicle contains contraband and/ or that the occupants have been lawfully arrested |
