Obtaining Evidence and the – Test Questions & Answers – Ch.4

CHAPTER 4 TEST BANK

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. The Fourth Amendment contains the “reasonableness clause,” which proscribes

a. unreasonable searches and seizures.

b. no warrant shall issue but on probable cause.

c. supported by oath or affirmation.

d. descriptions of the place to be searched or the person to be seized.

2. There are situations where warrants are always required; one is

a. use of airport metal detectors.

b. arrests in a home absent exigent circumstances.

c. any arrest where the penalty is six months or more in jail or prison.

d. a vehicle search.

3. The Fourth Amendment protects “persons, houses, papers, and effects” from unreasonable searches and seizures. The term “person” describes

a. individual people, whether citizens or not.

b. the individual as a whole, both internal and external.

c. oral communications.

d. all of the above

e. both a and b

4. The Fourth Amendment protects “persons, houses, papers, and effects” from unreasonable searches and seizures. Examples of “papers” could be

a. briefcase.

b. clothing.

c. memos.

d. all of the above

5. The Fourth Amendment protects “persons, houses, papers, and effects” from unreasonable searches and seizures. Examples of “effects” could be

a. cars.

b. memos.

c. diaries.

d. of the above

e. both a and c

6. An example of an “institutional agent” is

a. banker.

b. police officer.

c. detective.

d. school resource officer.

e. all of the above

7. In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court rule that searches should be evaluated based upon expectations of privacy rather than property interests?

a. Katz v. United States

b. California v. Greenwood

c. Smith v. Maryland

d. Hoffa v. United States

8. The Supreme Court declared that a person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in phone numbers he or she dials in

a. Katz v. United States.

b. California v. Greenwood.

c. Smith v. Maryland.

d. Hoffa v. United States.

9. This Supreme Court ruling has justified the collection of additional forms of physical evidence, including locks of hair, voice exemplars, and fingerprints.

a. Katz v. United States

b. Smith v. Maryland

c. Cupp v. Murphy

d. United States v. Dionisio

10. Physical characteristics that are protected by the Fourth Amendment include

a. blood.

b. sound of a voice.

c. breath analysis.

d. both a and c

e. a, b, and c

11. A “fly-over” is analogous to a search of

a. curtilage.

b. open fields.

c. the home.

d. all of the above

12. Lawful vantage points include

a. sidewalks.

b. streets.

c. inside the curtilage of a home.

d. both a and b

e. a, b, and c

13. Devices that enhance the senses but are not generally considered a search include

a. satellites.

b. thermal imagery.

c. high-powered flashlights.

d. none of the above

14. In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court not allow the use of thermal imaging to look inside a home?

a. United States v. Dunn

b. United States v. Taborda

c. United States v. Knotts

d. Kyllo v. United States

15. In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court allow federal agents to put a tracking device into a container?

a. United States v. Dunn

b. United States v. Taborda

c. United States v. Knotts

d. Kyllo v. United States

16. Which of the following is not a justification for a search or an arrest?

a. probable cause

b. reasonable suspicion

c. administrative justification

d. reasonable doubt

17. Which of the following is characterized by a more than 50 percent certainty of guilt?

a. probable cause

b. reasonable suspicion

c. administrative justification

d. reasonable doubt

18. Which of the following would allow a police officer to stop an automobile but not to immediately arrest the occupant?

a. probable cause

b. reasonable suspicion

c. administrative justification

d. reasonable doubt

19. In which case did the Supreme Court first establish the justification known as “reasonable suspicion”?

a. Katz v. United States

b. Veronia School District v. Acton

c. Terry v. Ohio

d. United States v. Sokolow

20. A search of an apartment complex conducted by a health code inspector would typically be based on

a. probable cause.

b. reasonable suspicion.

c. administrative justification.

d. reasonable doubt.

21. An inventory search of seized automobiles would be typically based on

a. probable cause.

b. reasonable suspicion.

c. administrative justification.

d. reasonable doubt.

22. In which case did the Supreme Court allow random drug testing of high school athletes?

a. Katz v. United States

b. Veronia School District v. Acton

c. Terry v. Ohio

d. United States v. Sokolow

23. Which of the following is not true of administrative searches?

a. They must conform to established procedures.

b. They must be based on probable cause.

c. They cannot be geared toward the discovery of criminal evidence.

d. They cannot be used as a pretext for a full-blown search.

24. Which of the following is not true of search warrants?

a. They must be issued by a neutral and detached magistrate.

b. They must be based upon probable cause.

c. They must list the place to be searched and the items to be seized.

d. They must include the date of the search.

25. The Fourth Amendment contains two basic clauses:

a. the reasonableness clause and the warrant clause.

b. the warrant clause and the probable cause.

c. the evidence clause and the reasonableness clause.

d. the warrant clause and the evidence clause.

26. This interpretation of the warrant clause says there must be a warrant to permit search, barring only inherent limitations upon that requirement when there is a good excuse for not getting a search warrant.

a. the “warrant requirement” interpretation

b. the “warrant preference” interpretation

c. the “warrantless requirement” interpretation

d. the “warrantless preference” interpretation

27. This interpretation of the warrant clause says warrants should always be secured whenever it is practical to do so.

a. the “warrantless preference” interpretation

b. the “warrant preference” interpretation

c. the “warrantless requirement” interpretation

d. the “warrant requirement” interpretation

28. Which one of the following is the best example of an individual’s “effects”?

a. person

b. house

c. curtilage

d. clothing

29. Which one of the following is not an example of an individual’s “papers”?

a. records

b. luggage

c. diaries

d. memos

30. The Fourth Amendment protects __________ from unreasonable searches and seizures.

a. persons

b. houses

c. papers

d. effects

e. all of the above

31. What is the only justification mentioned in the Fourth Amendment?

a. unreasonable search

b. probable cause

c. unreasonable seizure

d. beyond a reasonable doubt

32. A __________when the activity in question is not a product of government action and does not infringe upon a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy.

a. search

b. stop

c. nonsearch

d. frisk

33. In this case, the Supreme Court declared that searches by regulatory officials conducting health and safety inspections can be considered governmental actions.

a. Camara v. Municipal Court

b. Coolidge v. New Hampshire

c. Katz v. United States

d. Vale v. Louisiana

34. This court case ruled that the conversation that took place between the defendant in the case and a government official did not qualify as an unlawful search as the defendant was knowingly and voluntarily in the official’s suite.

a. Hoffa v. United States (1966)

b. United States v. Miller

c. Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives’ Association

d. Schmerber v. California

35. This term can be defined as the “area to which extends the intimate activity associated with the sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of life.”

a. open field

b. home

c. curtilage

d. basement

36. Which of the following is not a factor in distinguishing between open fields and curtilage?

a. the proximity of the area to the house

b. whether the area is surrounded by a fence or other enclosure

c. the size of the land in question

d. the steps taken by the property owner to protect the area from observation

37. Which court case established the four separate factors of distinguishing between open fields and curtilage as a result of police climbing over several fences where they looked inside the defendant’s barn?

a. California v. Ciraolo

b. Florida v. Riley

c. United States v. Taborda

d. United States v. Dunn

38. Which one of the following can one not expect to have a reasonable expectation of privacy?

a. in the curtilage of one’s residence

b. in abandoned cars, containers, and other items

c. in one’s residence

d. in a private place of employment

39. The term “seizure” has a dual meaning. What are they?

a. (i) the fruits of searches that are seized and (ii) the seizures of persons

b. (i) the motive of the seizure and (ii) the seizures of persons

c. (i) the fruits of searches that are seized and (ii) the motive of the seizure

d. (i) the motive of the search and (ii) the motive of the persons seized

40. Which one of the following is not a part of the three varieties of information that is given by informants?

a. unknown

b. known

c. confidential

d. anonymous

TRUE/FALSE

1. ____ Literally millions of pages of text are devoted to the interpretation of the Fourth Amendment.

2. ____ The Supreme Court has adopted a more liberal stance in the past three decades than it did during the 1960s.

3. ____ Interpretation of the warrant clause in the Fourth Amendment addresses the meaning of “reasonableness.”

4. ____ All police actions are bound by the Fourth Amendment.

5. ____ The Fourth Amendment is blanket protection against any form of law enforcement activity.

6. ____ A hotel room is considered a house for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.

7. ____ Seizures are always limited to tangible evidence.

8. ____ The only justification mentioned in the Fourth Amendment is probable cause.

9. ____ If a private party looks for evidence, it is not considered a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.

10. ____ Generally, a private party cannot turn evidence over to authorities without such action being considered a search.

11. ____ Courts rarely look at individuals’ subjective expectation of privacy, opting instead to focus on a more general societal expectation of privacy.

12. ____ People always enjoy a reasonable expectation of privacy in their homes.

13. ____ Private property can be considered an “open field.”

14. ____ Persons traveling in an automobile on public thoroughfares have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their movements from one place to another

15. ____ Generally, the use of a device that enhances the senses, instead of replaces the senses, is not considered a search.

16. ____ A seizure is the act of physically grasping something.

17.____ A piece of property is seized within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment if the police remove it from a person’s actual or constructive possession.

18. ____ Justification is pre-Fourth Amendment in nature.

19. ____ The only standard of justification mentioned in the Fourth Amendment is reasonable doubt.

20. ____ Probable cause to search always creates probable cause to arrest.

21. ____ A clear-cut case for probable cause being created by an officer’s first-hand knowledge occurs when a person commits a crime in the officer’s presence.

22. ____ When a police officer pulls a motorist over for a traffic violation, probable cause is not required because such a stop is not considered an arrest or search.

23. ____ Reasonable suspicion is a higher standard than probable cause.

24. ____ Unprovoked flight can arouse the justification of reasonable suspicion.

25. ____ Administrative justification is not justification at all.

26. ____ The Supreme Court has stated that people who conduct business in highly regulated environments do not enjoy the same expectation of privacy as ordinary citizens.

27. ____ When people voluntarily convey or provide material to third parties (institutions or otherwise), they do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

28. ____ Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is approximately 50 percent certainty.

29. ____ A hunch is 0 percent certainty.

30. ____ One of the first cases to recognize administrative justification was Camara v. Municipal Court (1967).

31. ____ Administrative justification requires probable cause but not reasonable suspicion.

32. ____ Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is approximately 99 percent certainty.

33. ____ Privacy is usually not enjoyed in a private place of employment.

34. ____ Thermal imaging is said to enhance the senses; therefore, the use of such technology would not constitute a search.

35. ____ Katz v. United States (1967) was about the use of listening devices in a phone booth that was being monitored by federal agents.

SHORT ANSWERS

1. When people say that the Constitution is a “living document,” what do they mean?

2. When does a private individual become a governmental actor?

3. What is the main issue with the use of drug dogs?

4. What is constructive possession?

5. What did the Supreme Court mean by a “prudent man”?

That probable cause needs to be defined in terms of what the average person on the street would believe, not what a person who has received special training would believe.