Transcript Criminal Justice Process: The Investigation

Law, Ch. 12
Criminal Justice Process

 Criminal justice process includes everything that
happens to a person from arrest through prosecution
and conviction to release from control of the state
 Most crimes are adjudicated under state law; only a
few under the federal system
Rights of the Accused
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 Bill of Rights
 First 10 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Bill of Rights
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 1 =freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, petition
st
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2nd=right to bear arms
3rd=no quartering of troops
4th=no unreasonable searches and seizures
5th=right to due process; no self-incrimination
6th=right to lawyer, speedy trial, jury, etc. in criminal cases
7th=right to an attorney in civil cases
8th=no cruel or unusual punishment or excessive bail
9th=guarantees individual rights outside of first 8 amendments
10th=anything not given to the federal gov’t or forbidden the
states are states’ rights
When can a suspect be released?

 Sometimes it can be granted almost immediately at
the police station or after time has been served
behind bars
 Release can also occur at any stage in between
 Release also occurs if the prosecution drops the case
for lack of evidence or if the judge declares a mistrial
if the jury is unable to reach a verdict
The Investigation
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Arrest
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 Arrest
 Definition  when a person suspected of a crime is
taken into custody
 Considered a seizure under the 4th Amendment
 It must be reasonable
 Two ways to be arrested by police:
1.
2.
With an arrest warrant issued by a judge
Without a warrant if there is probable cause
Arrest Terminology
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 Arrest Warrant
 Court order commanding that the person named in it be taken into
custody
 Police officer or victim must describe and swear to the facts and
circumstances of the alleged crime (NOTE: information can come from
community members who can corroborate or confirm a tip given to an
officer)
 Probable Cause
 A reasonable belief that a specific person committed a crime
 This reasonable belief may be based on much less evidence than is
required to prove a person guilty at trial
 No specific “formula” for determining probable cause—it is a judgment
call of the arresting officer
 BUT, it requires more than mere suspicion or a hunch
 Profiling (particularly racial profiling) is illegal!
Special Circumstances
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 Drug courier profile
 A profile based on commonly held notions concerning
the typical age, race, personal appearance, behavior,
and mannerisms of drug couriers that allow officers to
stop and question or help establish probable cause for
arrest
Case Study #1
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 The police receive a tip that a drug pusher named Richie will be
flying from NYC to Washington, D.C., sometime on the morning of
Sept. 8th. The informant describes Richie as a tall man with reddish
hair and a beard. He also tells police that Richie has a habit of
walking fast and that he will be carrying illegal drugs in a brown
leather bag. The police have received reliable info from this
informant in the past. On the morning of Sept. 8th, the police watch
all passengers from MYC. When they see a man matching the exact
description, they arrest him. A search of the bag reveals a large
quantity of cocaine.
1. Based on what you know, do you think the police had probable
cause to arrest Richie? Why or why not?
2. Should the police have obtained a warrant before arresting Richie?
Why or why not?
Follow-up Question
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 Assume the police have not received a specific tip
but they know that crack cocaine is being brought
regularly on trains from one city to another by
teenagers hired by older drug dealers. They see a 16yr old Black male arriving by train. He is alone and is
carrying a small canvas bag. Should the police be
able to stop and question him? Under what
circumstances should they be able to search or arrest
him?
Reasonable Suspicion
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 A police officer does not need probable cause to stop and question an
individual on the street, but the officer must have reasonable
suspicion to believe the individual is involved in criminal activity
 Reasonable suspicion is based on even less evidence than probable
cause, but must be more than a mere hunch
 If the officer has reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and
dangerous, he/she may do a limited pat-down of a person’s outer
clothing (stop and frisk)
 Even if a police officer doesn’t have probable cause or reasonable
suspicion, the officer may go up to an individual and ask to speak to
him/her
 The person may decline and the officer isn’t allowed to take that action
into account when determining PC or RS
 However, if the person runs away, the officer now has reasonable
suspicion to stop them
The Arrest
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 The most common arrest occurs when the people do not realize
they are being arrested at all
 When a police officer stops a person driving a car, they are
technically under arrest because they are not free to leave
 Police officers may use as much physical force as is reasonably
necessary to make an arrest
 The SCOTUS has ruled that deadly force may be used if the officer
is threatened with a deadly weapon, but can only be used on an
unarmed fleeing suspect “if it is necessary to prevent escape, and
the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses a
significant threat of death or serious harm to the officer or others”
 If too much force is used or it can be found the officer didn’t have
cause for an arrest, this could be grounds for a dismissal from court
What to do if you are arrested
1.
Do not struggle with the police
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 Be polite or you could be charged with resisting arrest
 If you believe you have been assaulted, write down the name and badge number of
the officer, and the information of any possible witnesses
 Give your name, address, and phone number to the police; otherwise, keep quiet
until you have spoke to an attorney
 Do NOT sign any statements about your case
 You may be searched, photographed, and fingerprinted; if any personal property is
taken from you, ask for a receipt
 ASAP after you arrive at the police station, call a trusted relative or friend; tell them
where you are, what you have been charged with, and what your bail or bond is
2.
3.
When you are arrested for a minor offense, you may be released without
having to put up any money  called an unsecured bond or citation release
When you are arrested for a serious misdemeanor or felony, you will not be
released immediately
 Get an attorney and find out when your court appearance will be
4.
Do not talk about you case with anyone except your lawyer
 Ask your lawyer to be present at all lineups and interrogation sessions
Search and Seizure
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 Americans have always valued their privacy and their
“right to be let alone”
 While there is no official “right to privacy” in the
Constitution, the Courts have viewed the 4th Amendments
protections against unreasonable searches and seizures as a
portion of the BOR that protects the right to privacy
 The 4th Amendment does not give an absolute right to
privacy and it doesn’t prohibit all searches, only those
that are unreasonable
 It also does not always require a warrant (except in the
home) as the courts have carved out many exceptions
 But basically, if the police do not follow the proper
procedures (whatever they may be), evidence obtained
can be subject to the exclusionary rule in court
Do the following violate
the 4th Amendment?
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1. The police see Kyle standing at a bus stop on a
downtown street, in an area where there is extensive
drug dealing. They stop and search him and find drugs
in his pocket.
 A person’s mere presence in a high-crime area is not
enough to establish reasonable suspicion to justify stopping
and questioning that person against his will. There must be
some level of individualized suspicion and there is none
here
2. After Brandon checks out of a hotel, the police ask the
hotel manager to turn over the contents of the
wastebasket, where they find notes planning a murder
 Info gathered from a garbage can is neither a search nor a
seizure because the individual does not have a reasonable
expectation of privacy for items discarded in a trash can.
Thus, probable cause is not necessary here.
Do the following violate
the 4th Amendment?
3.
4.
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Jill’s former boyfriend breaks into her apartment and looks
through her desk for love letters. Instead he finds drugs, which
he turns over to the police.
 Assuming Jill’s boyfriend was not acting as an agent of the
gov’t at the time he broke in, the evidence would be
admissible. However, the boyfriend could be held criminally
liable for breaking and entering or civilly liable to Jill for the
torts of trespass and conversion.
Pamela is observed shoplifting items in a store. Police chase
Pamela into her apartment building and arrest her outside her
closed apartment door. A search of the apartment reveals a
large quantity of stolen merchandise.
 Pamela’s arrest was reasonable because she was observed
committing a crime. However, the evidence found in her
apartment would be admissible only if the police obtained a
search warrant for her home. So, even though the police have
probable cause for the home search, it must be validated by a
judge-issued warrant.
Searches with a warrant

 A search warrant is just a court order
 It is obtained from a judge who is convinced that there
is a bona fide need to search a person or place
 Before a judge issues a search warrant, someone
(usually the police), must file an affidavit—a sworn
statement of facts and circumstances—that provides
probable cause to believe that a search is justified.
 If a warrant is issued, it must specifically describe
the person or place to be searched and the particular
things to be seized.
Search Warrant
Guidelines
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1. The search must be conducted within a certain
number of days
2. The search must be conducted in the daytime
(unless expressly stated otherwise in the warrant)
3. The police can only search those places and for
those items specified
4. The police must knock and announce before
entering (unless a “no-knock” warrant is specifically
issued)
Searches without Warrants
1.
2.
3.
4.
Search incident to a lawful
arrest
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 searches are legal when a
person is stopped
Stop and Frisk
 legal to stop someone
w/o probable cause to
arrest
Consent
“Plain View” doctrine
 Officer does not need
warrant to seize
contraband items
5.
6.
Hot Pursuit
Vehicle Searches
 right to search must be
based on probable cause
7. Emergency Situations
 bomb threat, etc.
8. Border and Airport
Searches
Public School Searches
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 Court has granted school administrators broad powers
to protect the schools educational mission and safety of
other students
 New Jersey v. TLO (1985)
 Student was believed to be dealing drugs; was searched by
principal and was found to have cigarettes and drug
paraphernalia
 Pottawatomie County BOE v. Earls (2002)
 schools can drug test any students involved in
extracurricular activities
 it is “reasonable” to balance privacy needs with the
compelling gov’t interest in controlling drug abuse
Suspicionless Searches
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 Searches and seizures are usually unreasonable if there is
no individual suspicion of wrongdoing
 E.g., the police cannot search everyone on a street corner if
they believe only one of the individuals possess evidence of
a crime
 The SCOTUS has recognized some limited circumstances
in which the requirement of individualized suspicion
need not be met:
 Fixed point searches at or near borders to detect illegal
aliens
 Mandatory drug and alcohol testing for railroad employees
who have been involved in accidents
 This is controversial because it departs from the 4th
Amendment’s explicit requirement that searches be based
on probable cause
Racial Profiling
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 Racial profiling
 The inappropriate use of race as a factor in identifying
people who may break or have broken the law
Profiling in Searches
Determine if profiling was appropriately or inappropriately used as a factor. Cite a
constitutionality of each act.
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 After a terrorist attack, the government decides to use
more telephone wiretaps to gather information in
communities that have mosques.
 This actually occurred after 9/11. Though courts haven’t
heard issues yet, it is reasonable for them to say that
reasons other than religion should be considered
Profiling in Searches
Determine if profiling was appropriately or inappropriately used as a factor. Cite a
constitutionality of each act.
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 In a neighborhood where several Blacks have been
arrested for recent burglaries, a police officer searches
a Black youth who is walking down the street.
 Doing this would be racial profiling and would be illegal.
The youth would have to match a more specific
description provided by an eyewitness for this to be legal
Profiling in Searches
Determine if profiling was appropriately or inappropriately used as a factor. Cite a
constitutionality of each act.
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 A man reports overhearing two Spanish-speaking men
in a coffee shop planning to rob a specific jewelry store
the next day. The witness could not see the men’s faces
and does not know their names. The next day the
police go to the store and question two “Latinolooking” men who are sitting in a car outside
 This is an appropriate use of ethnicity because of the
specificity of the witness and race wasn’t the sole factor
in questioning them. Also, this is just an informal field
stop, not an arrest or search
Profiling in Searches
Determine if profiling was appropriately or inappropriately used as a factor. Cite a
constitutionality of each act.
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 A woman entering the U.S. holds a passport from a
country which the U.S. was recently at war. A customs
agent detains her for questioning.
 While this may seem unfair, a court may uphold this for
national security purposes. But, since it is “recently at
war” and not “currently at war” a court might hold that
national security is no longer a compelling reason to
allow detention
Interrogations and
Confessions
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 After the arrest is made, it is standard police procedure to
interrogate the accused
 These often lead to confessions or admissions, which are
later used as evidence in court
 As part of this, the accused has 5th Amendment
protections which protect against self-incrimination (the
right to remain silent)
 Further strengthened by Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
 If the accused isn’t informed of his/her rights first, the
evidence obtained could be inadmissible in court
 The accused also has the 6th Amendment right to an
attorney (in criminal cases)
 NOTE: Confessions must be voluntary and trustworthy to
be used in court
Continue reading book
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 A Time to Kill, Ch. 17-19