VA LETC LAW CERTIFIED QUALITY EXAM COMPLETE
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED ANSWERS RATED A+ ASSURED
SUCCESS
A mistake made in ______ ________ does not invalidate a search
warrant
Good faith
§ officers may act in a reasonable manner to protect
themselves while executing a search warrant. A mistake in
doing so is not a 4th amendment violation
What are some exigent circumstances/ exceptions to
warrantless searches
O hot pursuit
§ the 4th amendment does not require police officers to delay
the course of an investigation if to do so would gravely
endanger their lives of their lives of others
§ but... Police may not enter a private residence without a
search warrant in order to conduct a routine (warrantless)
arrest
O safety
§ police may enter a residence without a warrant to prevent
imminent threat of death or bodily harm
,§ officers do not need "ironclad proof of a likely serious, life
threatening injury to evoke the emergency aid exception"
§ officers are responsible for preventing violence & restoring
order, not simply rendering aid to casualties
§ community caretaker exception
· justifies a warrantless search in the face of an emergency
that threatens the health & safety of the public
· largely applied to suspicion of guns in vehicles
O evidence preservation
§ police may search without a warrant on the reasonably
objective belief that evidence is being destroyed
§ "occupants who choose not to stand on their constitutional
rights but instead elect to attempt to destroy evidence have
only themselves to blame for the warrantless, exigent
circumstance search that may ensue"
O plain view
§ police who are lawfully in a place & see contraband are not
expected to "avert their eyes"
§ elements
,O automobile exception
§ police may conduct warrantless searches of automobiles if
probable cause exists to believe that a crime has or is being
committed & the automobile is an instrumentality of the crime
(carroll doctrine)
§ may search the entire vehicle, including the trunk
§ carroll doctrine applies to any moveable vessel. Look at the
totality of circumstances to determine whether the vehicle is
moveable
§ good rule of thumb - ask yourself can the vehicle be moved
in the time that it takes me to go get a warrant?
§ once police have pc to search, they may do so at any time
§ there is no requirement that the warrantless search of a
vehicle occur contemporaneously with its lawful seizure
§ if officers encounter a package inside a vehicle during a
search, there must be separate pc to believe that the container
contains the "object of the search"
§ basically, just make sure that it is possible for the container
to physically hold the object
§ vehicle passengers may not be searched simply because the
vehicle was lawfully stopped. But a passenger's belongings
left inside of a vehicle may be searched if there is pc to believe
that they contain contraband
§ the belonging becomes a "container" if left in the vehicle
O inventory searches
§ when properly seized, a vehicle may be impounded &
inventoried where there is no pc to search, no plain view & no
exigency
, § this exception is based upon the police's need to protect the
owner's property, to protect the department from claims of
lost or stolen property & to protect the police form potential
danger
§ an arrestee's bags may be inventoried during the booking
process
O search incident to arrest
§ searching a suspect
· police may conduct a warrantless search of a person
contemporaneous with that person's arrest
· the scope of that search extends to the surrounding area
where the person could reach at the time of arrest to grab a
weapon or destroy evidence
· police may not search incident to the issuance of a citation,
even though the citation is issued in lieu of arrest
§ dui
· warrantless breath tests are permitted
· but police must obtain a warrant for dui blood test in non-
exigent circumstances
§ protective sweeps
· in the interest of officer safety, the "reach area" may be
expanded during an arrest in a home in order to conduct a
cursory inspection for additional persons hiding
§ searching a vehicle
· may only search passenger compartment (i.e., reach area) if:
O the arrestee is unsecured, or
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED ANSWERS RATED A+ ASSURED
SUCCESS
A mistake made in ______ ________ does not invalidate a search
warrant
Good faith
§ officers may act in a reasonable manner to protect
themselves while executing a search warrant. A mistake in
doing so is not a 4th amendment violation
What are some exigent circumstances/ exceptions to
warrantless searches
O hot pursuit
§ the 4th amendment does not require police officers to delay
the course of an investigation if to do so would gravely
endanger their lives of their lives of others
§ but... Police may not enter a private residence without a
search warrant in order to conduct a routine (warrantless)
arrest
O safety
§ police may enter a residence without a warrant to prevent
imminent threat of death or bodily harm
,§ officers do not need "ironclad proof of a likely serious, life
threatening injury to evoke the emergency aid exception"
§ officers are responsible for preventing violence & restoring
order, not simply rendering aid to casualties
§ community caretaker exception
· justifies a warrantless search in the face of an emergency
that threatens the health & safety of the public
· largely applied to suspicion of guns in vehicles
O evidence preservation
§ police may search without a warrant on the reasonably
objective belief that evidence is being destroyed
§ "occupants who choose not to stand on their constitutional
rights but instead elect to attempt to destroy evidence have
only themselves to blame for the warrantless, exigent
circumstance search that may ensue"
O plain view
§ police who are lawfully in a place & see contraband are not
expected to "avert their eyes"
§ elements
,O automobile exception
§ police may conduct warrantless searches of automobiles if
probable cause exists to believe that a crime has or is being
committed & the automobile is an instrumentality of the crime
(carroll doctrine)
§ may search the entire vehicle, including the trunk
§ carroll doctrine applies to any moveable vessel. Look at the
totality of circumstances to determine whether the vehicle is
moveable
§ good rule of thumb - ask yourself can the vehicle be moved
in the time that it takes me to go get a warrant?
§ once police have pc to search, they may do so at any time
§ there is no requirement that the warrantless search of a
vehicle occur contemporaneously with its lawful seizure
§ if officers encounter a package inside a vehicle during a
search, there must be separate pc to believe that the container
contains the "object of the search"
§ basically, just make sure that it is possible for the container
to physically hold the object
§ vehicle passengers may not be searched simply because the
vehicle was lawfully stopped. But a passenger's belongings
left inside of a vehicle may be searched if there is pc to believe
that they contain contraband
§ the belonging becomes a "container" if left in the vehicle
O inventory searches
§ when properly seized, a vehicle may be impounded &
inventoried where there is no pc to search, no plain view & no
exigency
, § this exception is based upon the police's need to protect the
owner's property, to protect the department from claims of
lost or stolen property & to protect the police form potential
danger
§ an arrestee's bags may be inventoried during the booking
process
O search incident to arrest
§ searching a suspect
· police may conduct a warrantless search of a person
contemporaneous with that person's arrest
· the scope of that search extends to the surrounding area
where the person could reach at the time of arrest to grab a
weapon or destroy evidence
· police may not search incident to the issuance of a citation,
even though the citation is issued in lieu of arrest
§ dui
· warrantless breath tests are permitted
· but police must obtain a warrant for dui blood test in non-
exigent circumstances
§ protective sweeps
· in the interest of officer safety, the "reach area" may be
expanded during an arrest in a home in order to conduct a
cursory inspection for additional persons hiding
§ searching a vehicle
· may only search passenger compartment (i.e., reach area) if:
O the arrestee is unsecured, or
