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3 pages/β‰ˆ825 words
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APA
Subject:
Law
Type:
Essay
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English (U.S.)
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Topic:

Does Police Officers' Search and Seizure Illegal Drug Actions

Essay Instructions:

The Fourth Amendment is one of the cornerstones of our freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. It protects people against unreasonable search and seizure of their person, property, and belongings. Law enforcement officers must work to ensure they do not violate the Fourth Amendment while performing their duties. They have a responsibility to protect people's rights and not invalidate evidence for any future court cases.
In this assignment, you will analyze a case study based on an actual case to determine whether police officers' search and seizure illegal drug actions related to suspected activities were constitutional. Here is the case study you will analyze in your assignment.


Case Study
In the Los Angeles Brentwood neighborhood, neighbors have notified the police that they have seen vehicles coming and going from one specific home. The incidents occurred between 11:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. The neighbors believe drug activity may be taking place. The local police division assigns officers Williams and Martinez to investigate possible drug activity at that location.
Officer Williams contacts the neighborhood's regular trash collection service and asks it to put the contents of the subject's (defendant's) garbage left at the curb in plastic bags so as to not mix the subject's garbage with others. He also asked the trash collector to turn the subject's bags over to him at the end of trash day collections. The trash collector did as Officer Williams requested. Officer Williams's partner, Officer Martinez, searched through the garbage and found items indicative of narcotics use. Officer Williams and Officer Martinez then listed the information obtained from the trash in an affidavit to support a warrant to search the defendant's home. Officer Martinez and Officer Williams encountered the defendant at the house later that day upon execution of the warrant. The officers found quantities of cocaine and heroin during the search and arrested the defendant on felony narcotics charges.
Note: As you complete this assignment, it will be helpful for you to read the actual case in which this case study is based: California v. Greenwood.
Instructions
Write a three- to four-page analysis of this case study in which you:
Explain in your own words the Fourth Amendment, which governs the officers' actions.
Determine which of the following doctrines apply to this case study: plain view, abandonment, open fields, or border searches.
Be sure to support your determination by citing specific case law and/or contemporary cases.
You may find the CQ Supreme Court Collection database useful as you conduct your research.

Essay Sample Content Preview:
Does Police Officers' Search and Seizure Illegal Drug Actions
Police officers and other law enforcement personnel are there to protect us, and it is their role to arrest, search, and seize anyone suspected of crime to maintain peace and order in our society. However, these searches and seizures are occasionally used inappropriately, which is why the fourth amendment was designed to protect ordinary persons' rights and privacy. Not only does this safeguard ordinary folks, but it also serves as the foundation for police personnel to process a suspected person's search and seizure.
           Obtaining a warrant of arrest begins with a hunch or a studied observation of police officers; with this hunch, they must have enough proof that the suspected individual is truly doing wrong activities to obtain a warrant of arrest (Rothblatt, 1963). When the warrant of arrest is completed and handed to the individual, they are only allowed to confiscate or investigate within the region of suspicion specified in the warrant of arrest. There is also debate over whether the written fourth amendment should be interpreted word for word, allowing for some exceptions if read word by word and not by the meaning it gives.
            The term "probable cause" is one of the concrete bases of police officers who are attempting to get an arrest warrant from a suspect; this probable cause must be supported. As previously stated, the means of justifying this is by presenting evidence. A police officer must produce a report on the suspected and acquired evidence that can indicate that a specific individual is indeed a criminal.
Case Study Reflection
            The theories that apply in the case study are plain view and abandonment because the police officer and the neighbors who reported the suspected crime may watch the activity of the persons living in the suspected area in plain view. Concerning abandonment, once the suspects have abandoned their goods (in this case, their rubbish), they no longer have property rights (even though it is just their garbage). With this, the officers who suspected this person followed the law by collecting their rubbish and putting it under inquiry. The other two doctrines do not apply, even though the open fields occurred after the warrant of arrest was presented, making these principles inapplicable after the warrant of arrest was issu...
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