Casey Miller

Advanced Legal Analysis

April 17, 2017
Criminal Procedure Essay

Sam has filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained from the search of his locker. How
should the court rule?

The Fourth Amendment protects against the government for unreasonable searches and
seizures, which includes arrests.

School Search
To conduct a search, school officials must have reasonable grounds that the search is
necessary, which is less burdensome than probable cause. The school only needs to have a
moderate chance of finding the expected evidence, rather than a fair probability or substantial
chance. The school is reasonable if: the search offers a moderate chance of finding evidence of
wrongdoing; the procedure for searching is reasonably related to objectives of the search; and the
search is not excessively intrusive. The measures adopted for the search are reasonably related to
the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student
and the nature of the infraction.
Here, the school had every right to search Sams locker since it was their property and
James had reasonable grounds to believe that Sam had drugs or used drugs based on the strong
odor of marijuana that he smelled on Sam. A police officer can rely on their own sense of smell
in ascertaining the presence of illegal drugs or alcohol, this would most likely apply to a
principal. An arrest occurs when police take an individual into custody for purposes of criminal
prosecution or interrogation. Probable cause is always required for any valid arrest. Probable
cause is trustworthy facts or knowledge sufficient for a reasonable person to believe that the
suspect has committed or is planning to commit a crime. Sam would not be able to suppress that
evidence obtained from his locker.

Mark has filed a motion to suppress his statement to Ian and all the evidence found at his house.
How should the court rule?

Informant
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in conversations carried on with
government informants or undercover officers. Courts use the totality of the circumstances test to
determine whether information provide by a police informant is sufficient to create probable
cause. Post indictment statements that D makes to a police informant are inadmissible when the
police intentionally create a situation likely to induce the D into making incriminating statements
about the crime for which he was indicted without the assistance of counsel. There is no sixth
Amendment violation, however, if the police place an informant in the Ds cell simply to listen
and report the defendants statements, without questioning the defendant.
Here, the evidence provided by Ian, a paid police informant. The police told Ian not to
question Mark about the drugs or his supplier, but told him to report any statements that Mark
made. Mark told Ian that the police missed the stash of drugs, guns, and cash that he had
hidden in a crawlspace. Ian told the police and they found the hidden stash. This evidence cannot
be suppressed since under the Sixth Amendment it is perfectly legal for the police to do this.

Fourth Amendment - Search and Seizure

As said above, the fourth amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure. A
warrant to arrest an individual implicitly authorizes entry into the arrestees home to serve the
warrant if the police have probable cause to believe that the arrestee is present.

Here, the stash of drugs, guns, and cash was found in a crawlspace under the house. This
would be considered curtilage. Curtilage is the immediate area surrounding the home that is
covered by the umbrella of the homes Fourth Amendment protection. To be considered
curtilage: it must be the proximity of the area to the home; whether the area is included within an
enclosure surrounding the home; the nature of the uses to which the area is put; and whether
there were steps taken by the resident to protect the area from observation by passersby. This
evidence would not be able to be suppressed either. The tip from the informant was enough to
satisfy probable cause and gave the police the right to search Marks home and his curtilage.