Search and Seizure
Karmen Lanman
Unit 2 Assignment
Kaplan University
Did Officer Smith have reasonable suspicion to make the initial stop of the vehicle? Well the definition of reasonable suspicion is: it’s the legal
standard of proof in the United States that is less than probable cause but more
than an “inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or hunch”. Basically, when an
officer has a reasonable suspicion, it means that the facts or circumstances
would lead a reasonable person to believe that a crime has or is about to be
committed. Officer Smith did have a reason to pull over the vehicle. She believed
that the taillight was broken and covered with colored tape. It’s a simple traffic
stop which she did have reason to do. For a traffic stop you really don’t need all
that much to go on, you just need to see the person committing a simple traffic
violation or see that their vehicle is impaired in any way in order to pull them
over. So yes Officer Smith did have reasonable suspicion to pull the car over in
the first place.
1. Was the “pat-down” of the driver legal? “Stop and frisk” was discussed in
the case of Terry v Ohio from 1968. In the case an experienced plain clothes
officer observed 3 men acting suspiciously in front of a store. The officer
concluded that they were casing the store, preparing to rob it so he approached
them. He identified himself as a police officer and asked for their names. He was
not satisfied with their answers, so he subjected one of the men to a search. He
patted down the man’s clothing in which he felt a gun and one was removed from
the man’s clothing for which he had no permit. The defendants ended up arguing
that the search violated their Fourth Amendment rights because it was not
supported by probable cause. The court sided with the Officer saying that stops
and frisks are less intrusive than full blown searches. It also stated that officers
need to have some leeway
Unit 2 Assignment
Kaplan University
Did Officer Smith have reasonable suspicion to make the initial stop of the vehicle? Well the definition of reasonable suspicion is: it’s the legal
standard of proof in the United States that is less than probable cause but more
than an “inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or hunch”. Basically, when an
officer has a reasonable suspicion, it means that the facts or circumstances
would lead a reasonable person to believe that a crime has or is about to be
committed. Officer Smith did have a reason to pull over the vehicle. She believed
that the taillight was broken and covered with colored tape. It’s a simple traffic
stop which she did have reason to do. For a traffic stop you really don’t need all
that much to go on, you just need to see the person committing a simple traffic
violation or see that their vehicle is impaired in any way in order to pull them
over. So yes Officer Smith did have reasonable suspicion to pull the car over in
the first place.
1. Was the “pat-down” of the driver legal? “Stop and frisk” was discussed in
the case of Terry v Ohio from 1968. In the case an experienced plain clothes
officer observed 3 men acting suspiciously in front of a store. The officer
concluded that they were casing the store, preparing to rob it so he approached
them. He identified himself as a police officer and asked for their names. He was
not satisfied with their answers, so he subjected one of the men to a search. He
patted down the man’s clothing in which he felt a gun and one was removed from
the man’s clothing for which he had no permit. The defendants ended up arguing
that the search violated their Fourth Amendment rights because it was not
supported by probable cause. The court sided with the Officer saying that stops
and frisks are less intrusive than full blown searches. It also stated that officers
need to have some leeway
References: What is reasonable suspicion? http://www.flexyourrights.org/faqs/what-is-reasonable-suspicion/ What is the definition of Stop and Frisk? http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Stop+and+Frisk What is considered exigent circumstances? http://www.lectlaw.com/def/e063.htm What is the definition of plain view? http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Plain+View+Doctrine