The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was put in place to regulate and guard against unlawful searches and seizures. It states that no unreasonable searches can be conducted without a warrant or written statement by the proper authority giving permission for the inspection. However, there are quite a few exceptions to this amendment that accommodate unique circumstances.
1. Consent: This is the most common form of warrantless searches. Probable cause is also not required as long as the person consenting to the search has the proper authority to do so. A person can withdraw consent at anytime during a search. In consent is no longer given, it is required that the officer conducting the search stops immediately. However, if during the course of a search the officer finds probable cause or develops reasonable suspicion, the right to retract consent is lost. Additionally, officers are not required to conduct the search in a manner that provides the person with a chance to revoke consent (i.e. executing the search in plain view or inspecting the property slowly enough that the suspect may withdraw consent). The only cases where consent cannot be refused is during prison visitation or an airport security screening.
2. Plain View Doctrine: This exception permits an officer to search and seize property that is in plain sight if it is believed to be contraband or criminal evidence. The officer is not allowed to move items in order to get a better view.
3. Crime Scenes and Emergency Aid: In the event of an emergency, an officer has justifiable cause to enter a residence or business without a search warrant. However, once assistance has been provided and there is no longer a crisis, the officer may only seize items that are undoubtedly evidence of a crime, by applying the Plain View Doctrine.
4. The Motor Vehicle Exception: Due to the many regulations they are under, there is a lower expectation of privacy concerning motor vehicles. As long as the officer has probable cause to believe the vehicle contains evidence or contraband, he/she is not required to obtain a search warrant prior to inspection, even if there is opportunity and time to do so. The searchable area can include the entire vehicle and any containers found within. It is not required that the items belong to the vehicle's owner.
5. Public School Students: This remains one of the most controversial forms of warrantless searches. In the case of New Jersey v. T.L.O., a public school search can only be considered valid when there is "reasonable suspicion that the search will turn up evidence that the student has violated or is violating either the law or the rules of the school." However, searches cannot be discriminatory or overly intrusive in a way.
6. National Borders: These searches, first permitted by Congress in 1789, do not require probable cause, a warrant, or even suspicion, to be valid. Rather, it was stated by the court in United States v. Ramsey that "searches made at the border, pursuant to the longstanding right of the sovereign to protect itself by stopping and examining persons and property crossing into the country, are reasonable simply by virtue of the fact that they occur at the border." The law allows that, under reasonable suspicion, people can be held in custody at the border for up to 16 hours.
7. Open Fields: This is another exemption in which officers may conduct searches in open fields-even when it may be considered trespassing-without obtaining a warrant. Additionally, in the case of Oliver v. United States, the court stated that refuse, abandoned materials, and public areas are also not protected by the Fourth Amendment.
If you feel like you were unlawfully searched or stopped by law enforcement, contact a Maryland lawyer today. Over the years, a Columbia criminal defense attorney has helped hundreds of people in situations probably very similar to the one you find yourself in.
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