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Definition
| A search warrant issued on the basis of probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime, while not presently at the place described, will likely be there when the warrant is executed. |
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Term
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Definition
| The act of taking an adult or juvenile into physical custody by authority of law for the purpose of charging the person with a criminal offense, a delinquent act, or a status offense, terminating with the recording of a specific offense. Technically, an arrest occurs whenever a law enforcement officer curtails a person's freedom to leave. |
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Definition
| The popular name given to the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which are considered especially important in the processing of criminal defendants. |
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Definition
| A legal concept that provides a basis for suspicionless searches when public safety is at stake. (Urinanalysis tests of train engineers are an example.) It is the concept on which the U.S. Supreme Court cases of Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives Association (1989) & National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab (1989) turned. In those cases, the Court held that public safety may sometimes provide a sufficiently compelling interest to justify limiting an individual's right to privacy. |
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Term
| Digital Criminal Forensics |
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Definition
| The lawful seizure, acquisition, analysis, reporting, & safeguarding of data from digital devices that may contain information of evidentiary value to the trier of fact in criminal events. |
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Term
| Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) |
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Definition
| A law passed by Congress in 1986 establishing the due process requirements that law enforcement officers must meet in order to legally intercept wire communications. |
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Definition
| Information & data of investigative value that are stored in or transmitted by an electronic device. |
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Definition
| A search conducted by the police without a warrant, which is justified on the basis of some immediate & overriding need, such as public safety, the likely escape of a dangerous suspect, or the removal or destruction of evidence. |
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Term
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Definition
| The understanding, based on U.S. Supreme Court precedent, that incriminating information must be seized according to constitutional specifications of due process or it will not be allowed as evidence in a criminal trial. |
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Term
| Fleeting-Targets Exception |
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Definition
| An exception to the exclusionary principle rule that permits law enforcement officers to search a motor vehicle based on probable cause & without a warrant. The fleeting-targets exception is predicated on the fact that vehicles can quickly leave the jurisdiction of a law enforcement agency. |
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Term
| Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine |
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Definition
| A legal principle that excludes from introduction at trial any evidence later developed as a result of an illegal search or seizure. |
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Term
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Definition
| An exception to the exclusionary rule. Law enforcement officers who conduct a search or who seize evidence on the basis of good faith (that is, when they believe they are operating according to the dictates of the law) & who later discover that a mistake was made (perhaps in the format of the application for a search warrant) may still provide evidence that can be used in court. |
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Term
| Illegally Seized Evidence |
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Definition
| Evidence seized without regard to the principles of due process as described by the Bill of Rights. Most illegally seized evidence is the result of police searches conducted without a proper warrant or of improperly conducted interrogations. |
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Definition
| The tactics used by police interviewers that fall short of physical abuse but that nonetheless pressure suspects to divulge information. |
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Term
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Definition
| The information-gathering activity of police officers that involve the direct questioning of suspects. |
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Term
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Definition
| A precedent-setting court decision that produces substantial changes in both the understanding of the requirements of due process & the practical day-to-day operations of the justice system. |
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Term
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Definition
| Evidence of relevance to a criminal investigation that is not readily seen by the unaided eye. |
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Term
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Definition
| The dual principles of custody & interrogation, both of which are necessary before an advisement of rights is required. |
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Term
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Definition
| The advisement of rights due criminal suspects by the police before questioning begins. Miranda warnings were first set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1966 case of Miranda v. Arizona. |
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Term
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Definition
| A legal term dsecribing the ready visibility of objects that might be seized as evidence during a search by police in the absence of a search warrant specifying the seizure of those objects. To lawfully seize evidence in plain view, officers must have a legal right to be in the viewing area & must have cause to believe that the evidence is somehow associated with criminal activity. |
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Term
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Definition
| A set of facts & circumstances that would induce a reasonably intelligent & prudent person to believe that a particular other person has committed a specific crime. Also, reasonable groudns to make or believe an accusation. Probable cause refers to the necessary level of belief that would allow for police seizures (arrests) of individuals & full searches of dwellings, vehicles, & possessions. |
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Term
| Psychological Manipulation |
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Definition
| Manipulative actions by police interviewers that are designed to pressure suspects to divulge information & that are based on subtle forms of intimidation & control. |
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Term
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Definition
| The level of suspicion that would justify an officer in making further inquiry or conducting further investigation. Reasonable suspicion may permit stopping a person for questioning or for a simple pat-down search. Also, a belief, based on a consideration of the facts at hand & on reasonable inferences drawn from those facts, that would induce an ordinarily prudent & cautious person under the same circumstances to conclude that criminal activity is taking place or that criminal activity has recently occurred. Reasonable suspicion is a general & reasonable belief that a crime is in progress or has occurred, whereas probable cause is a reasonable belief that a particular person has committed a specific crime. |
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Term
| Search Incident to an Arrest |
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Definition
| A warrantless search of an arrested invidual conducted to ensure the safety of an arresting officer. Because individuals placed under arrest may be in possession of weapons, courts have recognized the need for arresting officers to protect themselves by conducting an immediate search of arrestees without obtaining a warrant. |
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Definition
| A search that ocurs in the suspect's absence & without his or her prior knowledge. |
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Term
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Definition
| A search conducted by law enforcement personnel without a warrant & without suspicion. Suspicionless searches are permissible only if based on an overriding concern for public safety. |
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Term
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Definition
| A writ issued from an appellate court for the purpose of obtaining from a lower court the record of its proceedings in a particular case. In some states, the writ is the mechanism for discretionary review. A request for review is made by petitioning for a writ of certiorari, & the granting of the review is indicated by the issuance of the writ. |
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