Criminal Procedure

The 4th Amendment can only be violated by pubicly paid police, private individuals acting at the direction of public police, or privately paid police who have been deputized with the power to make arrests.

In order for a search warrant to be valid, it needs to show probable cause that a particular item / evidence of crime will be found at a particularly stated place to be searched.

• A defective warrant does not violate the 4th Amendment if the officer relied on the warrant in good faith. However, the 4th Amendment is nonetheless violated if
• - the warrant is so defective such that no reasonable police officer would have relied upon it,
• - or if the police lied or mislead the magistrate when seeking the warrant,
• - or if the magistrate was biased.

A search incident to a lawful arrest can be made in the areas where the arrestee could reach to procure a weapon or destroy evidence.

• A search incident to a lawful arrest in a car can include the passenger compartment of a car if the arrestee is unsecured and can still access the interior of the car or if the police reasonably believes that evidence of the offense for which the individual was arrested for may be found in the car.

• However, the trunk of the car cannot be searched incident to an arrest.

• Police can search any area inside a car which could reasonably contain an item of evidence they had probable cause to look for.

• Probable cause must exist prior to anything or anybody is searched.

A valid consent to a search must be voluntary, and intelligent.

A Terry stop involving a brief detention can be made based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. A frisk of the outer clothing and body can be made to check for weapons.

• Miranda warnings are required under the 5th Amendment if the individual is held in custody (such that they reasonably believe that they are not free to leave) and are interrogated by police in a way that might elicit an incriminating response.

• Miranda warnings are not required prior to the admissibility of spontaneous statements by the suspect.
• Once the defendant asserts his right to terminate the interrogation and
• requests and attorney, reinitiating of interrogation by police without attorney
• present violates the 5th Amendment.

A waiver of Miranda rights must be knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.

Defendants have the right to an unbiased judge who does not have a financial interest in the outcome of the case and does not have some actual malice against the defendant.

• Retrial is permitted where

• - jury is unable to agree upon a verdict
• - Mistrials for manifest necessity
• - there has been a successful appeal
• - there has been a beach of a plea bargain by the defendant
• There is no double jeopardy where
• - the trials are for two crimes, where each requires proof of an additional element in not in the other