Search and Seizure

Posted: February 21st, 2020

Search and Seizure

Name:

Institution:

Search and Seizure

The United States Constitution establishes provisions that protect civilians as well as criminal suspects from irrational searches done on their person or property. Specifically, the Fourth Amendment protects citizens and suspects from unreasonable searches by police officers. Aside from this, the Fourth Amendment ensures that civilians or suspects are prohibited from initiating unlawful arrests.  The laws on search and seizure reiterate on the right of the person to privacy. With protection against irrational searches or seizures, civilians are secured from the threat of suspicion by ensuring that their Fourth Amendment privileges are safeguarded in the best way possible via emphasis on limited circumstances and application of particular measures. 

Definition of Search and Seizure

In criminal law, the term ‘search’ refers to the act of examining the premises of another person, including his or her vehicle, for proof of participation in criminal activity (The Free Dictionary, n. d.). Based on the definition of this term, the act is declared unconstitutional within the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments in the event that a search warrant is not presented by the law enforcement officers carrying out the task. Secondly, the term ‘search’ involves tracing the records of possession of a real property, commonly referred to as a ‘title search’ (The Free Dictionary, n. d.). Third, the term ‘search’ is an evaluation established within the appropriate lien for judgments, mortgages, or other impediments against real estate (The Free Dictionary, n. d.). Eventually, the certification provided by the officer as per the performance of the assessment constitutes a search.

The word ‘seizure’ in criminal law first implies the taking of possible evidence by law enforcement personnel in a particular criminal case (The Free Dictionary, n. d.). The second definition of ‘seizure’ involves the forcible acquisition of certain property by law enforcement agencies from an individual suspected or accused of engaging in legal violations. Secondly, the term ‘seizure’ involves the act of taking a property carried out by a law enforcement officer under the authorization of a court order in the event that the defendant is legally required to reimburse a specific sum of money to another person (The Free Dictionary, n. d.). In this respect, the property is ‘seized’ in order to ensure that it can be legally sold under the power of the court.

Based on the legal definitions of the respective terms, it is hard to negate the relationship between the acts of search and seizure. Accordingly, the former allows law enforcement personnel to engage in the evaluation of property especially if a person or a known criminal is suspected of legal violations. Once the act has been ordained by the presentation of a search warrant, the act of seizure follows suit. In this respect, law enforcement personnel possess the authority to ‘search’ for evidence and seize ‘property’ that may come across as probable evidence (Hall, 2010). Additionally, the identification of probable cause is imperative in reinforcing the need for an act of search and seizure on the premises of a suspected civilian or a criminal.

The Stop and Frisk Procedure

One police procedure that relates to the notion of search and seizure involves the stop and frisk process. Based on the laws governing search and seizure, a police officer can detain a person and conduct a frisk if he or she suspects the defendant of bearing a concealed weapon (Hall, 2010). Additionally, this form of restricted search takes place when police officers confront a suspect in order to prevent the possible occurrence of a criminal activity. Usually, with the stop and frisk search, police officers are required to pat down a suspected individual for the purpose of fully ascertaining whether he or she possess any weapons. Despite the procedure’s relation to the search process, the stop and frisk process is considerably limited to the external garments of the respective suspect. Furthermore, the process does not intrude the suspect’s premises since it focuses specifically on the probable evidence of weapons on the suspect’s person.

Example of a Search or Seizure Scenario

In this illustration, the person under suspicion by police personnel has been accused of engaging in the growth of Cannabis sativa within his own compound. Accordingly, the suspect was accused by his immediate neighbor for taking part in the activity due to the smell originating while the suspect was in his house, police officers stormed and confirmed that the suspect was indeed responsible for the cultivation of the illegal drug in his backyard. In addition, some of the products in the suspect’s house were confiscated from his confines. Even though the suspect rebuffed the claims, the neighbor eventually informed the local police of his suspicions. As a result, police officers went to the house of the individual in an effort to confirm the allegations forwarded by the neighbor’s concern. At night, product was stored in plastic bags in his living room. Due to the evidence, the suspect was taken into custody. Furthermore, the plastic bags as well as the cultivated plants were seized.

Despite the confirmation of the allegations, the police officers who took part in the search and seizure exercise contravened the specifications offered by the Fourth Amendment. Foremost, the search and seizure of the suspect’s property took place without the presentation of a search warrant. Accordingly, a warrant legally authorizes the police to search a suspect’s premises for evidence that may link him or her to probable criminal activity. Despite the lack of a warrant, the police contravened the right of the suspect by intruding his privacy, searching the premises, and seizing his property illegally. On the other hand, it may be possible to assert that the police officers did not violate any ethical concerns due to the aspect of probable cause.

Conclusion

To this end, the search and seizure laws govern the processes used by police officers in the examination of a suspect’s or a civilian’s premises for evidence that may allude possible involvement in crime. Alternately, the respective laws also focus on the protection of civilians from the violation of their rights as stipulated in the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. Even though the respective laws may appear to be direct, they require considerable interpretation in order to ensure the best possible decision especially in a court of law is implemented.

References

Hall, J. W. (2010). Search and seizure. Charlottesville, VA: LEXIS Law Pub.

The Free Dictionary. (n. d.). Retrieved from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Seizure+%28law%29