Introduction to Criminal Procedures

1. Discuss the issues regarding computer searches and the following: search and seizure, probable cause, and reasonable expectation of privacy.?
2. Searches of probationers and parolees are a special needs situation, and are permitted without a search warrant. Explain the justification for this exception.?
3. Define and describe the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement. What are the four general types of circumstances that are typically recognized as being exigent circumstances??

Chapter Eight

1. Define and provide an example of a pretext (pretextual) motor vehicle stop. What did the U.S. Supreme Court say about such stops in Whren v. U.S. (1996)? Explain why you agree or disagree with that decision.?
2. What types of checkpoints or roadblocks have been approved or disapproved by the U.S. Supreme Court? Do you agree or disagree with the Court’s decisions on any or all of these types? Explain your position.
3. The authority of the police to search a vehicle without a warrant and based on probable cause is extensive. Name the three things that an officer can do after the vehicle is stopped, when the officer has probable cause for the search and the vehicle is mobile. How does the reasonable expectation of privacy support the need for a warrant to search locked trunks or glove compartments? Explain your answer.?
4. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that although a vehicle stop is a form of seizure, the motorist is not fully protected by the Fourth Amendment. Explain the reasons given by the Supreme Court in this decision. Do you agree? Why or why not??
   Chapter Nine:
5. What are four factors that can be used to distinguish between the open fields and curtilage? Provide examples.?
6. Define abandoned property and discuss the guidelines for determining when items are considered abandoned.?
7. An officer is coming out of a house after responding to a call. She sees pots of marijuana inside a fenced yard next door. Discuss the different requirements for the admissibility of what she sees and what is required to seize the marijuana.?

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