Reference no: EM133804050
Questions
1. Police Officer Brown observes Cassandra steal a cell phone from a man's pocket. As Brown approaches Cassandra, she darts off. He draws his baton and throws it at her feet, intending to stop her. Brown's aim is bad and he hits her in the head. She is dazed and bleeding but escapes. She suffers a concussion and nearly dies in the hospital two days later. Cassandra sues Brown, alleging that he used excessive force under the Fourth Amendment. Brown moves to dismiss her lawsuit on the theory that the Fourth Amendment doesn't apply because she wasn't seized. Should Brown's motion be dismissed or granted? Explain your answer.
2. A police officer is approached by a man on the street who tells the officer that he was just robbed. The man points out the robber, who is standing in a park just across the street. Must the officer obtain a warrant to make the arrest?
3. A police officer is approached by a man on the street who tells the officer that he was just robbed. Although he did not see where the robber fled, he knew the assailant's name and address, as the two men "grew up together." The officer and the victim went to the police station and completed an incident report. After a telephone call to one of suspect's neighbors, they learned that he was at home. Must the officer obtain a warrant to make the arrest?
4. The same facts as in question 3, except that the victim points to a fleeing suspect. The officer chases the suspect to a house, where the officer sees the suspect enter with the use of a key. Must the officer end the chase and obtain a warrant?
5. Assume that officers have a valid search warrant for the defendant's apartment. The warrant specifies that the officers may search for a stolen bicycle. May the officers do the following?
6. Ling is a suspect in an embezzlement investigation. The police believe that she has hidden evidence in her neighbor's house, without the neighbor's consent. The neighbor will not consent to a search. Can the police obtain a search warrant for the non-suspect's home, and if so, what is required?
7. What is the plain view doctrine?
8. What is curtilage? Open fields? Why are the concepts important in criminal law?
9. Distinguish an investigatory stop from an arrest; a frisk from a search.