NCJ Number
80194
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This is the introduction by Charles E. Moylan, Associate Judge of the Maryland Special Court of Appeals, on the connotations of the fourth amendment, which he explores in the course of a 10-hour lecture series.
Abstract
The right against unreasonable search and seizure is that ensured by the fourth amendment. It merits such indepth exploration because it represents an intersection of criminal and constitutional law, which has given rise to much confusing interpretation. The speaker's pedagogical approach concentrates on fundamentals; he believes that an understanding of the basic purpose behind the rule will equip one to grasp easily all the latest interpretive criteria. Two often neglected threshold questions need to be asked with reference to the fourth amendment: Is there applicability and is there compliance? The latter question does not arise if the answer to the former is negative. Applicability is assessed as to the place, the trespasser, the victim, and waiver. The first criterion distinguishes core zones of property from the open fields concept, as well as the intensity and the scope of entry. Basically, search and seizure are permissible only with a warrant or by virtue of specific exceptions, which are search incident, automobile, hot pursuit, stop and frisk, plain view, and consent. In a court of law, search under warrant is always preferable to warrantless activity. The granting of the warrant by a neutral and detached third branch, the judiciary, which stands between the executive power of enforcement and the suspect, is the crucial step in the protection of individual rights and the basic balance of power. For subsequent lectures in the series, see NCJ 80195-80201 and NCJ 80203-04.