Probable Cause, Search Warrant, And Evidence Handling In Criminal Cases

Probable Cause

You have been working as a police officer for the Centervale Police Department for two years. You are on your nightly patrol in your marked police vehicle with your partner, Edward, who has been on the force for seven years. You receive a call on the radio to respond to a domestic abuse situation requiring backup. Your partner and you are second to respond to the call. You arrive at the scene, which is in a neighborhood with a bad reputation. Upon arrival, you witness a couple, Abby and Bobby, standing outside their house, yelling obscenities at each other.

The couple refuses to calm down and speak with the officers, Christina and David, who are already on the scene. The girlfriend, Abby, is slurring her speech and seems unaware of the trickle of blood running down the side of her head. The boyfriend, Bobby, has extremely bloodshot eyes and does not appear to have slept in days. Moreover, Bobby's speech is accelerated, and he's breathing rapidly as if he has just sprinted from the drugstore down the block. You notice that Bobby's hands and face have scratches all over them.

Also, the front door is open.

Your partner, Edward, has known this couple as they have been in trouble with the law before. He steps in between Abby and Bobby and begins to gather information from Abby, while you call for an ambulance.

As Edward speaks with the couple, you begin to walk around the yard, observing what you can. You look in through the front door, and while there is only one light on in the house, you observe what appears to be a bong and a baggie of marijuana on the coffee table in the front room of the house. Because Edward is standing with Abby and there are two other officers outside with Bobby, you decide to enter the house to take a closer look.

You discover that there is indeed a bong and a baggie of marijuana on the table. Looking under the couch next to the coffee table, you discover a shotgun as well. You begin to wonder what other illegal items might be in the house, when you hear a yell from outside and run out to discover that Bobby is being handcuffed and put in a police car. Apparently, Bobby tried to use a weapon on Abby in front of Edward and the other officers.

He is quoted as saying, "Just because the cops are here doesn't mean I won't finish what I started!" as he reached for his waistband.

As Bobby is being driven away, Abby breaks down into tears and cries out after her boyfriend, "Don't worry, baby! I'll come bail you out as soon as I can turn a little profit with the goods!"

You tell your partner what you observed in the house. After the paramedics declare that Abby's head injury is nothing more than a bad scratch, your partner and you drive Abby down to the police precinct for further questioning, leaving Christina and David at the scene to secure it until more investigation can be done.

Utilizing APA guidelines and citing relevant case law and specific details from external sources, present a research paper that explains what you need to do next with respect to the evidence left behind at the scene. In addition, consider what you need to do with any other evidence you may discover at the precinct from Abby and Bobby or on their persons. As you consider your next steps, address the following issues:

Do you have probable cause to arrest Abby for any crime? Explain.

What information, if any, must you list on an affidavit to secure a search warrant for Abby and Bobby's house?

What actions (or inactions) taken by officers Christina and David were relevant with respect to the evidence you discovered on the scene?

What is the scope of your warrant?

Should you search Abby and Bobby upon their arrival at the precinct? What do you expect to discover on their persons and at the crime scene? How will you obtain evidence that may or may not be found on Abby and Bobby's person? For instance, they may have drugs in their pockets, or Bobby may have another weapon on his person.

Probable Cause

Probable cause, under the criminal law shows the possible reasons for arresting a person in the circumstances which were present, on the basis of the facts which are present in the ambit of law enforcement officers, the result of which is a suspicion being formed, or a belief or view being formed in the matter of crime being committed, or presently being drawn up or currently being undertaken (Gunther, 2014). To state the same in short, such evidence which points towards a crime being undertaken gives rise to a probable cause (Wolf, 2016). The case study given here shows an abundance of evidence, along with the presence of such circumstances which present probable cause for the arrest. The initial basis for probable cause in this case is the marijuana baggie and the bong which was present in the premises. Also, the shotgun, giving an unlawful appearance gave probable cause. The presence of marijuana and shotgun gives the reason for arresting Abby due to the illegality of the possession of these items. Any prudent officer would have done the same.

The sale of marijuana presents another opportunity for probable arrest. Possession of marijuana, for medicinal purposes is permissible in USA; though, the sale of it is not (Find Law, 2017a). The sale was proved from the statement made by her to Bobby for bailing him by making profit from the goods sold. This gave the officers probable suspicion that she was about to sell off the marijuana. So, the suspicion of a crime being committed was indeed present.

Attaining a search warrant for any place requires the filing of an affidavit which contains the information giving the basis for the search warrant. For searching the house of Abby and Bobby and getting search warrant so that the evidence regarding marijuana and shotgun can be attained, certain specified information has to be present in affidavit. The initial step is to present probable cause as being the substantive requirement. There is a need to show a link between the house and the crime; has to be based on law and these have to be properly stated in descriptive requirements (Free Advice, 2017).

Required information for Search Warrant

There is also a need to clearly state which place will be searched and what is being looked out for. So, the officers have to show that they looked for more weapons and marijuana in the house. There is a need to properly detail the house so that the wrong house is not being searched (Supreme Court of Virginia, 2017).

The first responders have a major role at the crime scene. They can control and even influence the evidence which is present at the scene; and at the crime scene, they have the duty of preserving the same, so as to properly identify the evidence. The safety and lives at the crime scene have to be firstly saved. This was properly done by Christina and David by calming the couple to tackle the situation. This also ensured that they did not run away with evidence (Schiro, 2017). However, Christina and David failed to secure the crime scene. The open front door presented an opportunity for the evidence to be destroyed or tampered with. And this could have acted as a barrier in getting arrest warrant for the lack of evidence.

The search of vehicles, premises or people is authorized through the law in form of search warrant, for attaining evidence related to the crime and also to take possession of such evidence. It has to be used for the reason for which it has been granted (Broyles, 2011). However, a decision of Supreme Court, given in 1981 provided that the search warrants can be used to detain the people occupying the house, during the course of search. The rationale behind this is to bring down the risk factor or an obstruction caused during search (The New York Times, 2013). The case study has the search warrant for searching the Abby and Bobby’s house for guns and drugs.

Once the person has been arrested, the police have the power of patting the suspect to check him and this can also be done without arrest, simply on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. However, a probable cause is required to be established in such cases and this is referred to as search incident to arrest. So, Abby and Bobby can be patted down, as the probable cause has already been shown. There is a possible of the couple having guns or drugs on their person, as cases have been noted where drugs have been hidden in the buttocks clenched tightly by suspect (Kanovitz, 2014). Hence, upon the couple’s arrival at precinct, they can be searched.

Police Officers Actions

For attaining the required evidence, there is a need to maintain the chain of evidence, for the evidence to be accepted by the court as evidence. Hence, it is crucial to ensure that there is no infringement of the constitutional rights of the people. There is a need to read the rights to the suspects and maintain the chain of custody. This chain shows the documentation and the proper care is taken for the evidence, from the seizing time to such time when the same is presented at the trial. The evidence loses the requisite credibility if the chain of custody is broken and this renders the evidence as being inadmissible by the court (Find Law, 2017b).

There is also an availability of the Fifth Amendment Right for the suspects, as per which, they cannot be forced to submit to tests or make a statement. Hence, the evidence has to be collected after getting a court order or by obtaining the suspect’s permission. In the case of U.S. v. Edmo, 140 F.3d 1289 (9th Cir. 1998), the rule of Schmerber was applied, as per which the law enforcement officers were allowed to take the urine sample of the suspect, who had been arrested in a lawful manner for the possession of a weapon when this suspect was under controlled substance’s influence (Rutledge, 2005). Hence, on these bases, the evidence can be attained/ gathered from the couple.

References

Broyles, S. (2011). Criminal Law in the USA. Netherlands: Kluwer Law International.

Find Law. (2017a). Medical Marijuana - An Overview. Retrieved from: https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/medical-marijuana-an-overview.html

Find Law. (2017b). How to Suppress Evidence. Retrieved from: https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/how-to-suppress-evidence.html

Free Advice. (2017). A License to Search: Requirements of a Valid Search Warrant. Retrieved from: https://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/arrests_and_searches/warrant-requirements.htm

Gunther, M. (2014) Probable Cause. Netherlands: Schilt Publishing.

Kanovitz, J. (2014). Constitutional Law. Oxon: Routledge, p. 389.

Rutledge, D. (2005). Taking Evidence from the Suspect. Retrieved from: https://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/articles/2005/12/point-of-law.aspx

Schiro, G. (2017). Protecting the Crime Scene. Retrieved from: https://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/evidenc1.html

Supreme Court of Virginia. (2017). Affidavit For Search Warrant. Retrieved from: https://www.courts.state.va.us/forms/district/dc338.pdf

The New York Times. (2013). The Scope of a Search Warrant. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/opinion/the-scope-of-a-search-warrant.html

Wolf, D. (2016). Probable Cause for Vengeance. New York: Page Publishing Inc.