NCJ Number
127817
Date Published
1990
Length
39 pages
Annotation
In discussing specific circumstances that do not fall under search-and-seizure law, this chapter presents significant U.S. Supreme Court and Federal circuit court decisions pertinent to privacy expectations, searches in open fields, the seizure of property in plain view, and the seizure of property that has been abandoned.
Abstract
The seizure of property or materials regarding which persons have no reasonable expectation of privacy is not covered by search-and-seizure law. In a relevant case presented in this chapter, the soles of a detainee's shoes were held not to be subject to constitutional protection. Open fields are also excluded from the protection of search-and-seizure law. One court case reviewed held that the erection of a fence, locked gates, and no-trespassing signs placed around a secluded field did not create a legitimate expectation of privacy. In another case presented, a barn located 50 yards from a ranch house was found to be outside the resident area where there would be a reasonable expectation of privacy. Seven cases are presented to delineate the parameters for a plain-view search not protected by search-and-seizure law. Among the observations permitted in these cases are aerial observations and items viewed in the course of a legitimate arrest. In the two court cases presented to show the exclusion of abandoned property from search-and-seizure protection, garbage left outside the home for collection is excluded as is abandoned property intentionally discarded without police coercion.