NCJ Number
140578
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 40 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1992) Pages: 94-96
Date Published
1992
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Four United States Supreme Court decisions during 1990- 91 have determined, clarified, and modified constitutional rights under the fourth, fifth, and sixth Amendments and have thereby made it crucial for law enforcement agencies to develop policies, procedures, and competent training to insure that these rights are not compromised.
Abstract
In McNeil v. Wisconsin, the Court decided that confessions by a criminal defendant are admissible in court so long as they relate to offenses and charges for which that defendant was not initially in custody, but was given the appropriate advisal of their rights. In Florida v. Jimeno, the Court held that if a motorist gives the police a general consent to search their vehicle, that consent also permits the opening of closed containers in the vehicle. Similarly, in California v. Acevedo, the Court held that it was permissible to make a warrantless search of a closed container within a stopped vehicle so long as there was probable cause for the initial stop and probable cause for the initial search of the vehicle. Finally, in Florida v. Bostick, the Court permitted, as part of drug interdiction efforts, officers aboard a bus during a routine, random stop and boarding of that bus, to question passengers without articulable suspicion and obtain their consent to search their luggage.