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Old 04-23-2008, 10:39 AM   #1 (permalink)
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Supreme Court overturns 4th Amendment

Quote:
Supreme Court says police may search even if arrest invalid

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court affirmed Wednesday that police have the power to conduct searches and seize evidence, even when done during an arrest that turns out to have violated state law.

The unanimous decision comes in a case from Portsmouth, Va., where city detectives seized crack cocaine from a motorist after arresting him for a traffic ticket offense.

David Lee Moore was pulled over for driving on a suspended license. The violation is a minor crime in Virginia and calls for police to issue a court summons and let the driver go.

Instead, city detectives arrested Moore and prosecutors say that drugs taken from him in a subsequent search can be used against him as evidence.

"We reaffirm against a novel challenge what we have signaled for half a century," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote.

Scalia said that when officers have probable cause to believe a person has committed a crime in their presence, the Fourth Amendment permits them to make an arrest and to search the suspect in order to safeguard evidence and ensure their own safety.

Moore was convicted on a drug charge and sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison.

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled that police should have released Moore and could not lawfully conduct a search.

State law, said the Virginia Supreme Court, restricted officers to issuing a ticket in exchange for a promise to appear later in court. Virginia courts dismissed the indictment against Moore.

Moore argued that the Fourth Amendment permits a search only following a lawful state arrest.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she finds more support for Moore's position in previous court cases than the rest of the court does. But she said she agrees that the arrest and search of Moore was constitutional, even though it violated Virginia law.

The Bush administration and attorneys general from 18 states lined up in support of Virginia prosecutors.

The federal government said Moore's case had the potential to greatly increase the class of unconstitutional arrests, resulting in evidence seized during searches being excluded with increasing frequency.

Looking to state laws to provide the basis for searches would introduce uncertainty into the legal system, the 18 states said in court papers.
You'll have to forgive me, but I'm probably going to fall on dksuddeth's side on this one. The 4th Amendment is not actually that complex. The search is only admissible if the arrest is legal. This, of course, is to prevent the police from searching when and where they want by using BS arrests that would never hold up. It's a very simple concept.

I was watching Boston Legal (or Drugs for Liberals) last night and the main character, Alan Shore, appeared before the supreme court in order to defend a mentally disabled man from being executed. During the course of his opening arguments, he got off topic and began to read the supreme court justices the riot act over becoming partisan. I was almost in tears, and I find it to be quite relevant. I hope you'll watch (starts at 3:29):

I advise you to watch this quickly, as it will be removed soon.

Last edited by Willravel; 04-23-2008 at 10:44 AM..
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Old 04-23-2008, 10:51 AM   #2 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by willravel
You'll have to forgive me, but I'm probably going to fall on dksuddeth's side on this one. The 4th Amendment is not actually that complex. The search is only admissible if the arrest is legal. This, of course, is to prevent the police from searching when and where they want by using BS arrests that would never hold up. It's a very simple concept.

I was watching Boston Legal (or Drugs for Liberals) last night and the main character, Alan Shore, appeared before the supreme court in order to defend a mentally disabled man from being executed. During the course of his opening arguments, he got off topic and began to read the supreme court justices the riot act over becoming partisan. I was almost in tears, and I find it to be quite relevant. I hope you'll watch (starts at 3:29):
I advise you to watch this quickly, as it will be removed soon.
I don't have much comment on this without further review, but how does a unanimous decision relate to partisanship of the supreme court?

Normally I'd be very much against this sort of thing but the UNpartisan nature of this decision makes me want to look into the details more.
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Old 04-23-2008, 10:53 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ustwo
I don't have much comment on this without further review, but how does a unanimous decision relate to partisanship of the supreme court?

Normally I'd be very much against this sort of thing but the UNpartisan nature of this decision makes me want to look into the details more.
I think you misunderstand. While the character's argument's main point is that of partisanship, he speaks of the erosion of the honor of the supreme court. How they've abandoned their responsibilities. That's what is relevant.
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Old 04-23-2008, 11:11 AM   #4 (permalink)
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I'd like to know more. His liscense was suspended... because of what? Was he a drug-runner beforehand? Did he have multiple drug convictions? If so then it brings in probable cause and warrants a search.

It doesn't even say if he consented to the search.
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Old 04-23-2008, 11:12 AM   #5 (permalink)
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I'm truly speechless....

I don't see how this is even right.
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Old 04-23-2008, 11:19 AM   #6 (permalink)
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Will, actually the fourth amendment is unbelievably complex, which is why when I read the summary of the case I had no idea whether the decision is defensible or not. I'd need to read the opinion and even then, since I know very little about fourth amendment jurisprudence (haven't really looked at it much, other than current events, since law school), I'm not sure I'd have a view on it.

The other thing is, this case has a federalism overlap, i.e. the interplay of state law and federal constitutional protection. It's just not clear to me that the former dictates the scope of the latter on the facts of this case. I can see the argument that it should but also the argument that it shouldn't.

Law isn't about results, it's about principles. Sometimes having the rule of law means that the results in a particular case may seem unjust. But that's what we have a Supreme Court for, to give us the principles.
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Old 04-23-2008, 11:28 AM   #7 (permalink)
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cliff notes:

the police may arrest you for any offense, no matter how minor or if state law requires only a summons, and any evidence obtained from the ongoing illegal search does not need to be supressed.

The only protection the 4th Amendment now guarantees is that if you are comitting no crime, have not comitted a crime, nor are about to commit a crime, then any search of your person, car, or home will be considered illegal. Evidence resulting from said search will still not be supressed (in federal court) and your only redress will be to file civil rights violations against the offending police officers which will result in a dismissed suit because agents of the state have almost unlimited qualified immunity.

Remember, I predicted this and so did others.

Quote:
Originally Posted by willravel
I think you misunderstand. While the character's argument's main point is that of partisanship, he speaks of the erosion of the honor of the supreme court. How they've abandoned their responsibilities. That's what is relevant.
Will, the USSC abandoned their responsibilities when FDR asked for 6 more justices. Since then it has been all downhill.
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Last edited by dksuddeth; 04-23-2008 at 11:29 AM.. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
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Old 04-23-2008, 11:39 PM   #8 (permalink)
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willravel said : I think you misunderstand. While the character's argument's main point is that of partisanship, he speaks of the erosion of the honor of the supreme court. How they've abandoned their responsibilities. That's what is relevant.

I understand your point and its relevance. Unfortunately this Court will be with us for some time to come and it is good to be aware of its doings. I am especially pleased to see the subject on national, prime-time broadcast TV. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
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Old 04-24-2008, 04:29 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dksuddeth
The only protection the 4th Amendment now guarantees is that if you are comitting no crime, have not comitted a crime, nor are about to commit a crime, then any search of your person, car, or home will be considered illegal. Evidence resulting from said search will still not be supressed (in federal court) and your only redress will be to file civil rights violations against the offending police officers which will result in a dismissed suit because agents of the state have almost unlimited qualified immunity.
i'm fairly certain that is not true.

the supreme court has granted police extra power to search vehicles (versus homes, for example). cars are able (along with their drivers) to be on the other side of the country by the time a warrant is issued. the court has allowed loosened standards for searches when the potential evidence can be moved/destroyed before law enforcement has a chance to act.

i don't know much of anything about this decision (other than the cited article), but i don't think its application is as broad as feared. search of homes has remained undisturbed for decades: they still need a warrant or valid consent absent such exigent circumstances. in fact, the GA v. Randolph decision in 2006 actually curtailed police' ability to search under certain circumstances.
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