case study 2: Plain View, Open Fields, Abandonment, and Border Searches as They Relate to Search and Seizures

PLAIN VIEW, OPEN FIELDS, ABANDONMENT AND BORDER SEARCHES AS THEY RELATE TO SEARCH AND SEIZURES

CRJ 325Criminal Procedure

Week 6Case Study 2

08-May-18

The identification of the constitutional amendment that would govern the officer from the below referenced synopsis, as well as the constitutionality and validity of the officer’s actions, will be identified in this paper. A brief description of how his actions can be justified under the doctrines of plain view, abandonment, open fields or border searches will also be identified in this paper. The referenced synopsis is as stated: “Officer Jones asked the neighborhood’s regular trash collector to put the content of the defendant’s garbage that was left on the curb in plastic bags and to turn over the bags to him at the end of the day. The trash collector did as the officer asked in order to not mix the garbage once he collected the defendant’s garbage. The officer searched through the garbage and found items indicative of narcotics use. The officer then recited the information that was obtained from the trash in an affidavit in support of a warrant to search the defendant’s home. The officer encountered the defendant at the house later that day upon execution of the warrant. The officer found quantities of cocaine and marijuana during the search and arrested the defendant on felony narcotics charges.”[Strayer University Blackboard. Criminal Procedure. Week 6 Case Study 2 Synopsis. 2015]

Identify the constitutional amendment that would govern Officer Jones’ actions.

The open fielddoctrines as well as the abandonment doctrines are both identifiable under the constitution’s fourth amendment that would govern Officer Jones’s action of collecting and searching through the garbage of the defendant being questioned. The open-fields doctrine permits an officer to conduct a warrantless search of an area that is outside of the defendant’s home and it does not violate a person’s fourth amendment right. [Open-Fields Doctrine. U.S. Legal. 2015] The abandonment doctrine is directly related to an individual who voluntarily gives up their rights to their personal property. The owner intentionally abandoned his property by dispersing of it as trash to be publicly collected by a trash company. [Abandonment Doctrine. U.S. Legal. 2015]

Analyze the validity and constitutionality of Officer Jones’ actions.

Officer Jones’ actions were valid and constitutional on the grounds of the open-fields doctrine and the abandonment doctrine. Officer Jones searched through trash that was left on the curb for pick up on trash collection day. He verbally asked the trash collector to safely put aside any trash that belonged to the defendant, as it was needed for evidence purposes. Officer Jones’s actions did not require a warrant for his search, as the property being searched and seized, was purposely abandoned by the owner. Although the materials were not visible to the eye, the property in itself did not call for a search warrant due to the fact that it was considered trash, which made the trash public property. Consent was not required for Officer Jones’ actions and there is no expectation of a right of privacy for neither open-field searches nor abandonment searches.

Discuss if Officer Jones’ actions were justified under the doctrines of plain view, abandonment, open fields, or border searches.

Officer Jones’ action was justifiable under the abandonment doctrine. The Abandonment doctrine can be concluded, due to the fact that the defendant intentionally and permanently abandoned his property by giving it up and placing it out on the side if the curb for it to be later collected by the trash company, thus allowing Officer Jones the legal right to search his property without a warrant.

References

Strayer University Blackboard. Criminal Procedure. Week 6 Case Study 2 Synopsis. (2015) Retrieved from http://www.blackboard.strayer.edu on August 7, 2015.

Open-Fields Doctrine. U.S. Legal. (2015) Retrieved from http://www.definitions.uslegal.com on August 7, 2015.

Abandonment Doctrine.U.S. Legal.(2015) Retrieved from http://www.definitions.uslegal.com on August 7, 2015.