AJUS 376_Assign2
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Apr 3, 2024
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Dalton Smitley
AJUS 376 001 Criminal Procedure
Assignment 2 (20 points)
Instructor: Dr. C. Wydra 10/9/2022
Expectation of Privacy
Scenario: You are police officers working the day shift and you receive a phone call at your police station from a concerned citizen. The caller states that when she looks out her upstairs back bedroom window, she can see what she believes to be marijuana plants growing in her neighbor’s backyard. You then drive to the complainant’s residence, and she lets you into her home and directs
you to the upstairs back bedroom. You look out the window and while using binoculars, you see about 10 marijuana plants about 3-4 feet tall behind a shed in the next-door neighbor’s backyard. A six-foot wooden privacy fence encloses the neighbor’s backyard.
The marijuana plants are behind a shed in the backyard, but within the enclosed fence. Training and Experience: Based on your training and experience, you believe the plants in the neighbor’s backyard are marijuana plants. Course of Action:
Based on the information received from the concerned citizen and your observations, what police actions are you going to take? I would go over to the house and tell them that
they can either let me take the plants now or we can detain them while we get a search warrant. In your course of action, be sure to include references and the questions below:
Do the residents with the suspected marijuana plants in the backyard have a reasonable expectation of privacy? Explain
o
Yes, they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, but it does not exist when evidence is exposed to the public. The officer was in lawful standing. He was responding to a call and welcomed into the women’s home. He was then able to recognize the items and know they are contraband because of his training. Katz V. United States determined that a reasonable expectation of privacy is for protecting people not places.
Are the marijuana plants in plain view? Explain
o
Yes, the plants are in plain view. The officer was in lawful standing because he was responding to a call and welcomed into the women’s house. He was able to recognize the items. He was also able to know they were contraband because of his training.
Are the marijuana plants in an open field? Explain
o
No, the plants are not in an open field they are in someone’s backyard also
considered curtilage.
Are the marijuana plants abandoned property? Explain
o
No, they are not abandoned property. They are in the backyard of where people are still leaving and are being maintained.
Are you in a legal position to be able to view the marijuana plants? Explain
o
Yes, the officer was in legal position to view the plants. He was responding to a call from a concerned citizen and then was welcomed into her house.
Do you have to obtain a search warrant to recover the marijuana plants as evidence?
o
You do not have to obtain a search warrant because the evidence was in plain view, but I still would. It is better to be safe than sorry.
If you believe a search warrant is required to recover the marijuana plants as evidence, what will be included in the search warrant as probable cause? o
I would say based on the totality of the circumstances which is the information from the concerned citizen, the officer being in lawful standing, and being able to see and recognize the plants. The evidence is the plants.
o
If you believe a search warrant is required, what type of information should be included in the search warrant? I would have a search warrant that would include searching both the inside and the outside of the home for marijuana.
Explain your response and use references where applicable.
Your assignment must be completed on a Word document (
no other files, no PDFs).
Include references in APA format – refer to Writing and Paper Format - APA module in D2L.
Include your Name, course, and date on your document!
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