Expert Solutions

DQ1- Jason to April- Do you think that most people understand and can distinguish the difference between a government search and a private search ? 

DQ1-Jason to Tamara-You pointed out that searches can be of persons, places, or things. One example you gave was of the police searching a vehicle. 
Although we have discussed in this class that the 4^th Amendment requires us to have a search warrant, we also know that there are exceptions to the search warrant requirement. One exception is a pat down by police for weapons. 

In Terry v. Ohio, the Supreme Court held that when police have a reasonable belief that an individual is armed, the police can conduct a cursory pat down search for weapons.
The Supreme court said that the safety of police officers in those outweighs the individual rights of the person being searched.

What exceptions might apply to your example?
DQ1-Bettie to Jason-I don't believe most people have any idea about laws and their applications. People know basic laws such as traffic laws or those pertaining to crimes committed frequently and reported on the news. And, many know about the 4th Amendment but its application in everyday life? I don't believe most American's have a clue about private searches. 

DQ1-Bettie-An example of a search and seizure would be if police have been watching a home for a lengthy amount of time because it has been known to be a house that drugs are sold out of, so after a long surveillance the police are able to obtain a search warrant for this specific home to look for drugs or drug paraphernalia and to arrest the people who live within the home. Because the officers have obtained a search warrant, they enter the house and begin searching room by room finding different types of drugs and paraphernalia which are then seized by the officers.

The relationship between search, seizure, arrest and reasonableness would be in order for seizures of evidence and arrests of criminal subjects to happen you must have reasonableness in order to obtain a search warrant and conduct a legal search of a subjects property.

Is there a better solution to the way in which the criminal justice system conducts searches and seizures, as well as arrests? I think that if there was a better solution someone would have come up with it already, if changes needed to be made someone would have found a way to make those changes. In my opinion, we do not need to change something that has been working for many years.