Qualified Immunity
A liability defense that shields a police officer who has acted in an objectively reasonable fashion as long as he or she did not violate clearly established rights that a reasonable person would have known. Qualified immunity is an out growth of various U.S. Supreme court decisions.
Intentional Tort
An action that is highly likely to cause injury or damage.
Negligence Tort
A liability claim that ust demonstrate that a legal duty existed between the officer and the plaintiff, that a breach of that duty occured, that a proximate casation between the officers actions and the alleged harm resulted and that actual damages or injury.
Civilian Review
One of the stronger models of citizen oversight of a policeagency in which a group of citizens investigates complaints against the police adjudicates the complaints and recommend punishment.
Civilian Input
A model of civilian oversight of police agency in which civilians receive and investigate complaints, but the next steps are taken by the police department.
Civilian Monitor
A model of civilian oversight of a police agency that is similar to ombudsman approach in which complaints are received by the police department and the process, from beginning to end is monitored by civilians
Citizen Complaint
A document filed by someone who believes that he or she has been wronged by one or more police officers in a department .
Accreditation
Certification for having met all applicable requirments put in place by an accrediting body
Exclusionary Rule
A rule mandating that evidence obtained in violation of the U.S. Constitution cannot be admitted in criminal trial. The exclusionary rule is an important mechanism for ensuring the accountability of police officials
Public Duty Defense
A legal defense that shields a police officer from criminal liability in situations in which he or she is legally perfoming an assigned or implied public duty and engages in a necessary and reasonable action that for ordinary citizens, would be considered a crime.
Internal Affairs
An investigative agency within a police department that is tasked with investigating allegations of misconduct or criminality by members of the department.
Fourth Amendment
Protects against unreasonable search and seizure
Search
An activity perormed in order to find evidence to be used in a criminal prosecution.
Government Action
Consists of measures to effect a search undertaken by someone employed by or working on behalf of the government.
Reasonable Expectation of Privacy
People who speak or act in private can reasonably expect that what they say or do will not be seen or heard by someone else
Seizure
The confiscation of one person or property by a government agent.
Reasonableness
The elements of a situation that serve to justify a search or seizure.
Justification
The focus of a courts examination of the reasonableness of a search or seizure
Probable Cause
A set of facts and circumstances that would induce a reasonably intelligentand prudent person to believe that another particular person has committed a specific crime. Probable cause is the only justification for search and seizure mentioned in the fourth amendment
Reasonable Suspision
A belief based on a consideration of the facts at hand and on reasonable inferences drawn from those facts, that would induce an ordinarly prudent and cautious person under the same circumstances to conclude that criminal activity has recently occurred. Reasonable suspicion is the standard for less intrusive stop and frisk searches. It is less than probable cause but more than a hunch.
Administrative Justification
The standard for an administrative search based on the fact that government entities occasionally conduct searches in circumstances other than criminal investigations, such as a sobriety checkpoint set up for the purpose of apprehending drunk drivers. Sometimes called special needs or regulartor searches, such searches attempt to achieve a balance between protecting individuals privacy interests and protecting public saftey.
Search Incident to lawful arrest
A warrantless search made at the time of or shortly following an arrest, conducted out of a concern for the saftey of the arresting officer and others
Arm-Span Rule
A doctrine established by the U.S. Supreme court that limits a search incident to arrest to the area "within immediate control" of the person arrested.
Protective Sweep
A permissible curosry visual inspection of places in which a person might be hiding. A protective sweep may be conducted by police up to the point of an arrest but must be supported by reasonable suspicion.
Exigent Circumstances
A situation that makes a warrantless search constitutionally permissible such as hot pursuit, the likelihood of a suspects escaping or presenting a danger to others, and evanescent evidence.
Hot Pursuit Exception
One exception to the Fourth Amendment warrent requirement. Warren v. Hayden it provides that police officers may enter the premises where they suspect crime has been commited or perpetrator is hiding, without a warrent when delay would likely endanger their lives or the lives of others.
Plain View
A doctrine articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court that permits the warrentless seizure of objects that are readily visable.
Knock and Talk
A police tactic used to obtain consent to search, in which police officers approach a home, knock on the door, and request consent to search the premises.
Stop and Frisk
The detaining of a person by a law enforcement officer for the purpose of investigation, accompanied by a superficial examination by the officer of the persons body surface or clothing to discover weapons, contraband, or other objects relating to criminal activity
Plain Touch
A doctrine articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court that permits and expansion of a stop and frisk search, "If the officer while staying within the narrow limits of a frisk for weapons feels what he has probable cause to believe is a weapon, contraband or evidence.
Person Inventory
The search of an arrestee and his or her personal items, including containers found in his or her possesion, as part of a routine inventory that is incident to the booking and jailing procedure. Often called arrest inventory.
Vehicle Inventory
A warrentless inventory of a vehicle that is permissible on administrative or regulatory grounds. Vehilce inventories must follow a lawful impoundment, must be of a routine nature, must follow standard operating procedures, and must not be a pretext that attmepts to conceal an investigation search
Checkpoint
A location at which a warrantless, suspicionless search is constitutionally permissible in furtherance of an overriding national or public saftey interest. National border entry points and sobriety checkpoints are examples.
Fifth Amendment
An amendment to the U.S. Constitution that establishes due process rights, including the right to remain silent in the face of criminal accusations
Due Process Voluntariness Approach
A means for determining the admissibility of a suspects self incriminating statement based on whether it was made voluntarily. Involuntariness is held to occur when under the totality of circumstances that preceded the confessions the defendant is deprived of his or her power resistance.
Deliberate Elicitation
An effort by a government actor to draw incriminating statesments from a suspect who is not represented by counsel in violation of that person Sixth amendment right to counsel.
Miranda Rights
The set of right that a person accused or suspected of having committed a specific offense has during interrogation and of which he or she must be informed prior to questioning, as stated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona and related cases
Functional Equivalent of a Question
Any words or actions on the part of the police that the police should know are resonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect.
18 U.S.C. Section 3501
The U.S. Code designation assiged to the Crime Control Act of 1968, which among other things attempted to invalidate the Miranda decision.
Damages
Monetary compensation awarded to the plaintiff in a successful civil lawsuit.
Injunctive relief
A court order to bring injurious or offensive action to a halt.
Color of Law
The condition that exists when an individual acts in an official government capacity and with the appearance of legal power. Police officers, mayors, and a number of other government officals perform their duties under the color of the law.
Constitutional Rights Violation
Conduct that violates a specific, constitutional provision.
Culpability
The state of deserving blame ior being morally or legally responsible. Under the Section 1983 culpability requiremtns, plaintiffs generally must prove that the defendant officer intended for the violation to occur.
Deep Pocket Theory
Reasons offered as to why a particular person or other entity should be held answerable under law for some action.
Absolute Immunity
Protection from lawsuits enjoyed by federal officals when acting in their official capacities.