1. Affirmative Action in Admission
 Abigail Fisher
 a white student who was denied admission to the University
ofTexas at Austin
 She brought a lawsuit against the university for denying
her admission based on race
 Elena Kagan will remove herself from the case
 Anthony Kennedy already spoke he may not be ready to
forbid racial criteria in admissions

2. The 4th
Amendment

3. 4th Amendment
 “The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no
Warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported
by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the
place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized.”

4. What things are protected by the
4th Amendment?
 Persons
 Clothes, wallet, shoes, bodily fluids or blood
 Houses
 Apartment, porch, mobile home (if stationary)
 Papers
 Diary or a book
 Effects
 Backpack, iPod, collection of comics

5. 4th Amendment
 Unreasonable search and seizure
 But what is Unreasonable?
 Courts look to balance individual
liberty with the need to keep an
ordered society.

6. 4th Amendment (2nd part)
 “NoWarrant shall issue
but upon probable cause”
 Warrant – A formal
document signed by a
judge that allows police to
search or arrest you

7. 4th Amendment
 All of your effects
 PHONES, notebooks, keys, make up, purses, your
grades, etc.
 Does the constitution protect these “effects” from
unreasonable searches or seizures without a warrant
based on probable cause?
 Well that depends on what “reasonable expectation of
privacy” is to you

8. 4th Amendment
 Do you actually expect
privacy in your effects
that you bring with you
to school?
 Is the expectation of
privacy one that others
agree is reasonable?

9. The Katz Case
 The Court ruled that
Katz had a reasonable
expectation that his
calls would not be heard
by anyone except the
intended listener
 Charles Katz’s 4th
Amendment rights
WERE violated

10. The Katz Case
 (a) an enclosed telephone booth is an area, where like a
home, a person has a constitutionally protected
reasonable expectation of privacy.
 (b) that electronic as well as physical intrusion into a place
that is in this sense private may constitute a violation of
the 4th Amendment.
 (c) the invasion of a constitutionally protected area by
federal authorities is unreasonable in the absence of a
search warrant.

11. 4th Amendment
 What do you think?
 Why should they get a warrant when they know
someone was breaking the law?
 What about cell phones?
 When or where do you expect your phone calls to
be private?

12. Privacy in School
 Schools are a place of learning
 But it’s also a place where non-school problems
and personalities will show up
 So schools have been designed to protect
students and teachers but also create a positive
learning environment.

13. Privacy in School
 Need for teachers and
administrators to
maintain order in
schools outweighs
the privacy interests
of the students.

14. Privacy in Schools
 As a result:
 No need for probable
cause and a search
warrant
 All they need is
“suspicion”
 New Jersey vs.T.L.O. ?

15. Exceptions to the Warrant
Requirement

16. Search and Seizure
 Probable Cause – apparent and reliable facts that create a
reasonable belief that a crime has been or is being committed
 Articulable Facts – must be distinguished before enacting a
stop, and these facts must be expanded before a search and
seizure is conducted
 Warrantless searches can be conducted when they follow a
lawful arrest or when probable cause has been gathered. The
probable cause must be based on objective facts that could
justify the issuance of a warrant from a magistrate, NOT just
the good faith of the police officer

17. The Automobile Exception
 Police don’t need a
warrant to search
vehicles
 Because they move
 Courts do not see
automobiles as places
quite like homes

18. TheTerry Exception
 Brief investigatory stops
and searches
 When police have good
reason that a person has
committed or is about to
commit a crime
 However…
 Limited to:
 Pat down
(weapons, drugs)
 Identity
 Time for questioning

19. Following a Lawful Arrest
 Police may make a full
search:
 of all persons involved
with an arrest
 Areas around the arrest
 All possessions that
suspects have at the time
of the arrest
 Police cannot use this as an
excuse to find incriminating
evidence

20. For Evidence
 When there is probable
cause for an arrest even if
it has not been made
 Police may conduct
limited searches to
preserve evidence
 Scrapings under
fingernails

21. Border Searches
 People and their
possessions may be
searched when crossing a
border into the United
States.
 Officials may also open
mail entering the U.S. if
they have probable cause
to suspect illegal
activities (drugs)

22. Plain-View Searches
 Evidence in plain view of
the officer may be seized
without a warrant
 Officer must be in a legal
position to see an object
that is evidence of a crime
 Officer cannot, for
example, force his/her
way into an apartment
and use any of that
evidence

23. Exigent Circumstances
 In urgent or critical
situations there may be
exceptions to the warrant
requirement
 Examples
 Evidence in a burning
house
 Criminal about to escape
capture
 Criminal could be in
danger of harming more
people