Definition of Search & Seizure
"Search" and "seizure" are legal terms referring to certain personal intrusions. A search generally denotes government intrusion into a space in which one may expect privacy, while a seizure refers to government detention of an individual. Those with search or seizure problems should seek legal advice.
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Origin
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The Constitution's Fourth Amendment codifies the right of citizens to be free from "unreasonable searches and seizures." Under case law, any evidence seized in such an unreasonable search or seizure will be excluded from federal courts. The Supreme Court has ruled that Fourth Amendment rights apply to state courts as well and has elaborated on the meaning of "search" and "seizure."
Search
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For constitutional purposes, a search is an intrusion by representatives of the government into an area in which an individual reasonably expects privacy. Generally, such a reasonable expectation arises when the individual owns (or permanently lives in) the space being searched. Search of such a space will generally require a valid search warrant or probable cause, which is the reasonable belief by police that the space to be searched will contain contraband.
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Non-Private Areas
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Certain areas are usually not accorded a reasonable expectation of privacy, among them areas for public use, exteriors of buildings, garbage left at the curb or any area that can be seen by plain view from a vantage point in a public place. Due to the decreased expectation of privacy, law enforcement searches of such areas generally will not violate the Fourth Amendment. However, analysis of a search area is often fact-specific; courts will look hard at the details of a contested search.
Seizure
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A seizure occurs when a representative of the government exercises control over an individual so he feels he cannot freely depart or end the interaction with the representative. A seizure only occurs when the individual submits to the government; if the individual flees or otherwise avoids detention, no seizure takes place. Courts' determinations of whether there was a seizure will generally turn on whether a reasonable individual who is detained would have felt he was free to leave. "Seizure" may also refer to the process of taking custody of evidence found in a search.
Types of Seizures
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Different types of seizures require different levels of government justification. An arrest, in which police detain an individual for purposes of criminal prosecution, requires a finding of probable cause. An investigatory detention (meaning a brief stop to investigate suspicious activity), on the other hand, requires only reasonable suspicion of criminal activity on the part of the detaining officer. An officer's traffic stop of a car is also considered a seizure for Fourth Amendment purposes.
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References
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