Quick REFERENCE Case Law for cops

Established the "stop and frisk" doctrine, allowing police to briefly detain and pat down a suspect if they have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

Ruled that the use of deadly force by law enforcement is only justified if the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.

Established the "objective reasonableness" standard for evaluating the use of force by law enforcement.

Extended the exclusionary rule to the states, barring the use of illegally obtained evidence in court.

Established the requirement for law enforcement to inform suspects of their rights to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning.

Created the "public safety exception" to the Miranda rule, allowing officers to ask questions without Miranda warnings if they believe there is an imminent threat to public safety.

Established the "totality of the circumstances" test for evaluating the reliability of anonymous tips in obtaining search warrants.

Created the "good faith exception" to the exclusionary rule, allowing evidence obtained with a search warrant later found to be invalid to be used if the officers acted in good faith.

Established that the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places, and that a warrant is required to monitor a person's private conversations.

Held that the warrantless search and seizure of digital contents of a cell phone during an arrest is unconstitutional.

Ruled that a traffic stop is valid even if the officer's motive is to investigate other suspected criminal activity.

Ruled that officers can arrest a suspect for a minor traffic violation, even if the violation is punishable only by a fine.

Held that officers may search a vehicle incident to arrest only if the arrestee is within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search or if it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.

Held that the installation of a GPS tracking device on a suspect's vehicle constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment.

Ruled that using a drug-sniffing dog on a suspect's porch constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment.

Held that an officer's reasonable mistake of law can justify a traffic stop.

Ruled that officers must knock and announce their presence before executing a search warrant.

Ruled that officers must have a reasonable suspicion of danger before executing a "no-knock" warrant.

Ruled that a reasonable suspicion is not required to detain a person at a border checkpoint.

Held that brief, suspicionless stops at fixed checkpoints near the border are constitutional.

Ruled that an officer's belief in a drug-sniffing dog's reliability is enough to establish probable cause for a search.

Held that a dog sniff of a car during a traffic stop is not a search under the Fourth Amendment.

Created the "good faith exception" to the exclusionary rule.

Ruled that officers can search a vehicle's entire passenger compartment during a lawful arrest.

Ruled that officers can search a vehicle's passenger compartment during an arrest.

Ruled that officers can search a vehicle's entire passenger compartment if they have probable cause to believe it contains evidence of a crime.

Held that an officer's search of a car based on a tip from an informant was unconstitutional.

Ruled that a person is "seized" under the Fourth Amendment when they are not free to leave.

Held that officers can conduct a suspicionless search of a bus passenger during a routine stop.