Articles Posted in Search and Seizure Laws

Arizona Supreme Court decisions have potential to influence future case decisions when similar questions for the court arise. The Court held that a person can be frisked if the officer has a reasonable belief that a person is armed with a concealed weapon and is dangerous; and if they have reasonable suspicion that the suspect is the process, or about to commit a crime.
This is consistent with prior federal and state court decisions. However, in this case the focus was on the question what circumstances give rise to reasonable suspicion. The court emphasized that police are not justified in frisking someone just because they happen to be in a high-crime area at the time of an encounter. In addition to the case overview, this article answers basics questions about laws and rights involving a police pat-down search or frisk.
The Court also clarified that a frisk of someone, is not justified if it is done because of something someone else did, as long as the person with whom they are conversing has not given them reason to believe they themselves are breaking the law.

Consent for DUI Testing Gained by Officer’s Warning of the Law does not Constitute Voluntary Consent…unless Good Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule Applies. This article provides a case over overview and discussion of legal principles that applied. Article features include: Impact of ruling on Arizona DUI suspects; Good Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule; Arizona Court decisions on what constitutes voluntary consent to search; and answers to the question of whether or not a suspect should consent to DUI testing in Arizona; and Common defenses for DUI charges in Arizona.

If you are placed on probation for a drug crime in Arizona, you have a reduced expectation of privacy than you had before. This means that, depending on the probation conditions, the privacy protections you thought you had under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution related to search and seizure may not apply.…

Drivers with Marijuana in their vehicle, who consent to search may be easier to prosecute than those who expressly refuse. Most people understand that they have a Fourth Amendment right under the United States Constitution to be free from unlawful searches and seizures. They may know that the police must usually have probable cause to…