Author Question: The U.S. Supreme Court has decided one case involving beepers. Name and discuss this decision. State ... (Read 138 times)

darbym82 · **on:** Aug 13, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided one case involving beepers. Name and discuss this decision. State whether you agree with the decision and explain your position.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Define, compare, and contrast the plain touch and plain odor doctrines. Provide examples of each.

What will be an ideal response?

welcom1000 · **Reply #1 on:** Aug 13, 2018

Answer to Question 1

The one case involving beepers decided by the U.S. Supreme Court is United States
v. Knotts (1983), in which the Court held that police use of a beeper to monitor the
whereabouts of a person traveling in a car on public highways did not turn the
surveillance into a search, and was plain view. I agree with the decision because the
expectation of privacy on a public highway is low.

Answer to Question 2

The plain touch doctrine is when an officer touches or feels something that is
immediately identifiable as seizable, the object can be seized as long as such
knowledge amounts to probable cause. An example is when an officer in a patdown for weapons of a person that acts as if he was under the influence of drugs,
and has needle marks visible in his arms, feels a hypodermic needle. The plain odor
doctrine is when an officer smells something that is immediately recognizable as
sizable, that object can be seized as long as that knowledge amounts to probable
cause. An example is when an officer approaches a motor vehicle and smells the
odor of burning marijuana.