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Legal Guide for Police: Constitutional Issues, Second Edition

NCJ Number
116464
Author(s)
J C Klotter
Date Published
1989
Length
392 pages
Annotation
This text examines constitutional law issues of concern to law enforcement agencies and officers.
Abstract
Civil rights actions and liabilities attendant upon failure to comply with constitutional mandates are reviewed, and the admissibility of evidence in such liability cases is discussed. Police responsibilities are delineated and limits on police legal authorities are identified, with focus on the guarantees under the Bill of Rights and due process provisions. Legislation and caselaw on the police authority to detain, including the stop and frisk rationale, the duration of detention, and detention in on- and off- street situations, is analyzed. Following a summary of general consideration in arrest, the statutory authority to arrest and the definition and elements of arrest are discussed. Warrant and warrantless arrests, arrest after fresh pursuit and use of force in arrests also are covered. Search and seizure law is reviewed, with emphasis on applications of the exclusionary rule and requirements for and execution of search warrants. Conditions under which warrantless searches may be conducted also are identified (e.g., plain view searches, inventory searches, waivers, and stop and frisk seizures). Questioning of suspects is also examined, including warning and waiver requirements, corroboration, derivative evidence and admissibility of statements. Finally, issues relevant to pretrial identification procedures are addressed including those related to fingerprinting and photographing suspects, use of line-ups, dental examination, use of voice exemplars, and other bodily examinations. Chapter notes and summaries, index, and reproduction of the Bill of Rights. See NCJ-116465 through NCJ-116472 for individual chapters.