Criminal Evidence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminal Evidence - Essay Example s the right â€Å"to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The common arguments have been that it is illegal to conduct a search without a search warrant on the part of the law enforcement officer. Although the provisions of the Fourth Amendment hold that the right of a person against illegal searches is inviolable, there are exemptions to the enforcement of this right. Apprehensions on the road are one of the areas where the person may not legally invoke the Fourth Amendment1. In the case of Pennsylvania v Mimms2, the court rules that drivers and passengers have no Fourth Amendment right not to be ordered out of their vehicle once a proper stop is made. According to the case of California v Carney3, â€Å"The Constitution affords a lesser degree of protection for a vehicle than a residence because of the vehicle’s ready mobility†¦Ã¢â‚¬  However, the decision of this case should be tempered with the test of reasonableness enunciated under the case of Delaware v Prouse4 where the Court warned that there must be a reasonable ground for stopping the vehicle such as the reasonable suspicion that the driver do not have a license and that the vehicle is not registered. A law enforcement officer manning traffic should not just arbitrarily stop vehicles without just cause as this is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment right of the driver and the passengers. In case of Maryland v Wilson, the Court ruled that where the driver has committed a â€Å"minor vehicular offense† there is no reason to stop and detain the passengers. However, since technically, the passengers have already been stopped when the vehicle was stopped, the fact that they are requested by the law enforcement officers to disembark from the vehicle is of little concern. In the case of Michigan v Long it was ruled that an officer making a traffic stop may order passengers to get out of the car pending completion of the stop. In connection