What is a seizure in law?
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When discussing the Fourth Amendment, we mostly think about government searches of our person, home, and vehicle. In fact, most of the Fourth Amendment cases address government searches. However, the Fourth Amendment equally protects persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable seizures. Show Not all personal interactions between police officers and citizens involve a seizure of the person. A person can be “seized” under the Fourth Amendment in two separate ways. A seizure occurs when the officer, 1) by application of physical force or 2) show of authority, has in some way restrained the liberty of a citizen. Any touching, even if extremely slight, is enough to constitute a seizure. Under this approach, a police officer must also have an intent to restrain the person. For example, if, during a routine traffic stop, a police officer places his elbow on the side of a vehicle to brace himself while leaning in to speak with the driver, that is not a seizure because there is no intent to restrain. However, if the police officer grasped the driver’s shoulder to prevent her from reaching into the glove box, then that would be a seizure. In March 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States clarified in Torres v. Madrid that the application of physical force to the body of a person with intent to restrain is a seizure, even if the force does not succeed in subduing the person. In that case, police officers fired their service weapons at a fleeing suspect, striking her twice with bullets. Although the suspect was able to get away, the application of physical force – i.e., the bullets striking her – were a seizure under the Fourth Amendment. In the absence of physical force, a seizure can also occur with the show of authority from a police officer. Consensual or voluntary interactions between police and citizens do not trigger Fourth Amendment protection. It is only when the interaction becomes nonconsensual or involuntary – i.e., when a reasonable person would believe that he or she was not free to leave or terminate the encounter – that the Fourth Amendment comes into play. Under this approach, the person must actually submit or yield to that show of authority for it to be a seizure, otherwise it is an attempted seizure that is not subject to Fourth Amendment protection. The determination of whether a person has been seized for purposes of the Fourth Amendment is a very fact intensive inquiry. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Copy CitationShare Share Share to social media Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/topic/search-and-seizureGive Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Your Feedback Submit FeedbackThank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. External Websites
Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Copy CitationShareShare Share to social media Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/topic/search-and-seizureFeedbackExternal Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Your Feedback Submit FeedbackThank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. External Websites
By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Edit History Table of ContentsKey People:Felix Frankfurter Sherman Minton...(Show more)Related Topics:writ of assistance...(Show more) See all related content → search and seizure, practices engaged in by law enforcement officers in order to gain sufficient evidence to ensure the arrest and conviction of an offender. The latitude allowed police and other law enforcement agents in carrying out searches and seizures varies considerably from country to country. There is considerable variance in the amount of protection given to the individual rights of the accused person. Most countries require some type of court-authorized warrant for search and seizure to be lawfully carried out, but there is great variance (see warrant). In South Africa, for example, police may ignore the need for a warrant if delay would defeat what they were trying to accomplish. In France the police have extensive powers of search and seizure in the case of flagrant offense and when a crime is being committed or has just been committed, but in other instances court authorization is required. Questions of search and seizure have assumed major importance in the United States, for the drafters of the Constitution provided in the Fourth Amendment that “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Since that time, judicial attention has frequently focussed on what actually constitutes an unreasonable search and seizure. The unauthorized confiscation of physical evidence (such as guns, drugs, documents, and stolen property), the interception of oral communications by electronic eavesdropping, and matters observed through an unauthorized invasion of privacy are now embraced by the concept of an illegal search and seizure. If a search is made with the consent of the person searched, even though the consent may have been effected by police deception, the search is deemed reasonable. Any search pursuant to a regularly issued search warrant issued by the judiciary is also considered reasonable. Searches that are incidental to a valid arrest and that are deemed reasonable in scope are permitted without a search warrant; a valid arrest is defined either as one pursuant to a properly issued arrest warrant or as one under circumstances in which the arresting officer actually witnesses the commission of the crime or has probable cause to believe that the person being arrested committed the crime. “Stop and frisk” cases similarly represent an exception to ordinary guarantees. A police officer has the right to detain a person temporarily and conduct a search for weapons on condition that the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is armed and dangerous. U.S. courts, both state and federal, are required to exclude from criminal proceedings any evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The so-called exclusionary rule, which previously had been applied in federal courts and those of only about half of the states, was made applicable to all U.S. courts by the 1961 Supreme Court ruling in Mapp v. Ohio. The exclusionary rule is not recognized by most other legal systems, but in many countries the trial judge may, at his discretion, deny admission of evidence that was obtained by clearly unlawful methods. Whats the meaning seizure?A seizure is a sudden, uncontrolled electrical disturbance in the brain. It can cause changes in your behavior, movements or feelings, and in levels of consciousness.
What does seizure mean in the Fourth Amendment?Seizure of a Person. A seizure of a person, within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, occurs when the police's conduct would communicate to a reasonable person, taking into account the circumstances surrounding the encounter, that the person is not free to ignore the police presence and leave at his will.
What is a search and what is a seizure?A search involves law enforcement officers going through part or all of individual's property, and looking for specific items that are related to a crime that they have reason to believe has been committed. A seizure happens if the officers take possession of items during the search.
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