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Law

1992

Fourth Amendment

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Florida V. Bostick: Abandonment Of Reason In Fourth Amendment Reasonable Person Analysis, James F. Heuerman Nov 1992

Florida V. Bostick: Abandonment Of Reason In Fourth Amendment Reasonable Person Analysis, James F. Heuerman

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This note examines the United States Supreme Court's decision which addressed the constitutionality of "bus sweeps" -- random suspicionless police questioning of interstate bus travelers. The Court concluded that a reasonable bus passenger could feel free to disregard police questioning, and accordingly found that not all such encounters are entitled to Fourth Amendment scrutiny. The author explores the Court's decision and contends that only by severely underestimating the inherent coercion in such encounters was the Court able to avoid the intuitive conclusion that passengers are "seized" during such questioning.


California V. Hodari D.: The Demise Of The Reasonable Person Test In Fourth Amendment Analysis, Patrick T. Costello May 1992

California V. Hodari D.: The Demise Of The Reasonable Person Test In Fourth Amendment Analysis, Patrick T. Costello

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This note examines the United Supreme Court decision which reexamined the point at which a police-citizen encounter becomes a seizure under the Fourth Amendment. The Court concluded that a police-citizen encounter becomes a seizure only when the citizen yields to the show of police authority. The author contends that the Court's definition of a seizure alters, if not disposes of, the former definition, which defined seizure as the point at which a reasonable person, faced with a show of authority, no longer feels free to leave.