Fourth Amendment Commons^™

Issuance Of Search Warrants By A Washington Special Inquiry Judge—State V. Neslund, 103 Wn. 2d 79, 690 P.2d 1153 (1984), Alice M. Wright

Washington Law Review

Since its creation in 1971, the Washington special inquiry judge procedure has operated virtually without constitutional challenge. However, the recent case of State v. Neslund raised the issue of whether a special inquiry judge can properly act as a neutral and detached magistrate to issue search warrants. The United States Constitution and the Washington State Constitution set forth basic guarantees of privacy and fairness, including the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Generally a "reasonable" search must be accompanied by a search warrant issued upon a determination of probable cause by a neutral and detached magistrate. This …

Issuance Of Search Warrants By A Washington Special Inquiry Judge—State V. Neslund, 103 Wn. 2d 79, 690 P.2d 1153 (1984), Alice M. Wright

Washington Law Review

Since its creation in 1971, the Washington special inquiry judge procedure has operated virtually without constitutional challenge. However, the recent case of State v. Neslund raised the issue of whether a special inquiry judge can properly act as a neutral and detached magistrate to issue search warrants. The United States Constitution and the Washington State Constitution set forth basic guarantees of privacy and fairness, including the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Generally a "reasonable" search must be accompanied by a search warrant issued upon a determination of probable cause by a neutral and detached magistrate. This …

Terry Stop Or Arrest? The Washington Court Attempts A Distinction—State V. Williams, 102 Wn. 2d 733, 689 P.2d 1065 (1984), Beryl N. Simpson

Washington Law Review

In State v. Williams the Washington Supreme Court attempted to set forth specific criteria for determining when a temporary detention exceeds the bounds of a Terry stop and becomes an arrest, with the concomitant probable cause requirement. The court relied on both the fourth amendment and article 1, section 7 of the state constitution as the bases for its standards. The holding, however, is fact-specific, and the court's discussion of the permissible scope and intensity of an investigatory stop does not adequately establish guidelines for the police to apply in a future situation. Further, because the court did not ground …

Unreasonable Searches And Seizures Of Papers, Eric Schnapper

Articles

This article argues that the Supreme Court's original view of the history and meaning of the fourth amendment was correct: seizures of papers were condemned in eighteenth-century England without respect to the validity of any underlying warrant, and the search and seizure clause thus embodies requirements independent of the warrant clause.

Part I discusses the eighteenth-century English decisions, including Entick, and concludes that the case law of that era had two separate branches. One branch forbade general warrants and led to the adoption of the warrant clause; the other, exemplified by Entick, prohibited the seizure of certain papers …