Opinion ID: 71470
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Fourth Amendment standards

Text: The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures affecting the security of the people's persons, houses, papers, and effects. U.S. Const. Am. IV. [2] Warrantless searches and seizures inside a home are presumptively unreasonable, but because the ultimate touchstone of the Fourth Amendment is `reasonableness,' the warrant requirement is subject to certain exceptions. Brigham City, Utah v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398, 403, 126 S.Ct. 1943, 164 L.Ed.2d 650 (2006) (citations omitted). [O]ne of the specifically established exceptions to the requirements of both a warrant and probable cause is a search that is conducted pursuant to consent. Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 219, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973). In order to satisfy the consent exception, the government must demonstrate that there was (1) effective consent, (2) given voluntarily, (3) by a party with actual or apparent authority. United States v. Gonzales, 121 F.3d 928, 938 (5th Cir.1997). Only the first element is at issue in the present case, and it is a question of fact reviewed for clear error. United States v. Botello, 991 F.2d 189, 194 (5th Cir.1993). When police enter a home based on consent or another lawful basis, and possess a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the area to be swept harbors an individual posing a danger to those on the scene, they may conduct a protective sweep of the premises. United States v. Gould, 364 F.3d 578, 587 (5th Cir.2004) (en banc) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). The protective sweep is related in rationale and permissible scope to the frisk component of a stop-and-frisk under Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). See Gould, 364 F.3d at 581, 582-83, 584 (discussing the protective sweep doctrine as an outgrowth of Terry and subsequent related cases). Under Terry, officers may briefly detain an individual on the street for questioning, without probable cause, when they possess reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity. See generally United States v. Michelletti, 13 F.3d 838, 840 (5th Cir.1994) (en banc) (discussing and applying Terry ). In order to ensure their safety during the stop, police may frisk the subject for weapons that they reasonably suspect he may carry. Michelletti, 13 F.3d at 840. The purpose of the frisk is to afford an officer the opportunity to protect himself from attack by a hostile suspect. Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 146, 92 S.Ct. 1921, 32 L.Ed.2d 612 (1972). Accordingly, if the situation warrants it, officers may take further steps in connection with a Terry frisk, including handcuffing, as long as they are not unreasonable in failing to use less intrusive procedures to safely conduct their investigation. United States v. Jordan, 232 F.3d 447, 450 (5th Cir.2000). Both Terry and the protective sweep doctrine of Gould depend on a reasonableness inquiry that evolves with new information. Reasonable suspicion inquiries allow officers to consider the totality of the circumstancesthe whole picture. United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 7-8, 109 S.Ct. 1581, 104 L.Ed.2d 1 (1989). If officers gain new information relevant to safety or criminal conduct, the scope of their permissible investigation may expand. For example, reasonable suspicion may ripen or develop into probable cause for an arrest if a Terry stop reveals further evidence of criminal conduct. See, e.g., United States v. Kye Soo Lee, 962 F.2d 430, 433-35 (5th Cir.1992). On the other hand, if the initial stages of [a Terry] encounter serve[ ] to dispel his reasonable fear for his own or others' safety, an officer may lack justification for frisking for weapons. See Terry, 392 U.S. at 30, 88 S.Ct. 1868. The justification for a protective sweep likewise is circumscribed by the evolving facts. The protective sweep must cover no more than those spaces where police reasonably suspect a person posing danger could be found, and must last no longer than necessary to dispel the suspicion and no longer than the police are otherwise constitutionally justified in remaining on the premises. Gould, 364 F.3d at 587. For purposes of both Terry and Gould, underlying facts are reviewed for clear error, but the ultimate question of whether those facts add up to establish an appropriate level of reasonable articulable suspicion of criminality or danger is a question of law, reviewed de novo. See Gould, 364 F.3d at 592 & n. 16.