Abstract
As prisons become overpopulated, sentencing alternatives, such as probation, are becoming more common throughout the United States. The increase in probationers has created new issues for courts to decide. One of the most prevalent issues is the consent to warrantless searches by probationers. As a requirement of probation, probationers must follow a set of conditions. This Comment explains whether the “reasonableness standard” should apply if a probationer has not consented to warrantless searches as a condition of probation.
This Comment discusses the circuit split between the Eleventh and Fourth Circuits on the issue of warrantless searches. The Eleventh Circuit allows for warrantless searches based on minimal suspicion, even if the probationer has not consented to warrantless searches as a condition of probation. Alternatively, the Fourth Circuit requires probable cause to conduct a search, if the probationer has not expressly consented to a condition of warrantless searches. This Comment argues that if the Supreme Court grants certiorari to resolve the split, it should be decided in favor of the Fourth Circuit’s reasoning to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of probationers from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Recommended Citation
Jennifer Lancaster,
Come Back With a Warrant: Protecting the Fourth Amendment Rights of Probationers from Warrantless Searches Absent Their Consent as a Condition of Probation,
41
S. Ill. U. L.J.
115
(2016).
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/siulj/vol41/iss1/5