Search & Seizure
The doctrine every stop, search, and seizure has to satisfy
Whether a proposed investigative action is permitted, decided before you act, in any state: identify your authority, evaluate the facts, choose a legally supported action, and document the decision. Forty-eight lessons in eight modules build the federal foundation that applies everywhere, from your role and the governing law through encounters, consent, vehicles, technology, and suppression. Twelve scenarios then apply it, six in public sector decisions and six across sectors, including workplace, retail, and private investigations. Each state's own rules, including where it goes further than the federal floor, are taught in that state's own State Law Companion module. Course access supplies no investigative authority.
In production now; lessons are released in teaching order.
The national lessons teach the law and the working discipline that apply in all 50 states, and flag each point where state law can differ.
Each state’s statutes, court rules, and controlling decisions, in 20 topics paired with the national lessons. The companion module listed below shows the structure every state’s module follows.
Module 1: Your Role and the Governing Law
Top ↑- 1
The Fourth Amendment and What It Protects
People, places, papers, and effects; governmental conduct and reasonableness; the questions to ask before acting.
Free sample - 2
Your Role and Your Authority
Public officers, corporate investigators, and private investigators; authority versus access; identifying actions outside your role.
- 3
Private Searches and Government Involvement
Independent private conduct; government direction or participation; documenting the original search and any later examination.
- 4
The Federal Floor and Your State Law
Constitutional baseline versus federal procedure; state constitutions, statutes, and rules; using the selected state companion.
- 5
Finding and Reading Controlling Authority
Court hierarchy and jurisdiction; holdings, facts, and procedural posture; checking amendments, later decisions, and unresolved questions.
- 6
The Decision Sequence Before Acting
Identify the proposed intrusion; state the facts and legal authority; define limits, alternatives, and documentation.
Module 2: Searches, Seizures, and Protected Interests
Top ↑- 7
What Counts as a Search
Privacy-based analysis; property-based analysis; applying both approaches to the same investigative act.
- 8
What Counts as a Seizure of a Person
Physical force and shows of authority; submission and freedom to leave; evaluating the entire encounter.
- 9
What Counts as a Seizure of Property
Interference with possession; temporary detention versus examination; duration and the next legal step.
- 10
Whose Rights Are at Issue
Personal interests in the place or item; shared, borrowed, and rented property; identifying who may challenge the conduct.
- 11
Homes, Curtilage, Open Fields, and Shared Spaces
Classifying the location; lawful vantage points and access routes; fences, signs, common areas, and state protections.
- 12
Third-Party Records and Privacy
Information shared with others; categories of records and their sensitivity; limits on generalizing third-party doctrine.
Module 3: Building the Factual Basis
Top ↑- 13
Reasonable Suspicion
Specific facts and supported inferences; totality of circumstances; separating a hunch from an articulable basis.
- 14
Probable Cause
The practical factual showing; probability versus certainty; tying the showing to the proposed arrest or search.
- 15
Sources and Informant Reliability
Firsthand knowledge and reported information; citizen, confidential, and anonymous sources; the applicable reliability test.
- 16
Corroboration and Conflicting Information
What corroboration adds; innocent details versus significant predictions; accounting for facts that weaken the inference.
- 17
Collective Knowledge and Fellow-Officer Information
Who knows what and when; directions, requests, and shared information; preserving the source and factual predicate.
- 18
Timing, Mistakes, and Changing Facts
Facts known before the action; factual and legal mistakes as separate issues; reassessing authority when new information arrives.
Module 4: Encounters, Stops, and Arrests
Top ↑- 19
Consensual Encounters
Requests versus commands; language, positioning, and retained property; recognizing when an encounter changes character.
- 20
Investigative Detention
Initiating and continuing a stop; scope and duration; ending the detention when its basis no longer supports it.
- 21
Traffic Stops and Their Mission
Initial grounds; tasks tied to the stop; additional investigation and prolongation.
- 22
Pretext Stops and Separate Legal Constraints
Objective grounds and investigative motives; federal and state analysis; distinguishing search-and-seizure issues from other legal claims.
- 23
Frisks and Protective Vehicle Searches
Separate grounds for a protective search; persons versus vehicle areas; weapons concerns, scope, and discoveries beyond that purpose.
- 24
Arrests and Entry Into Premises
Authority to arrest versus authority to enter; the person's residence versus another person's premises; consent, exigency, and separate process.
Module 5: Consent, Urgency, and Lawful Observation
Top ↑- 25
Voluntary Consent
The request and surrounding circumstances; coercion and claimed authority; recording the words used and the response.
- 26
Scope Limits and Withdrawal of Consent
What permission covers; containers, devices, and places; responding to limits, ambiguity, or withdrawal.
- 27
Third-Party Consent
Actual and apparent authority; shared spaces and disputed permission; clarifying access and control before proceeding.
- 28
Emergency Aid and Exigent Circumstances
The asserted emergency; objective facts and the action needed; duration, scope, and reassessment.
- 29
Hot Pursuit and Evidence Destruction
The particular urgency asserted; offense and location considerations; avoiding categorical shortcuts and manufactured urgency.
- 30
Plain View and Lawful Access
Lawful presence and observation; the basis for identifying evidence; separate authority to access and seize it.
Module 6: Vehicles, Persons, and Property
Top ↑- 31
The Automobile Exception
The factual basis and qualifying setting; the object of the search; location, containers, and state limitations.
- 32
Search Incident to Arrest
The lawful arrest predicate; searches of persons and nearby areas; vehicle-specific limits and separate digital questions.
- 33
Vehicle Inventories
Lawful custody and the inventory purpose; standardized criteria and discretion; containers, records, and investigative misuse.
- 34
Personal Property Inventories
Booking and property custody; governing procedures; scope, valuables, containers, and accurate records.
- 35
Abandoned Property
Conduct and intent; disclaimers and surrounding circumstances; whether earlier official conduct affects the analysis.
- 36
Canine Sniffs, Cannabis, and Changing Statutes
Location, detention, and sniff method; the significance of an alert; state legalization, training, and current controlling authority.
Module 7: Technology, Warrants, and Specialized Settings
Top ↑- 37
Devices and Digital Access
Physical possession versus data access; preserving evidence without examining it; consent, legal process, and scope.
- 38
Location Tracking and Remote Observation
Devices, historical records, and real-time information; duration and precision; selecting authority for the proposed method.
- 39
Provider Records and Process Selection
Record categories; preservation versus disclosure; statutory process and referral to Warrant Prep for application drafting.
- 40
Warrants and the Limits of the Authorized Search
Place, person, items, and scope; containers and multiple units; pausing when facts or the requested search exceed authority.
- 41
Supervision, Schools, and Administrative Searches
Probation and parole settings; school and workplace contexts; specialized purposes, applicable tests, and limits on transferring rules.
- 42
Bodily Evidence and Intrusive Searches
The proposed intrusion and factual basis; consent or judicial process; medical issues, safeguards, and qualified legal consultation.
Module 8: Suppression, Documentation, and Review
Top ↑- 43
The Exclusionary Rule
The challenged conduct and requested remedy; federal and state treatment; distinguishing a violation from its evidentiary consequence.
- 44
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
The initial act; later evidence and causal links; constructing an accurate investigative chronology.
- 45
Independent Source, Inevitable Discovery, and Attenuation
Different questions and required factual records; actual investigative steps; avoiding interchangeable labels or hindsight rationalizations.
- 46
Good Faith and State Remedies
The asserted basis for reliance; limitations and jurisdictional differences; identifying issues requiring state-specific analysis.
- 47
Documenting the Decision and Preserving the Record
Facts known at the time; source attribution and exact sequence; recordings, policy versions, corrections, and contrary facts.
- 48
Reviewing a Search Before the Case Moves Forward
Authority, predicate, scope, duration, and remedy; identifying gaps early; consultation, corrective steps, and evidence preservation.
Module 9: Applying the Principles to Public Sector Decisions
Top ↑- 49
Scenario One: An Encounter Becomes a Detention
Identify each transition; match the known facts to the action; compare the federal analysis with the selected state rules.
- 50
Scenario Two: A Traffic Stop Expands
Build the stop timeline; identify the basis for added detention or a search; explain when the investigation should stop or change course.
- 51
Scenario Three: Consent at a Shared Residence
Identify who can authorize what; address limits and conflicting statements; document the permission and the proposed next step.
- 52
Scenario Four: An Emergency at a Multi-Unit Building
Locate the emergency and correct unit; separate entry from later searching; reassess authority as the emergency changes.
- 53
Scenario Five: A Vehicle Search and Property Inventory
Distinguish the asserted grounds for each action; evaluate containers and discretion; explain why changing labels does not cure missing facts.
- 54
Scenario Six: A Device and a Location Record
Separate seizure, preservation, access, and disclosure; choose the appropriate process; connect to the state companion and Warrant Prep.
Module 10: Applying the Principles Across Sectors
Top ↑- 55
Scenario Seven: An Internal Workplace Investigation
Identify employer access and the investigator's role; evaluate consent, policies, and applicable law; preserve records and identify counsel questions.
- 56
Scenario Eight: A Private Search Referred to Police
Reconstruct exactly what the private actor did; identify later government involvement; distinguish receipt of evidence from further examination.
- 57
Scenario Nine: A Retail Investigation and Detention
Separate observation, questioning, detention, and search; consult the state's merchant and private-person rules; document release or police referral.
- 58
Scenario Ten: An Informant Tip and a Joint Investigation
Trace sources and communications; assess reliability under the applicable rules; resolve authority and jurisdiction before acting.
- 59
Scenario Eleven: Evidence Following a Questionable Search
Map the causal chain; assess the distinct suppression doctrines; preserve the actual record without inventing alternative explanations.
- 60
Scenario Twelve: The Complete Decision Audit
Analyze a case from first contact through evidence handling; apply the member's state law; defend each decision with facts, authority, limits, and records.
Module 11: State Law Companion: New York
Top ↑- 61
New York: State Authority and the Legal Research Map
New York constitutional provisions; governing statutes and court rules; controlling courts and the relationship to the federal baseline.
- 62
New York: Public and Private Investigative Authority
Officer powers and territorial limits; private investigator and merchant authority where applicable; government involvement in private investigations.
- 63
New York: Protected Places, Property, and Information
New York definitions and protections; homes, curtilage, fenced or posted land, and shared spaces; records and expectations of privacy.
- 64
New York: Encounters and Investigative Detention
The New York encounter framework; required factual thresholds; scope, duration, identification demands, and termination.
- 65
New York: Reasonable Suspicion, Probable Cause, and Sources
New York standards; informant reliability and corroboration; fellow-officer information, source attribution, and statutory requirements.
- 66
New York: Traffic Stops, Pretext, and Prolongation
Initial grounds and state restrictions; mission and duration; added questioning, canine use, and new grounds for detention.
- 67
New York: Frisks and Protective Searches
New York predicates for protective searches; persons and vehicle areas; scope and treatment of nonweapon discoveries.
- 68
New York: Arrests and Entry Into Premises
Arrest authority; entry into a residence or third-party premises; multiple units, common spaces, and required judicial process.
- 69
New York: Consent and Third-Party Authority
Voluntariness and evidentiary burdens; scope and withdrawal; actual or apparent authority and conflicting occupants.
- 70
New York: Emergency Aid, Exigency, and Hot Pursuit
New York tests and limits; urgency, offense, and location; actions permitted while the exigency exists and after it ends.
- 71
New York: Vehicle Searches and Search Incident to Arrest
New York automobile rules; persons, containers, and passenger compartments; circumstances requiring separate authority.
- 72
New York: Vehicle and Personal Property Inventories
Custody and impoundment grounds; required policies and permitted discretion; containers, booking property, and recordkeeping.
- 73
New York: Plain View and Abandoned Property
Lawful vantage point and access; identifying and seizing evidence; abandonment, intent, and effects of prior official conduct.
- 74
New York: Cannabis, Canine Sniffs, and Controlled Substance Changes
Current statutory treatment; odor and alert analysis; training, location, detention, and material state decisions.
- 75
New York: Digital Records, Devices, and Surveillance
New York privacy protections and process requirements; location and provider records; device access and links to the Warrant Prep companion.
- 76
New York: Supervision, Workplaces, Schools, and Bodily Evidence
State-specific authority in specialized settings; private workplace issues; intrusive searches and specialized review or referral.
- 77
New York: Warrant Scope and Conduct During Execution
Reading the issued authority; premises, persons, containers, and scope changes; link to Warrant Prep for drafting and execution procedure.
- 78
New York: State Suppression Remedies and Challenges
New York exclusionary rules; derivative evidence and exceptions; good faith, burdens, available challenges, and record preservation.
- 79
New York: State Decisions Applied to Investigative Choices
Selected controlling decisions across encounter, search, and remedy issues; material facts and holdings; comparing a lawful and defective decision sequence.
- 80
New York: State Scenarios and the Final Decision Checklist
Public and private sector exercises where relevant; facts, authority, scope, duration, and documentation; current sources, review date, and cross-course links.
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