Criminal Procedure for the
Criminal Justice Professional
11th Edition
John N. Ferdico
Henry F. Fradella
Christopher Totten
Administrative and Special Needs
Searches
Chapter 6
Prepared by Tony Wolusky
Protecting Public Safety

Certain governmental activities aimed at
protecting public health, safety, and welfare
have a long history of regulatory
enforcement.


Regulatory enforcement is quite different from criminal
investigation.
The usual strictures of the Fourth Amendment have
been modified to allow for more flexible enforcement of
public safety laws.
Administrative Search
Warrants
Administrative Searches

An administrative search is a routine
inspection of a home or business by
governmental authorities responsible for
determining compliance with various statutes
and regulations.


It seeks to enforce things like fire, health, safety, and
housing codes and licensing provisions.
An administrative search ordinarily does not result in a
criminal prosecution.
Special Warrant Requirements for
Administrative Searches

Administrative searches differ in nature and
purpose from criminal searches; therefore,
the probable cause standard for
administrative searches differs in nature and
is less stringent than the standard for criminal
searches.
Exceptions to Administrative Warrant
Requirements

Warrantless inspections of licensed and closely
regulated enterprises are reasonable if:
1.
2.
3.
A “substantial” government interest supports the
regulatory scheme under which the inspection is made
Warrantless inspections are necessary to further the
regulatory scheme
The regulatory statute provides a constitutionally
adequate substitute for a warrant by advising the owner
of commercial premises that the search is being made
pursuant to the law, has a properly defined scope, and
limits the discretion of the inspecting officers.
Distinguishing Between
Administrative and Criminal Searches

The line between an administrative and a
criminal search sometimes blurs.


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Depends on investigative purposes and privacy
expectations.
Any criminal evidence found during a valid
administrative search may be seized.
When an administrative search begins to take on the
characteristics of a criminal search, the stricter
standards applicable to criminal searches apply.
If these standards are not satisfied, any evidence
obtained is inadmissible in a criminal prosecution.
Special Needs Searches
The Special Needs Doctrine

An exception to the warrant and probable
cause requirements of the Fourth
Amendment exists where “special needs” of
the government, beyond the normal need
for law enforcement gathering evidence for
crime investigation, make the warrant and
probable cause requirements impracticable.
Evaluating “Reasonableness”

“Special needs” exceptions are evaluated
under the “reasonableness” standard of the
Fourth Amendment, by balancing
1.
2.
3.
4.
The weight and immediacy of the government interest
The nature of the privacy interest allegedly
compromised by the search
The character of the intrusion imposed by the search
The efficacy of the search in advancing the government
interest.
Searches of Governmental Employees


“Special needs" may justify a warrantless search
of a public employee’s office by the employee’s
supervisor.
For searches conducted by a public employer,
the invasion of the employee’s legitimate
expectations of privacy must be balanced
against the government’s need for supervision,
control, and the efficient operation of the
workplace.

Determined on a case-by-case basis
Governmental Drug Testing



Public safety is a special need.
People who work in heavily regulated
industries have a lesser expectation of
privacy.
Drug testing in the interest of special needs is
different than searches done for purposes of
law enforcement.
Searches of Probationers and Parolees

Searches of probationers and parolees are
based on the system’s necessity for nonadversarial supervision their population.


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Conducting such a search is a “special need” justifying
lessened Fourth Amendment protection for the
probationer.
The warrant requirement is impracticable.
The probable cause standard for searching is replaced
by a "reasonable grounds" standard.
Searches of Elementary and HighSchool Students


The Fourth Amendment applies, but the
warrant requirement does not.
Determining the reasonableness of any search
involves an inquiry into:
1.
2.

whether the action was justified at its inception
whether the search as actually conducted was
reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that
justified the interference in the first place.
Random, suspicionless drug testing of students
participating in extracurricular activities is
reasonable.
Searches of College Students

The law of search and seizure in the college
and university setting is inconsistent. They
depend on:


Whether the search was initiated by police or college
employees
Whether it is a public or private college or university
Border Searches

There is no reasonable expectation of privacy
at any of the U.S. borders or their functional
equivalents.


Border searches are a part of maintaining the
sovereignty of the country by controlling the flow of both
people and articles into or out of the country and play a
vital role in maintaining national security.
More invasive searches of people—such as strip
searches, body cavity searches, or extended periods of
detention—require reasonable suspicion, although they
do not require a warrant.
Other Special Needs Searches

Other searches that may fall within the realm
of special-needs searches are:
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Airport and courthouse searches
DNA searches
Public transit system searches