seizure as established in the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
These restrictions are still, essentially, more severe than those on private
citizens, who are not agents of a government entity. Thus, internal
investigators in an organization or private investigators are not subject to
the same restrictions as government officials. Private individuals are not
normally held to the same standards regarding search and seizure since
they are not conducting an unconstitutional government search.
However, there are certain exceptions where the Fourth Amendment
applies to private citizens if they act as agents of the government/police.
Which of the following is NOT one of these exceptions?
A.
The private individual conducts a warrantless search of company
property for the company.
B.
The private individual conducts a search that would require a search
warrant if conducted by a government entity.
C.
The government is aware of the intent to search or is aware of a
search conducted by the private individual and does not object to
these actions.
D.
The private individual performs the search to aid the government.
Explanation:
Since the private individual, say an employee of the company,
conducts a search for evidence on property that is owned by the
company and is not acting as an agent of the government, a
warrantless search is permitted. The Fourth Amendment does not
apply. For review, the Fourth Amendment guarantees:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The exigent circumstances doctrine provides an exception to these
guarantees if destruction of evidence is imminent. Then, a
warrantless search and seizure of evidence can be conducted if there
is probable cause to suspect criminal activity. The other answers
describe exceptions where the private individual is subject to the
Fourth Amendment guarantees.