Also known as: chase · chases · seizure · seizures · chase seizure
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A Fourth Amendment doctrine determining whether a law enforcement pursuit of a fleeing suspect constitutes a seizure that triggers protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. The doctrine examines whether the chase involves physical contact, submission to authority, or other circumstances that restrain the suspect's liberty.
Officer Ramirez pursues Cody Callahan on foot after observing him discard a package during a traffic stop. The chase ends when Callahan trips and falls, allowing the officer to tackle him without a warrant. The resulting seizure of the package is later challenged as unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Camila Cervantes flees from state police after a traffic violation. Officers catch her after a lengthy vehicle pursuit and recover drugs from her car. Her attorney moves to suppress the evidence in state court, arguing the chase amounted to an unconstitutional seizure whose fruits must be excluded.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Federal marshals chase Christine Castro across state lines after she flees with smuggled goods. The pursuit culminates in her apprehension and seizure of the contraband. Castro contests the validity of the seizure under constitutional standards applicable at the time.
Agents chase Chloe Chen through an apartment complex after a suspected narcotics transaction. They apprehend her without a warrant and seize cash from her person. Chen later files a damages action alleging the chase and seizure violated her Fourth Amendment rights.
Police chase Cecilia Cabrera after she leaves a suspected gambling operation. Officers seize her without physical contact until she stops running. Cabrera argues the pursuit invaded a reasonable expectation of privacy protected by the Fourth Amendment.
Officers pursue Charles Cunningham after he refuses to answer questions during a street encounter. The chase ends in his detention and seizure of personal papers. Cunningham claims the pursuit infringed a fundamental liberty interest under the Constitution.
A chase becomes a seizure when the suspect submits to authority or is physically apprehended by officers. Mere pursuit without submission or contact does not restrain liberty sufficiently to trigger Fourth Amendment protections.
Supporting sources
Yes. Evidence obtained through a seizure that violates the Fourth Amendment is inadmissible in state criminal proceedings under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Supporting sources
Yes. Individuals may sue federal agents directly under the Constitution for violations of Fourth Amendment rights arising from an improper chase that results in seizure.
The casebook analyzes pages 380-384 whether pursuit constitutes a seizure, directly informing whether evidence must be suppressed when officers chase without reasonable suspicion or probable cause.
Supporting sources
…the freedom of speech, press, and religion; the right to keep and bear arms; the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures; and so on. It is a rational continuum which, broadly speaking, includes a freedom from all substantial arbitrary impositions and purposeless restraints . . . and which also recognizes,…