Seizure

The classic MBE pattern hands you facts about police-citizen contact and asks when the seizure occurred — because that moment fixes which justification the state needed. Watch for the “tell”: an officer’s show of authority seizes a suspect only if the person actually submits; a fleeing suspect who ignores commands is not seized until physically caught (California v. Hodari D.). During a frisk, an officer may seize an object under the plain-feel doctrine only if its contraband nature is immediately apparent by touch — squeezing or manipulating it exceeds the pat-down’s scope (Minnesota v. Dickerson, where the seizure was actually held unlawful for that reason).

Do not confuse seizure with search: a seizure burdens a possessory interest, a search invades a privacy interest, so a single act (entering a home, opening a trunk) can be both — yet either can occur alone. The classic trap is demanding probable cause for every detention: a brief investigatory stop needs only reasonable suspicion, and a true consensual encounter needs no justification at all. Always match the intrusion to the quantum of suspicion.