Criminal law and procedure accumulative test questions

first appearance

this even typically happens within 24-48 hours for individuals in custody. at this event, an individual is informed of basic rights and the next hearing is explained. bail is typically determined, and if there is no attorney yet, the right and appointment of attorney is discussed.

preliminary hearing

this stage represents an in depth review of probable cause. at this stage, the prosecution and defense have a chance to present evidence and examine witnesses before a judge. if the reviewing judge determines there is probable cause to support a criminal charge, the case will get a “bind over”

trial

a defendant begins this stage with a presumption of innocence. here, the prosecution has the burden to prove he’s guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. if that burden is met, the defendant should be convicted. if that burden is not met, the defendant should be found not guilty.

sentencing

this is the penalty stage of the criminal case. this stage can only be undertaken after a defendant had been convicted of a crime.

pre-trial discovery

the sharing of information and evidence before a trial (names and statements of witnesses, for example). the goals of this step are to avoid “trial by surprise” and to facilitate settlement/resolution of the case.

arraignment

this even occurs after the indictment or information had been filed. here, the defendant it informed of the charges and is asked to enter a plea (generally “guilty” or “not guilty”).

all of the individual rights and protections granted in the United States Constitution always apply equally to the Federal Government and the government of each state

false

to have legal authority to handle a particular matter (i.e. to make laws, enforce laws, or hear a case in court in court) is to have _____.

jurisdiction

courts that are authorized to hear felony criminal cases up through trials and sentencing, making decisions about facts and law, are called:

trial courts of general jurisdiction

the majority of all law enforcement agencies in the United States are local in nature (not representing an entire state or country)

true

which person has the ultimate authority over criminal charging decisions, including whether or not to charge a person with a crime, which charges to file, and how many charges to file?

prosecuting attorney

in a criminal case, who does a defense attorney represent?

the person accused of committing a crime

in a criminal case, who does the prosecutor represent?

the government generally (or all “people” of a particular jurisdiction)

at this court event, a group of citizens meeting pin private, hear evidence from the prosecution, and make a determination about probable cause to file criminal charges. if this group determines that probable cause exists, the result will be an “indictment” with a “true bill”

grand jury review

when reading US Supreme Court decisions, this type of opinion will express agreement with the ultimate conclusion of the court, but will state different reasons for reaching that conclusion

concurring opinion

an overwhelming majority of felony cases are resolved without a trial

true

which Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…”?

fourteenth amendment

which approach to the Fourteenth Amendment due process is best described as adopting those guarantees of the Bill of Rights that are deemed “fundamental” to our way of justice AND asserting that any “fundamental” guarantee is applicable to the states to the same extent as it applies to the federal government?

selective incorporation

which approach to the Fourteenth Amendment due process asserts that due process has meaning beyond (and in addition to) the rights listed in the Bill of Rights

free-standing due process

in federal and state courts, a defendant has the right to a jury trial in any case where the possible sentence includes a term of incarceration of at least":

6 months

which Amendment to the Unites States Constitution protects individuals against unreasonable searched and seizure by the government?

fourth amendment

in the context of searches and seizures, which of the following statements best describes the exclusionary rule?

when evidence is obtained in violation of the fourth amendment, the evidence is generally inadmissible in a criminal trial

what is the purpose of the exclusionary rule?

to deter police officers from violating individual rights

which of the following accurately reflects a statement by the U.S. Supreme Court, in Katz v. United States, regarding privacy interests

a search or seizure by the government can be anything that intrudes upon an indiviuals’s justificable (or reasonable) expectation of privacy, regardless of where the search is taking place.

the U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that the government may NOT search garbage bags that have been set out at the curb for collection because individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the content of those garbage bags

false

even though a police officer may generally approach the front door of a residence without a warrant, an officer may not do so with a drug-detecting dog who sniffs inside the home because this is a “search” under the fourth amendment.

true

when a search warrant or an arrest warrant is issues, who makes the ultimate decision about whether probable cause exists?

judge or magistrate

pursuant of carpenter v. Unites States (2018), though police may not always need a warrant to access limited cell site location information (CSLI or cell phone “pings”), police do need a warrant to access many points of a suspect’s CSLI over a period of time

true

valid warrants may be issued to search any property ( as long as 4th Amendment requirements are met) even if the occupant of the property is not suspected of committing a crime.

true

according to Torres v. Madrid (2021), it is a “seizure” under the Fourth Amendment when officers shoot at a suspect with intent to restrain that person, even is the person gets away

true

probable cause for an arrest means that ____ that a crime has been committed by the person the law enforcement officer intends to arrest

there are sufficient facts upon which a reasonable person could base a belief

in Illinois v. Gates (1983), the Supreme Court rejected the previous tests from cases like Aguilar and Spinelli and firmly established this approach to probable cause

totality of the circumstance

under what circumstances are police allowed to execute a warrant without first knocking and announcing their identity and purpose

when police have reason to believe that knocking and announcing would be dangerous or futile or would inhibit the investigation

the investigation of certain types of crimes (such as felony drug crimes) will always allow for a no-knock warrant execution of a search warrant, regardless of the particular circumstance of the case

false

what is a pre-textual stop?

when a police officer conducts a stop or an arrest with probable cause for one thing, but the officer has another purpose in mind when making the stop

as discussed in Whren v. United States, the Supreme Court has held that pretextual stops are permissible under ordinary circumstances

true

according to the fourth amendment of the united states constitution, what are the requirements of obtain a warrant?

1. have probable cause

2. swear under oath

3. state clearly the place being searched, or the person/things being seized

4. even with a warrant, the search or seizure must be reasonable

1) What is the "exclusionary rule?

The exclusionary rule states that any evidence gathered in a manner that violates a person’s 4th amendment right is inadmissible in the court of law

2) What is the purpose of the exclusionary rule, according to United States Supreme Court?

the purpose of the exclusionary rule is to deter police from violating personal rights

3) Does the exclusionary rule apply to the States? Use the cases of Wolf v. Colorado and Mapp v. Ohio to discuss the progression of Supreme Court decisions regarding the exclusionary rule.

The exclusionary rule does apply to the states. At first, in the Wolf v. Colorado case it was deemed not applicable to the states one reason being that only 17 stated stood with it. In the Mapp v. Ohio case they realized that the there was no deterrence to make police respect personal rights when it came to searches and seizures so tehy decided to apply the exclusionary rule to the states as well.

4) Name an exception to the exclusionary rule.

in the law of good faith, the exclusionary rule is waived

when police have probable cause to arrest an individual, but no arrest warrant, which of the following is true?

police may not enter the individual’s home without consent

when police have an arrest warrant for an individual, which of the following is true?

police can enter that individuals home without consent if they reasonably believe the individual is there at that moment

according to the supreme court, what is the area of an arrestees “immediate control”?

the area from which the person might gain possession of a weapon of destructible evidence

where police have reasonable belief that waiting to get a warrant will likely result in imminent destruction of evidence or will impede the officer’s ability to assist an individual who is seriously injured or threatened with serious injury, the officers have:

all of the above

• an exception to the warrant requirement

• a lawful reason to proceed without a warrant

• exigent circumstances

police lawfully arrest Janie in the living room of her home. police may then conduct a protective sweep of the rooms close to the living room, as long as this is merely a cursory search limited to spaces where a person could be found

true

with respect to the Fourth Amendment law, what is the “automobile exception”

an officer may search an automobile without a warrant as long as the officer has probable cause for the search

which case originally recognized the automobile exception?

Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132 (1925)

what is the “passenger compartment” of a vehicle?

the part of the vehicle where people are typically able to sit

according to Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332 (2009), under which circumstance may an officer search the passenger compartment of a vehicle?

the officer can search the passenger compartment of the vehicle if the officer reasonably believes the passenger compartment may contain evidence of the offense of the arrest

according to California v. Carney (1969), when does the automobile exception apply?

when a vehicle is being used on the highways or is readily capable of such use and is found stationary in a place not regularly used for residential purposes.

according to the US Supreme court, complete inventory searches of a vehicle in police custody and control are reasonable under the 4th Amendment

true

according to Kentucky v. King, (2011), when police themselves create exigent circumstances, police are still allowed to use the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement as long as:

the police do not violate or threaten to violate Fourth Amendment rights

according to Wyoming v. Houghton, 526 U.S. 295 (1999), when conducting a search of an automobile, possessions of a passenger are given greater protections than possessions of the driver

false

an investigative stop under Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), must be based on:

reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity

generally speaking, in order to conduct a frisk of an individual during an investigative stop of that person, police are required to have:

reasonable suspicion that the person may be armed

pretextual stops have been prohibited by the U.S.Supreme Court

false

an arrest is a more significant deprivation of liberty/freedom than a stop

true

pursuant of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), if an officer who has conducted an investigatory stop has reasonable suspicion that the “stopped” individual may be armed, what actions may the officer take?

the officer may conduct a pat down of the individual that is limited to the purpose of finding a weapon

because of the unique dangers involved in policing, an officer may justify a pat down of an individual by stating “officer safety reasons” and need not give any articulable facts to support this conclusion

false

without further justification than a traffic violation, the time it takes to complete a traffic stop cannot be extended, even for a de minimis amount of time, in order to allow officer to conduct a K-9 drug sniff of the stopped vehicle.

true

persuant to New Jersey v. T.L.O, 469 U.S. 325 (1985), students in public schools are lawfully subject to a search by school officials:

whenever there is reasonable grounds for believing that the student has broken a law or school rule

in order to have valid consent to search, police must first inform a suspect that the suspect has the legal right to refuse consent.

false

the police arrive at a home and ask for consent to enter. two residents are present and speaking with police. one resident consents to the search and the other resident expressly objects. the police can now lawfully enter and search the home because they have the consent of at least one physically present resident

false

which of the following is true when an officer finds a cell phone on the person of an arrestee during a valid search incident to lawful arrest (SILA)?

the officer may seize the cell phone as part of the SILA, but the officer must obtain a warrant before the digital evidence of the cell phone may be searched

in the case of schneckloth v. bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218 (1973). the court clearly established that in order to have valid consent:

the consent given must be determined to be voluntary, based upon the totality of the circumstances

the co-occupant consent rule means that valid consent for the search of the property:

can be given by any person with apparent legal authority to possess the property

in order for it to be valid, consent to search must always be given voluntarily and knowingly, meaning that any person giving consent must fully understand their right to refuse an officer’s request to search.

false

when the knock and announce rule is violated the exclusionary rule must be applied

false

when discussing the exclusionary rule and its application to “fruit of poisinois tree,” the U.S. Supreme Court has said that the interests involved in determining unlawful police activity are balanced:

when the government is put in the same position (not better or worse) than before the unlawful activity

when determining whether or not the exclusionary rule should apply to evidence found indirectly as a result of a constitutional violation, which of the following factors have been identified as important by the court?

all of these factors:

• temporal proximity

• the presence of intervening circumstances

• the purpose and flagrancy of the official misconduct

the rule that evidence that was obtained through a violation of a person’s rights can still be admissible if it was also obtained through a separate, independent, legal source, is known as:

independent source doctrine

the rule providing that evidence obtained by illegal means may nonetheless be admissible if the prosecution can show that the evidence would have been legally obtained anyway, is known as:

inevitable discovery

the constitutional right to counsel in a criminal proceeding extends to the defendant first level state court appeal of the right

true

the right to assistance of counsel in a criminal prosecution comes from which Amendment to the United States constitution

sixth

a defendant who is too poor to pay for their own criminal defense attorney is known as:

indigent

in what year was the landmark case Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 decided?

1963

people have the right to counsel under which of the following circumstances?

at a trial when prison or jail is an actual sentence impose by the judge after conviction

how many justices currently sit on the U.S. Supreme Court when the court is full?

9

U.S. Supreme Court Justices are elected by voters

false

in Payton v. New York the United States Supreme Court discusses the “plain view doctrine” what is the plain view doctrine?

The rule permits a police officer's warrantless seizure and uses it as evidence of an item, observed in plain view from a lawful position or during a legal search when the officer has probable cause to believe that the item is evidence of a crime

who is the current chief justice of the United States Supreme Court

john Roberts

because people are clearly not free to leave during a traffic stop, this situation requires Miranda warnings

false

arrest of a recent vehicle occupant automatically justifies a search of the passenger compartment of the vehicle

false

a “search” that is protected under the fourth Amendment, is any:

thing that infringes upon reasonable expectation of privacy

police can enter a suspect’s home to make an arrest for a felony as long as they have probable cause

false

what is the purpose of the exclusionary rule

deter police from violating individual rights

police must provide Miranda warnings even during undercover operations

false

this step in the process is when the parties share information about the evidence they have

pre-trial discovery

when police fail to give Miranda warnings during CI, there is no violation if there is no case against the suspect

true

when are police obligated to provide a suspect with Miranda warnings?

before a custodial interrogation

a suspect’s silence is enough to invoke the right to remain silent in a way that requires police to end an interrogation

false

for purposes of miranda, which of the following constitute an interrogation?

all of the above

• express questioning by the police

• words by police that they know are likely to elicit an incriminating response

• actions by police they known is likely to elicit an incriminating response

what personal characteristics of a suspect is relevant in making a custody determination for Miranda purposes

age

is a suspect invokes their Miranda rights, what is required before police can attempt another interrogation?

14 day break in custody

exclusion in not required for physical evidence derives from a Miranda violation as long as the statement was voluntary

true

when is a suspect entitled to representation of counsel at a pre-trial identification?

at an in-person lineup after indictment

when the ID procedure is unnecessarily suggestive and conducive to irreparable mistaken identification…

the ID is excluded as a Due Process violation

no entity may make or enforce a law unless it has ____ to do so

jurisdiction