Criminal Procedure Exam 1

Police Officer Otto Offenbach, on patrol, sees Pierce D. Mann stagger out in the street from a tavern, bleeding. Otto stops to render aid. “He stabbed me,” says Pierce, who then dies. If there are 45 people in the Tavern, can Otto arrest them all since one of them must have been the killer?

No

Assume the same facts as those given in #1 above with the following changes. Officer Offenbach sees Pierce staggering into the street bleeding with Mack closely following pierce. “he stabbed me,” says Pierce, pointing at Mack. Pierce then passes out and dies. Does Otto have PROBABLE CAUSE to arrest Mack?

Yes

Officer Lou Tennant is on patrol in Corpus Chrisiti, Texas and sees a Hispanic male pedestrian, approximately 35 yrs old, wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans, about 5’8 tall. Tennant knows that the pedestrian, Pedro, matches the description of a burglary suspect from a house in the same neighborhood earlier that morning. Does Tennant have probable cause to arrest Pedro

No

Detective McGruff gets an anonumous phone call assserting that Bates, a local motel owner, is dealing drugs and has drugs in his motel. The anonymous phone call predicts that Bates will drive from Corpus Christi Texas to Carrolton, Texas (415 miles away) at 2am and return the next day with drugs in his car trunk.

McGruff finds out what kind of car Bates drives and sees bates leave his motel at 3am on the date specified. McGruff arranges with the DPS to monitor the highway. The DPS surviels Bates and finds that he drove to a house in Carrollton, stayed there for thirty minutes, and then left, heading back to Corpus Christi. 

McGruff, based on these facts, seeks a warrant from a Nueces County District Judge to search the Bates Motel. 

The judge should grant the warrant since under the ‘totality of the circumstances’ McGruff has probable cause. 

Police Officer Hank Cuff develops probable cause to suspect Jim Weed of a Felony. Jim Weed lives in a trailer in a trailer park in Flour Bluff. Officer Cuff goes to the trailer, kicks down the door, and arrests Weed for the felony. Cuff did not bother to ger an arrest warrant.

The arrest was unlawful since Officer Cuff did not get an arrest warrant for an arrest of Weed in his dwelling.

What is the 4th amendment?

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 person or things being seized.

What is the 5th amendment?

(Right to remain silent, right to not self incriminate, protection from double jeporady, eminent domain, due process, grand jury indicment")

No person shall be help to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in Jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. 

What is the 6th amendment?

guarantees rights to criminal defendants, ensuring a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, the right to be informed of the criminal charges, the right to confront witnesses against them, the right to obtain favorable witnesses, and the right to legal representation

What is PRECEDENT?

a case followed by the courts to rule/decide in another case that is similar

What is STARE DECISIS?

“Let the decision stand,” doctrine that follows precedent

What is JURISDICTION?

the authority to carry out an act of government. The jurisdiction of a court refers to the authority of that court to hear and decide cases. 

What are the different types of Court Jurisdiction?

Special, Limited General, Original, and Appellate

What is SPECIAL jurisdiction?

limited authority to hear only specific types of cased defined by law EX: bankruptcy, family law, immigration etc

What is LIMITED jurisdiction?

court hearing a case with limited authority EX: small claims court

What is GENERAL jurisdiction?

general trial courts EX: murder cases etc

What is ORIGINAL jurisdiction?

Hears and decides a case for the first time or trial courts

What is APPELLATE jurisdiction?

review lower court for legal errors. Decide the law. Appellate judges outrank trial judges

Which is the highest Texas Appellate court for Criminal cases?

Court of Criminal Appeals

What are the Texas Courts of general original jurisdiction called? 

District Courts

What is the Hierarchy of Law?

the order in which laws take priority over each other in the even of a conflict between them

What are the doctrines that limit access to the US Supreme Court?

‘equal dignities’ and abstention

What is ‘equal digninites’?

a legal doctrine requiring that an agent to perform all acts authorized by a principal. If a matter requires writing, agency agreements concerning the matter must also be written

What is ‘abstention’?

federal courts to decline jurisdiction over a case to allow a state court or administrative body to resolve issues

What remedy does an appellant recieve from a succesful appeal?

when you get an appeal, you are granted a NEW trial based on evidence/court mistakes

Case of Gideon v Wainwright

Gideon argued that he should be appointed counsel even if he could not afford it. 

Didnt believe he recieved a fail trial

Hugo black on supremer court argued for all people to recieve equal justice

USSC sided with gideon and granted the right to court appointed attorney

What is Trial Process?

Most cases are plea bargained sometime after arrest and before trial, however there is process on which the trial goes through when a case does go to trial.

What are the steps of the Trial Proccess?

Arrest

Bail hearing

Preliminary Hearing

Arraignment

Jury Selection

Opening Statements

states evidence

defence evidence

closing arguments

jury deliberations

verdict

sentencing

appeal

What is Probable Cause?

Facts and Circumstances which would lead a reasonable person to conclude that a crime has been committed by the suspect or that items subject to seizure are at a specific location.

Case of Illnois v Gates

Probable cause must be reliable under the ‘totality of the circumstances, anonymous probable cause must be corroborated with predictive info. Probable cause is NOT equivalent to proof of guilt beyond unreasonable doubt.

True or False, anonymous probable cause must be corroborated?

True, it HAS to be corroborated

True or False, Probable cause is NOT equivalent to proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

True, they are different

What is the Exclusionary Rule?

evidence which is obtained in violation of the fourth amendment is NOT admissible at a criminal trial to prove guilt of the person whose rights were violated.

What did the case of Weeks v US create?

created the exclusionary rule through the USSC

What did the case of Mapp v Ohio do?

Extended the exclusionary rule to apply to state criminal proceedings

What did the ‘Fruit of the Poisioness Tree’ doctrine do?

Extended the exclusionary rule

What did the Sioverthorne Lumber Co v US (1920) find?

Case about tax evasion with no warrant. found that evidence derived from illegally obtained evidence is also inadmissible

What is the ‘Good Faith Exception'“?

weakend the exclusionary rule, means that the police officer is relying on ‘good faith’ on his own belief that probable cause is present and additionally obtains a warrant from a magistrate

What did Massachusetts v Sheppard (1984) find?

probable cause was present, but warrant was technically defective. case which good faith doctrine derived from

What did US v Leon (1984) find?

probable cause was lacking because the information was ‘stale’ but a magistrate granted a proper warrant anyhow. also case which good faith doctrine derived from

True or False, Texas has the ‘good faith’ exception?

True, the exception mostly tracks federal rule, except that Texas more stress is laid on the requirement that valid probable cause exists in the first place. We dont trust our judges as much as the federal courts.

In the case of Herring v US (2009)..

a police officer may base an arrest on a good faith belief that an arrest warrant exists based on information provided by a police dispatcher, even if the warrant did not in fact exist because it had expired.

What can search warrants be issues for?

Fruits of crime

Instrumentalities of crime

Contraband

Mere evidence

In Johnson v US (1948)…

Warrants are preferred if there is time to obtain one

In Coolidge v New Hampshire (1979)…

a warrant must be issued by a neutral and detached magistrate

Lo-Ji Sales Inc v New York (1979)…

‘open ended’ search warrants are unconstitutional; the issuing magistrate must not become involved in the investigation

Hudson v Michigan (2006)…

failure by the police to “knock and announce” does not trigger the exclusionary rule, provided the police are excecuting a calid warrant

How many days do you have to execute a search warrant in Texas?

3 dares to execute (exclusive of date of inssuance/date of execution)

True or False, A warrant for ‘mere evidence’ or for a blood sample, must be issued by a magistrate who is a lawyer

True, must be issued by a lawyer

True or False, A warrant for a DNA sample must be issues by a district court judge

True, must be issued by a district court judge

True or False, a search warrant may be combined with an arrest warrant

True, they may be combined