crim and crim pro

Question 1

bigamy

Answer 1

strict liability crime: the act of marrying while legally married to another.

Question 2

mistake of fact defense

Answer 2

strict liability - never a defense
specific intent - honest mistake negates specific intent
general intent - honest and reasonable mistake negates mens rea

Question 3

Felony Murder Agency Theory vs. Proximate Cause Theory

Answer 3

Agency theory (majority) - D responsible for deaths caused by co-felons

proximate cause theory (minority rule) - D responsible for deaths caused by any person.

Question 4

defense to attempt crime - impossibility

Answer 4

legal - intended act would not be criminal if completed
factual - unknown condition prevent the completion of intended crime - NOT A DEFENSE

Question 5

Burglary

Answer 5

unlawful entry
of a structure or building
with a specific intent to
commit a crime

Question 6

accomplice liability

Answer 6

• aids or abets another before or during a crime;
• with the specific intent that encouraged the crime be completed
• slight aid or encouragement suffice, even when such assistance is not ultimately necessary to commit the crime.

Question 7

Larceny

Answer 7

• Trespassory taking and carrying away of
• the personal property of another
• with the specific intent to
• permanently deprive the person of the property

Question 8

false pretense

Answer 8

• obtains title to another’s property by
• knowingly misrepresenting a material fact
• with the specific intent to defraud

Question 9

Forgery

Answer 9

• the making of a false writing of apparent legal significance with
• the specific intent to defraud

Question 10

common law conspiracy

Answer 10

bilateral approach - meeting of the minds

Question 11

Fourth Amendment

Answer 11

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Question 12

What is a search?

Answer 12

search occurs when the government:
- physically intrudes upon a constitutionally protected area to obtain information or
- invades a person’s subjective expectation of privacy that society would deem reasonable.

Question 13

Exceptions to Warrant Requirement

Answer 13

**SAD SPACES
**1. search incident to arrest
2. administrative search
3. stop and frisk
4. plain view
5. automobile exception
6. consent
7. exigent circumstance
8. special government purpose

Question 14

Racial Discrimination in Grand Jury Selection

Answer 14

• A defendant indicted by a grand jury that excluded members of a racial group may raise an equal protection challenge—even if the defendant is not a member of the excluded group.
• If the appellate court finds that there was deliberate discrimination in the selection of grand jurors, automatic reversal of the conviction is required.

Question 15

When is Sixth Amendment right to counsel triggered?

Answer 15

• automatically attaches when formal judicial proceedings have commenced (e.g., indictment, preliminary hearing, arraignment) and
• guarantees that criminal defendants will have the assistance of counsel during all **critical stages **of prosecution—i.e., any event where the absence of counsel may prejudice the defendant’s right to a fair trial.

Question 16

What are the critical stages that require the presence of an attorney under the 6th Amendment?

Answer 16

1. Post-indictment: lineups, in-person identifications, interrogations
2. arraignments, preliminary hearings, bail hearings, pretrial motions
3. plea negotiations and hearings
4. trial and sentencing

Question 17

What are the noncritical stages that do not require the presence of an attorney?

Answer 17

1. precharge lineups
2. photo-array ID
3. fingerprinting, handwriting, blood samples
4. initial appearances, hearings to determine probable cause to detain D
5. discretionary appeals
6. post-conviction proceedings (parole or probation hearing)

Question 18

Imposing death penalty on a felony-murder accomplice

Answer 18

Question 19

curtilage

Answer 19

a constitutionally protected area since it immediately surrounds and is closely associated with a person’s home.

Police have an implied license to briefly intrude upon a person’s front curtilage in the same manner as an ordinary visitor (e.g., to knock on the front door to speak with the homeowner).

However, entering the curtilage in an unusual manner for an uncommon purpose (e.g., to conduct a dog sniff for drugs) constitutes a Fourth Amendment search and must be supported by a warrant.

Question 20

When is a warrantless search incident to arrest permitted?

Answer 20

General Rule: person has been lawfully arrested and search limited to person’s body & areas within immediate reach.

Vehicle search: if it is reasonable to believe that evidence relevant to crime of arrest may be found therein, even if vehicle is outside of person’s immediate control.

Question 21

Search warrant requirements

Answer 21

(1) be issued by a neutral and detached magistrate based on probable cause, (2) be supported by a sworn oath or affidavit, and (3) describe the place to be searched and the items to be seized with particularity.

Question 22

Mandatory presumptions - compel the fact finder to reach a conclusion

Answer 22

Mandatory presumptions cannot be used against a criminal defendant to establish an element of the charged crime.

Question 23

“plain view” doctrine

Answer 23

officer properly executing a warrant has authority to seize the evidence not particularly described if:
1. the officer is lawfully on the premises; and
2. the incriminating character of the item is immediately apparent; and
3. the officer has lawful access to the item.

Question 24

admissibility of in-court identification testimony

Answer 24

Question 25

school searches

Answer 25

Question 26

warrantless search of passenger in the vehicle

Answer 26

Police must have probable cause to believe that evidence is on the passenger before searching the passenger.

Question 27

Exclusionary Rule

Answer 27

• an unlawful arrest generally requires suppression of evidence obtained as a result of that arrest.
• Exception: an incriminating statement made after an unlawful arrest is admissible if the connection between the arrest and the statement is so attenuated that the statement is considered voluntary.
• look to: length of time, flagrancy of the police misconduct, intervening events, etc.

Question 28

checkpoint

Answer 28

**must serve special law enforcement need:
*** the stop’s primary law enforcement purpose was to elicit evidence to help police apprehend individuals other than the vehicle’s occupants (here, to apprehend a murderer)

• the stop significantly advanced a public concern (here, solving a murder) and
• the police tailored the checkpoint to fit important criminal investigatory needs and to minimally interfere with Fourth Amendment rights (here, the checkpoint stops were brief)

Question 29

Can police search a person who is on the premise but not named in the warrant?

Answer 29

No without independent justification.

Question 30

The Sixth Amendment provides a constitutional right to counsel in any case in which the defendant is sentenced to incarceration

Answer 30

The failure to provide counsel at trial results in automatic reversal of a conviction.

Question 30

What constitutes interrogation?

Answer 30

Interrogation refers not only to express questioning, but also to any words or actions that the police know or should know are likely to elicit an incriminating response.

Question 31

Right to a jury trial

Answer 31

for offenses that carry an authorized sentence of more than six months, regardless of the actual penalty imp[osed.

Question 32

prima facie case for jury selection

Answer 32

a defendant must show that: (i) the group excluded is a distinctive group in the community; (ii) the group was not fairly represented in the venire from which the jury was selected; and (iii) the underrepresentation resulted from a systematic exclusion of the group.