Crim Pro MCQ Flashcards
automobile exception
The automobile exception to the warrant requirement allows police to conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle if they have probable cause to believe it contains evidence of a crime. Officers can search any area within the vehicle where the evidence might be located, including the trunk and locked containers.
Probable cause
Probable cause to support a search warrant can come from information supplied by (1) a reliable, known informant or (2) an unknown informant if the information is independently verified.
civil liability
The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination protects suspects in criminal proceedings from being compelled to provide self-incriminating evidence that is testimonial in nature—e.g., via a grand jury subpoena. However, this privilege does not apply to evidence that might subject a person to civil liability
corporations
the privilege against self-incrimination applies only to individuals—not corporations. This means that when a corporation is the target of an investigation (as seen here), the custodian of corporate records (or other corporate officer) cannot refuse to produce subpoenaed documents by citing this privilege. This is true even if the documents would incriminate the custodian (or officer) personally.
Sixth Amendment right to counsel automatically attaches…
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel automatically attaches once formal judicial proceedings have commenced (e.g., at an arraignment). Once the right has attached, it applies to all critical stages of the prosecution.
without Miranda warnings
A suspect’s incriminating statement during a custodial interrogation without Miranda warnings cannot be used against the suspect at a subsequent trial. However, physical evidence obtained as a result of the non-Mirandized statement is admissible so long as that statement was not coerced.
Intentional racial discrimination in the selection of grand jurors
Individuals may not be intentionally excluded from service as grand jurors on the basis of race. The conviction of a person tried pursuant to an indictment issued by a grand jury from which individuals have intentionally been excluded on the basis of race must be overturned, even if the exclusion is determined to be harmless error with respect to the conviction, and even if the person convicted is not a member of excluded race.
mistrial
The double jeopardy clause does not bar a second prosecution for the same offense when a mistrial is declared at the defendant’s request, with the defendant’s consent, or due to manifest necessity (e.g., a hung jury).
capitol punishment felony murder
An accomplice to felony murder who did not kill, attempt to kill, or intend to kill cannot be sentenced to the death unless the accomplice (1) significantly participated in the commission of the underlying felony and (2) acted with reckless indifference to human life.
Canine sniff
Use of a trained dog to sniff for the presence of drugs is a search if it involves a physical intrusion onto constitutionally protected property. In the absence of a physical intrusion, the use of drug-sniffing dogs does not violate a reasonable expectation of privacy.
grand jury witness
A grand jury witness may consult with an attorney outside the grand jury room, but there is no constitutional right to have counsel present inside the grand jury room. Additionally, there is no constitutional right to present witnesses at a grand jury proceeding.
ineffective assistance of counsel
To establish ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must show that (1) the attorney’s performance fell below objective standards of reasonableness and (2) there is a reasonable probability that, but for that deficiency, the outcome would have been different.
arrest warrant
An arrest warrant implicitly authorizes entry into the arrestee’s home to serve the warrant if police have reason to believe that the arrestee is present. But police may enter a third party’s home to execute an arrest warrant only when they have:
a warrant authorizing the search of the home
exigent circumstances or
the third party’s consent to enter the home.
Absent one of the above conditions, an arrest in a third party’s home is illegal. But that illegal arrest does not prevent the subsequent prosecution of the arrestee—so long as the arrestee was properly charged
anticipatory search warrant
When police seek the issuance of an anticipatory search warrant—i.e., a warrant that becomes effective only upon the occurrence of a triggering condition—the probable cause requirement is met if:
at the time of issuance, there is probable cause to believe that the triggering condition will occur and
if the condition does occur, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found at the place to be searched.
mandatory presumptions
Due process prohibits the use of mandatory presumptions—i.e., conclusions that must be drawn from basic facts—against a criminal defendant regarding an element of the charged crime.
