Crim Pro MCQ Rules 2

Question 1

Does the fifth amendment protect against voluntary incriminating statements?

Answer 1

NO.
The Fifth Amendment only protects against compelled self-incrimination—i.e., the act of implicating oneself in a crime through custodial interrogation or testimony. This protection does not extend to voluntary incriminating statements

Question 2

When does a 4th amendment search take place?

Answer 2

A Fourth Amendment search occurs when the government:

1. Physically intrudes upon a constitutionally protected area to obtain information or
2. Invades a person’s subjective expectation of privacy that society would deem reasonable.

Question 3

Can a 4th amendment search happen if an officer hears a statement from a place where the Offer is lawfully permitted to be?

Answer 3

NO.

*Remember: A statement or conversation can be the subject of a government search—e.g., if police trespass upon a person’s property to listen to a conversation. But no search occurs if an officer hears a statement from a place where the officer has a lawful right to be.

Question 4

Is a photo array identification considered a critical stage for the purpose of the 6th amd.?

Answer 4

NO.

A photo-array identification is not a critical stage because the accused is not present and is not in danger of being misled or overpowered by the police or a government attorney

Question 5

What is a hung jury?

Answer 5

A jury that cannot reach a unanimous verdict after deliberation. AKA a deadlocked jury.

Question 6

When does double jeopardy attach?

Answer 6

When the jury is impaneled and sworn in.

Question 7

Is there double jeopardy protection for a mistrial?

Answer 7

NO.

There is no bar to a second prosecution when a mistrial is declared:
1. At the defendant’s request or with the defendant’s consent or
2. Due to manifest necessity—i.e., a situation rendering it impossible to continue the trial or reach a fair outcome, a hung/deadlocked jury.

Question 8

When can the death penalty be imposed on an accomplice to felony murder?

Answer 8

If the accomplice did not kill, attempt to kill, or intend to kill, then the death penalty cannot be imposed on the accomplice unless the accomplice:

1. Significantly participated in the commission of the underlying felony and
2. Acted with reckless indifference to human life.

Question 9

What is the physical-trespass test?

Answer 9

Under the physical-trespass test, a Fourth Amendment search occurs when the government physically intrudes upon a constitutionally protected area to obtain information.

Question 10

What is curtilage?

Answer 10

The curtilage (e.g., porch, yard) is a constitutionally protected area since it immediately surrounds and is closely associated with a person’s home.

Question 11

When are officers permitted to intrude on a person’s curtilage?

Answer 11

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 12

Is there a constitutional right to present witnesses at a grand jury?

Answer 12

NO, bc a grand jury only has the investigatory power to indict (not the judicial power to convict), witnesses do not enjoy the full complement of constitutional protections during grand jury proceedings.

Question 13

Is there a constitutional right to counsel for witnesses in a grand jury?

Answer 13

NO. A grand jury witness may consult with an attorney outside the grand jury room. But there is no constitutional right to have counsel inside the grand jury room—even when the witness is the target of the grand jury investigation

Question 14

What is the scope of a protective sweep?

Answer 14

A protective sweep is permitted if police have a reasonable suspicion that there is a confederate (i.e., someone who might launch an attack) in spaces immediately adjacent to the place of arrest. However, the sweep must be limited to a quick visual inspection of places in which a person might be hiding.

Question 15

What is the scope of a search warrant?

Answer 15

The search may not exceed the authority granted by the warrant. Therefore, the search must end once the items specified in the warrant have been seized. If not, items seized during the extended search should be suppressed unless an exception to the warrant requirement applies.

Question 16

Do double jeopardy protections apply to administrative proceedings?

Answer 16

NO.

Double-jeopardy protections do not apply to administrative proceedings—e.g., a disciplinary hearing stemming from criminal conduct.

Question 17

What is the dual sovereignty doctrine?

Answer 17

Under the dual-sovereignty doctrine, a federal and a state court, or two different states, can prosecute a defendant for the same crime. However, the same state cannot prosecute a defendant twice for the same conduct.

Question 18

What is the administrative-search exception to the warrant requirement?

Answer 18

Under the administrative-search exception to the warrant requirement, businesses in highly regulated industries (e.g., liquor stores) are subject to warrantless administrative searches. This exception is designed to advance public welfare—not traditional law enforcement objectives like searching for evidence related to a murder.

Question 19

What are some common items & areas where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy?

Answer 19

1. Bank records
2. Things exposed to public view (eg, open fields, abandoned property)
3. Physical characteristics (eg, handwriting, vocal sound)
4. Conversations with undercover officers & informants
5. Pen registers (ie, records of dialed telephone numbers)
6. Smells emanating from cars & other items
7. Prison inmate’s cell
8. Automobile’s vehicle identification number (VIN)

Question 20

What is an anticipatory search warrant?

Answer 20

A warrant that becomes effective only upon the occurrence of a triggering condition—the probable cause requirement is met if:

1. At the time of issuance, there is probable cause to believe that the triggering condition will occur AND
2. 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.

Question 21

What are mandatory presumptions?

Answer 21

Mandatory presumptions compel the fact finder to reach a conclusion from basic facts unless and until it is rebutted.

Question 22

Can mandatory presumptions be used against a criminal Defendant?

Answer 22

NO.
These cannot be used against a criminal defendant to establish an element of the charged crime. Such use would violate the defendant’s due process rights by relieving the prosecution of its burden to prove every element of the charged crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

Question 23

What is the standard for school searches?

Answer 23

School officials need only have a reasonable suspicion that a student is violating (or has violated) the law or school rules to search that student. Then, the search methods must be (1) reasonably related to the objective of the search and (2) not excessively intrusive considering the student’s age, sex, and the nature of the infraction.

Question 24

What is the standard to search a car passenger?

Answer 24

Police must have probable cause to believe that evidence is on the passenger before searching the passenger because probable cause to believe that a vehicle contains evidence of a crime does not justify a warrantless search of a person who is, or had been, a passenger in the vehicle.

Question 25

Do police flyovers constitute a search in violation of the 4th Amd.?

Answer 25

NO.
Police flyovers are not Fourth Amendment searches since (1) aerial observations are not physical intrusions and (2) a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in items and areas exposed to public view.

*Note: The height has to be at least 400 feet for helicopters

Question 26

When is an incriminating statement taken after an unlawful arrest admissible?

Answer 26

An incriminating statement taken after an unlawful arrest is admissible if the court determines that the connection between the arrest and the statement is so attenuated that the statement is considered voluntary.

Question 27

Is illegally obtained evidence allowed in a grand jury proceeding?

Answer 27

YES.
In a grand jury proceeding, the grand jury may consider any relevant evidence—even if that evidence was illegally obtained. As a result, a motion to suppress illegally obtained evidence at a grand jury proceeding should be denied.

Question 28

Are there constitutional protections against taking handwriting exemplars from a criminal D?

Answer 28

The taking of handwriting exemplars does not violate the Fourth Amendment (no reasonable expectation of privacy), the Fifth Amendment (no protection for physical evidence), or the Sixth Amendment (not a critical stage of prosecution).