Criminal Procedure Flashcards
a
Fourth Amendment
Government is prohibited from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Under the 4th Amendment, what constitutes a seizure?
Under the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable person would feel that they were not free to decline to officer’s requests or otherwise termiante the encounter.
Under the 4th Amendment, what constitutes an arrest?
When the police take a person into custody against their will for purposes of criminal prosecution or interrogation.
An arrest must be based on ___. Which is ___.
Probable cause; trustworthy facts or knowledge sufficient for a reasonable person to believe that the suspect has committed or is committing a crime for which arrest is authorized by law (based on totality of the circumstances)
In what locations are arrest warrants required?
- Not Required = public places
- Required = at home (non-emergencies)
When officers are executing a warrant at a suspect’s house, may they enter the home?
Only if there is reason to believe the suspect is within it.
Terry Stop
- The police have the authority to briefly detain a person even if they lack probable cause to arrest.
- If the police have a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or involement in a completed crime, supported by articulable facts, they may detain a person for investigative purposes.
___ is required for a Terry stop.
Reasonable suspicion supported by articulable facts
Note: More than a vague suspicion but less than probable cause
May police conduct a Terry stop based on an informant’s tip?
Only if there is an indicia of reliability (i.e., predictive information)
What is the duration and scope of a Terry stop?
The police must act in a diligent and reasonable manner in confirming or dispellling their suspicions.
When may police conduct an automobile stop?
If the officer has at least reasonable suspicion to believe that a law has been violated.
May police use police dogs durring traffic stops?
During routine traffic stops, a dog sniff is not a search, so long as the police do not extend the stop beyond the time needed to issue a ticket or conduct normal inquiries.
Does a police officer’s mistake of law invalidate a seizure?
No, a police officer’s mistake of law does not invalidate a seizure as long as the mistake was reasonable.
Are informational checkpoints and roadblocks valid?
If the police set up a roadblock for purposes other than seeking incriminating information about the drivers stopped, the roadblock will be constitutional.
To be valid, the roadblock must:
* Stop cars on the basis of some neutral, articulable standard; and
* Be designed to serve purposes closely related to a particular problem pertaining to automobiles and their mobility
Are pretextual stops valid?
Yes, if the police have probable cause to beleive a drive violated a traffic law, they may stop the car, even if their ulterior motive is to investigate a crime for which they lack sufficient cause to make a stop.
4 Steps to 4th Amendment Search Analysis
- Is the actor a government actor?
- Does the defendant have a 4th Amendment right or does the search involve a physical intrustion into a constitutionally protected area?
- Did the police have a valid warrant?
- If the police did not have a valid wararnt, was the search and seizure within one of the exceptions to the warrant requirement?
Which areas are protected by a 4th Amendment search?
- Search or seizure by a government agent of a constitutionally protected area in which the individual had a reasonable expectation of privacy
- Physical intrusion by the government into a constitutionally protected area to obtain information
What requirements must a person have standing to object to a governmental search?
A person must have their own reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to the place searched or the item searched.
A person ALWAYS has a reasonable expectation of privacy:
* The person owned or had a right to possession of the place searched
* The place searched was their home (whether or not they owned or possessed it)
* The person was an overnight guest
A person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in objects held out to the public. This includes:
- Sound of your voice
- Style of handwriting
- Paint on outside of car
- Account records held by bank
- Location of car on a public street or in a driveway
- Open fields
- Public airspace
- Odors emanating from luggage or car
- Garbage set out on the curb for collection
What are the two requirements for a facially valid search warrant?
- Probable Cause
- Particularity
How is probable cause established for a valid warrant?
If the magistrate determines there is probable cause to believe that seizable evidence will be found on the person or premises at the time the warrant is executed.
Can police use informant’s to establish probable cause for a warrant?
Based on the totality of the circumstances, only if the informant’s reliability and credibility or their basis for knowledge are relevant factors in making the determination.
A search warrant issued on the basis of an affidavit will be held invalid if the defendant establishes all three of the following:
- A false statement was included in the affidavit by the affiant
- The affiant intentionally or recklessly included the false statement; and
- The false statement was material to the finding of probable cause
A warrant must be particular, which means ___.
It describes the place to be searched and items to be seized.
May a warrant predict when illegal items may be in a suspect’s home?
Yes, the items need not be on the premises at the time the warrant is issued.
Are search warrants of non-suspect’s homes valid?
Yes, as long as there is probable cause to beleive that evidence will be found there.
Who may execute a warrant?
Only police – cannot be accompanied by any third parties unless the third parties are present to aid in identifying stolen property
When must a warrant be executed?
Without unreasonable delay
When police arrive at a home to execute a search warrant, what must they do?
- Knock
- Announce their purpose
- Wait a reasonable time for admittance (unless the officer has reasonable suspicion, based on facts, that announcing would be dangerous or futile or would inhibit the investigation)
What is the scope of a search warrant?
Limited to what is reasonably necessary to discover the items described in the warrant.
Will violations of the knock and announce rule result in suppression of evidence otherwise properly obtained?
No
May officer search persons found on the premises during a search warrant?
A warrant to search for contraband authorizes the police to detain occupants of the premises during a search, but a search warrant does not authorize police to search persons found on the premises who were not named in the warrant.
May police follow, stop, detain, or search persons who left the premises shortly before the search warrant was executed?
No
What are the six exceptions to warrantless searches?
- Search Incident to Arrest
- Automobiles
- Plain View
- Consent
- Stop and Frisk (Terry Stop)
- Hot Pursuit, Evanescent Evidence, and Emergency Aid
When are searches incident to arrest valid?
Incident to a constitutional arrest, the police may search the person and areas into which they might reach to obtain weapons or destroy evidence. They may also make a protective sweep of the area if they believe accomplices may be present.
When must searches incidential to arrest be conducted?
They must be contemporaneous in time and place with the arrest.
After a search incident to arrest, may an officer search a vehicle?
The police may conduct a search of the passenger compartment of an automobile incident to arrest only if at the time of the search:
1. The arrestee is unsecured and still may gain access to the interior of the vehicle; or
2. The police reasonably believe that evidence of the offense for which the person was arrested may be found in the vehicle.
What is the automobile exception to a warrantless search?
If the police have probable cause to believe that a vehicle contains fruits, instrumentalities, or evidence of a crime, they may search the whole vehicle and any container that might reasonably contain the item for which they have probable cause to search.
What is the plain view exception to a warrantless search?
Police may make a warrantless seizure when they:
1. Are legitimately on the premises
2. Discover evidence, fruits, or instrumentalities of crime, or contraband
3. See such evidence in plain view; and
4. Have probable cause to believe that the item is evidence, contraband, or a fruit or instrumentality of a crime
When is consent to a warrantless search valid?
- Voluntary
- The person has authority to consent (any person w/ apparent equal right to use or occupy the property)
Note: Knowledge of the right to withhold consent is NOT a prerequisite to establish voluntary consent
During a Terry stop, what is the scope of the search?
A patdown of the outer clothing and body to check for weapongs. An officer may reach into the suspect’s clothing and seize any item that the officer reasonably believes, based on its “plain feel,” is a weapon or contraband.
Note: Plain feel means the officer cannot manipulate the item.
When is the hot pursuit exception to a warrantless search valid?
When the police are in hot pursuit of a fleeing felon. If the police are not within 15 minutes behind the felong, it is not hot pursuit.
When is the emergency aid exception to a warrantless search valid?
A police offiver may enter premises without a warrant if the officer faces an emergency that threatens the health or safety of an individual or the public.
When are warrantless searches for public school officials valid?
Only if it is based on reasonable grounds. A school search will be held to be reasonable if:
1. It offers a moderate chance of finding evidence of wrongdoing
2. The measures adopted to carry out the search are reasonably related to the objectives of the search; and
3. The search is not excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student and nature of the infraction
For a self-incriminating statement to be admissible under the Due Process Clause, it must be ___.
Voluntary as determined by the totality of the circumstances.
6th Amendment
The 6th Amendment guarantees the right to assistance of counsel in all criminal proceedings, which include all critical stages of a prosecution after judicial proceedings have begun (i.e., after the defendant has been charged).
A defendant has a right to be represented by privately retained counsel, or to have counsel appointed for them by the state, at the following stages:
- Post-indictment interrogations
- Preliminary hearings to determine probable cause
- Arraignment
- Post-charge line-ups
- Guilty pleas and sentencing
- Felony trials
- Misdemeanor trials when imprisonment is actually imposed or when a suspended jail sentence is imposed
- Overnight recesses during trial
- Appeals as a matter of right
- Appeals of guilty pleas
A defendant does not have a right to counsel at the following stages:
- Blood sampling
- Taking of handwriting or voice exemplars
- Precharge or investigative lineups
- Photo IDs
- Preliminary hearing to determine probable cause to detain
- Brief recesses during the defendant’s testimony at trial
- Discretionary appeals
- Parole and probation revocation proceedings
- Post-conviction proceedings
What does it mean that the 6th Amendment is offense specific?
Even though a defendant’s 6th Amendment rights have attached regarding the charge for which they are being held, the defendant may be questioned regarding unrelated, uncharged offenses without violating the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
When is 6th Amendment right to counsel waiver valid?
When the waiver is knowing and voluntary.
Are statements in violation of a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel admissible?
Not admissible in the prosecution’s case-in-chief, but may be used to impeach the defendant’s contrary trial testimony.
Miranda Warnings
For an admission or confession to be admissible under the 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, a person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be informed that:
1. The person has the right to remain silent
2. Anything the person says can be used against them in court
3. The person has the right to presence of an attorney; and
4. If the person cannot be afforded an attorney, one will be appointed for them is they so desire
When are Miranda warnings necessary?
- The detainee knows that they are being interrogated by a government agent
- The detainee is “in custody”
a. Reasonable person under the circumstances would feel that they are not free to terminate the investigation and leave; and
b. Whether the relevant environment presents the same inherently ocercive pressures as the type of station house questioning - The detainee is being interrogated
a. Any words or conduct by the police that would likely elicit an incriminating response from the detainee
How may a defendant waive their right remain silent?
If they knowingly and voluntarily waive their rights (e.g., continue to speak after being read their rights)
When is an invocation of the right to remain silent valid?
The detainee indicates an explicit, unambiguous, and unequivocal wish to remain silent.
Note: Simply not speaking is not enough.
If a detainee invokes the right to remain silent, may the police reinitiate questioning?
Only if:
1. A significant amount of time has passed
2. The person has been re-Mirandized; and
3. The questions are limited to a crime that was not the subject of the earlier questioning
When is an invocation of the right to counsel valid?
The detainee indicates an explicit, unambiguous, and unequivocal wish to have counsel.
If a detainee invokes the right to counsel, may police reinitiate questioning?
Only if:
1. The detainee waives their right to counsel; or
2. The detainee is released from custodial interrogation back into their normal life and 14 days have passed since their release
A defendant can attack an identification as denying due process if the identification:
- Is unnecessarily suggestive; and
- There is a substantial likelihood of misidentification
Exclusionary Rule
Prohibits introduction of evidence obtained in violation of a defendant’s 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendment rights
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine
Evidence obtained from exploitation of the unconstitutionally obtained evidence must also be excluded unless the costs of excluding the evidence outweight the deterrent effect exclusion would have on police misconduct.
Exceptions to fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine:
- Fruits derived from statements obtained in violation of Miranda
- Evidence obtained from a source independent of the original illegality
- Intervening acts of free will on the part of the defendant
- Inevitable discovery
- Violations of the knock and announce rule
In what proceedings does the exclusionary rule not apply?
- Grand juries
- Civil proceedings
- Violations of state law
- Internal agency rules
- Parole revocation hearings
Exception to the Exclusionary Rule
When the police arrest someone erroneously but in good faith think that they are acting pursuant to a valid arrest warrant, search warrant, or law
Four exceptions to a good faith reliance on a defective warrant:
- The affidavit underlying the warrant is so lacking in probable cause that no reasonable police officer would have relied on it
- The affidavit underlying the warrant is so lacking in particularity that no reasonable officer would have relied on it
- The police officer or prosecutor lied to or misled the magistrate when seeking the warrant; or
- The mgistrated is biased and therefore has wholly abandoned their neutrality
Harmless Error Test
If illegal evidence is admitted, a resulting conviction should be overturned on appeal unless the government can show beyond a reasonable doubt that the error was harmelss (did not have a substantial and injurious effect of influence in determining the jury’s verdict).
Does a defendant have right to notice that the grand jury is considering an indictment against them?
No
Does a witness at a grand jury have the right to receive Miranda warnings?
No
When does the right to a speedy trial attach?
Not until the defendant has been arrested or charged.
What is a “speedy trial” under the 6th Amendment?
A determination of whether a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial has been violated is made by an evaluation of the totality of the circumstances.
Factors considered are:
1. The length of the delay
2. The reason for the delay
3. Whether defendant asserted their right
4. Prejudice to defendant
A defendant is incompetent to stand trial if:
- They lack a rational as well as factual understanding of the charges and proceedings; or
- They lack sufficient present ability to consult with their lawyer with a reasonable degree of understanding
When does the right to jury trial attach?
If the offense is “serious.” A offense is serious if imprisonment is for more than six months.
How many jurors are required for a jury trial?
No constitutional right to a jury of 12 but ther must be at least 6.
A defendant has a right to defend themself at trial if:
- Their waiver is knowing and intelligent; and
- The defendant is competent to proceed pro se
A guilty plea must be:
- Voluntary and intelligent
- Addressed by the defendant personally in open court on the record
a. The nature of the charge and the crucial elements of the crime
b. Maximum possible penalty and any mandatory minimums; and
c. The defendant has a right not to plead guilty and if they do plead guilty, they waive the right to trial
When does double jeopary attach?
In a jury trial, at the empaneling and swearing of the jury. In bench trials, when the first witness is sworn.
What are the exceptions to double jeopardy?
- First trial ends in a hung jury
- The first trial was discontinued because of a manifest necessity
- The defendant has successfully appealed a conviction on a basis other than insufficient evidence to support a guilty verdict
- Charges after a defendant breaches their plea bargain
- The defendant elects to ahve the offenses tried separately
When are two crimes different offenses under double jeopardy?
Two crimes are the same offense unless each crime requires proof of an additional element that the other does not require.
