Intro to Crim Pro

Question 1

What are the criminal systems?

Answer 1

Federal and States Systems:

The US Constitution are the highest sources of criminal procedure law. These, however, create only a floor, not a ceiling, as to the rights that states must extend to its citizens. States may create more extensive rights under their own constitutions, which are subject to review of their own state supreme courts.

Question 2

What amendments are implicated in criminal procedure?

Answer 2

1. Fourth Amendment - The 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 persons or things to be seized.
2. Fifth Amendment - No person shall be held 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 offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a 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.
3. Sixth Amendment - In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Question 3

What is the approach to a criminal procedure question?

Answer 3

1. Was there government action?
2. If so, did it trigger a constitutional right?
3. If so did the government violate the constitutional right?
4. If so is the D entitled to the remedy of exclusion?

Question 4

What is the exclusionary rule?

Answer 4

It is a procedural rule of federal constitutional law used to deter unlawful police conduct.

The rule is that all evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment, including physical evidence and statements, is inadmissible in a criminal proceeding. This rule is applicable to the states.

It is a deterrence of violations by the police.

Standing:

A criminal D must have standing to raise a Fourth Amendment violation claim. This is a threshold issue for any criminal D seeking to have evidence suppressed under the exclusionary rule. The D asserting the Fourth Amendment violation must personally be the victim of the police’s unreasonable conduct. In analyzing standing to contest a search, a court must determine whether the person who claims the protection of the Amendment has a legitimate expectation of privacy in the invaded place.

In addition to excluding all evidence that has been illegally obtained, any additional evidence, including oral statements and physical objects acquired either directly or indirectly from the illegal arrest, search, or seizure, must also be excluded as tainted fruit of the poisonous tree.

This doctrine is not applicable to Miranda violations.

Question 5

What are the exceptions to the exclusionary rule?

Answer 5

Subsequently seized evidence, may still be admitted into evidence provided the taint is dissipated or purged by:

1. Independent evidence - evidence obtained from a source independent of the original illegality.
2. Inevitable discovery - evidence that would have been discovered regardless of the illegality; or
3. Intervening act of free will - such as a subsequent confession after release.

Question 6

May the D challenge a warrant affidavit?

Answer 6

A D may challenge the affidavit upon which a warrant was issued by proving by a preponderance of the evidence the following conditions:

1. A substantial showing that the affidavit contained false statements;
2. The statements were made intentionally, knowingly, or in reckless disregard for the truth; and
3. The magistrate’s finding of PC could not have been made without the false statements.

If the D cannot prove these conditions, the warrant will be upheld if there was a substantial basis to issue the warrant in the first instance.

Question 7

What is the balancing approach on the exclusionary rule?

Answer 7

The court sees that the only benefit of the exclusionary rule is to prevent future violations by law enforcement officers, and therefore will consider the benefit of the deterrence with the benefit of the remedy.

The exclusionary rule precludes only the use of suppressed evidence in the prosecution’s case-in-chief and does not apply to the use of evidence for impeachment. However, confessions which have been coerced or immunized are inadmissible for any purpose.

Question 8

What is the good faith exception?

Answer 8

Evidence obtained pursuant to an invalid warrant will not be excluded if a reasonably well-trained officer would have believed that the warrant was valid.

Aspects are:

1. whether the police were acting on a good faith reliance of a facially valid warrant;
2. whether the police were acting in reliance of a valid statute; and
3. whether the police were acting in reliance of a court official rather than a police officer.

The good faith exception to the exclusionary rule does not apply, however, when:

1. the police lie or mislead the court in attaining a warrant;
2. the magistrate is not neutral or detached; and
3. no reasonable police officer would have believed the warrant was valid.

The good faith exception has been extended to police negligence.

Question 9

What are the limitations on the exclusionary rule?

Answer 9

The exclusionary rule has not been extended to grand jury proceedings, and evidence at issue may be considered in granting an indictment.

A grand jury indictment may be based on illegally obtained evidence or even on hearsay evidence.

Evidence obtained under the reasonable reliance of the validity of a search warrant issued by a detached and neutral magistrate is not subject to the exclusionary rule.

Evidence excluded by the rule from use by one sovereign may be used in the civil proceedings of another sovereign.

Evidence excluded by the rule for violating the Fourth, Fifth, or Sixth Amendments may be used to impeach testimony given on either direct examination or cross-examination.

A confession obtained without giving Miranda warnings may be used to impeach a D’s testimony, unless it is:

1. coerced; or
2. immunized.

The court has also held that the exclusionary rule is unavailable in, among other types, deportation and parole revocation hearings.

Question 10

What are the procedural and enforcement considerations of the exclusionary rule?

Answer 10

A D has a right to a suppression hearing, at which time the judge, as a matter of law, determines the admissibility of the evidence out of the jury’s presence.

The G’s burden is to establish admissibility of the evidence by a preponderance.

the D’s testimony at the suppression hearing may not be used against him at trial on the substantive issue of guilt.

Admission of illegally obtained evidence constitutes reversible error unless the error is harmless. Under this standard, the G must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not contribute to a conviction. In effect, the G must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it still would have obtained a conviction without the error.