An officer has made a lawful arrest for fraudulent checks at the arrestee’s residence.
During a valid protective sweep the officer opens a door in the hallway next to the exit
and observes a marijuana plant, grow-light, and plant food in the closet. The officer
may _____.
a. not seize the items under the plain view doctrine
b. seize the items under the plain view doctrine
c. seize the items but only when the suspect is brought within reach of the closet
d. not seize the items since a protective sweep is for people only
What is the most effective way to assess reliability of a criminal informant’s
information?
a. the number of convictions his/her information has produced
b. the number of arrests his/her information has produced
c. the accuracy of the past information provided by the informant
d. a positive assessment from the officer who obtained the information
The U.S. Supreme Court has defined a ‘search” to occur when _____.
a. here is a meaningful interference with possessory interests in property
b. an individual has a subjective expectation of privacy and the expectation of privacy
has been infringed upon
c. an individual has a subjective expectation of privacy that society considers
reasonable and the privacy expectation is infringed
d. an officer collects any evidence against a person regardless of circumstance
A police officer informs a citizen that the officer has enough evidence to arrest. The
officer asks the suspect to “turn around so I can handcuff you ” you are under arrest.” At
this point, the suspect runs from the officer. Select the statement that most accurately
describes the scenario at the point that the suspect fled.
a. the suspect was formally under arrest.
b. the suspect had been detained in a way that was tantamount to an arrest.
c. the suspect was not formally under arrest.
d. the suspect could be charged with the crime of assaulting an officer.
The rule of law from Schneckloth v. Bustamonte (1973) is that knowledge of the right to
refuse consent is _________.
a. essential to voluntary consent to search.
b. the most important factor in voluntariness of consent.
c. only one factor in voluntariness of consent.
d. unimportant in voluntariness of consent.
The Katz v. United States (1967) case is known for establishing that the Fourth
Amendment protects _____.
a. people, not places
b. both drivers and passengers of a vehicle
c. places, but not people
d. neither people or places
Within an hour after a robbery, the police identify an individual whose modus operandi
and description match that described by the victim. Police bring a photo of the
individual. This is most accurately called a photographic _____.
a. showup
b. lineup
c. confrontation
d. identification
In which of the following circumstances must the police observe the requirements
imposed by the Miranda rule?
a. the suspect is in custody at the time of the interrogation.
b. the interrogation takes place at the police station
c. the suspect has already been charged with the offense for which he or she is being
interrogated
d. the suspect is in custody at the time of the interrogation and the interrogation takes
place at the police station
Freedom from double jeopardy is guaranteed by the _____.
a. Second Amendment
b. Third Amendment
c. Fourth Amendment
d. Fifth Amendment
All ex post facto laws are retroactive.
a. True
b. False
Police officers were stationed on a hill 300 yards from the rear of the suspect’s eighth
floor apartment. With a telescope the officers could observe through the partially closed
drapes at the rear that the suspect was engaged in an illegal activity. The officers’
information _____.
a. was lawfully gathered because any aural or visual enhancement is allowed
b. was not lawfully gathered because they could not have seen the activity without some
visual enhancement
c. was lawfully gathered because the suspect did not completely close the drapes
d. was not lawfully gathered because the suspect’s reasonable expectation of privacy
was violated
Courts have consistently ruled that an investigative detention must be temporary and
last no longer than _____.
a. thirty minutes.
b. sixty minutes.
c. necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop.
d. necessary for the officer to determine whether a felony has been committed.
The main purpose of the arraignment is to _____.
a. indict the defendant
b. accept a plea from the accused
c. set bail for the accused
d. determine probable cause
The only substantive restraint on the searches of objects that occur at a fixed or
functional border of the United States is that they be _____.
a. limited in scope to areas immediately accessible to the owner
b. based on probable cause
c. based on reasonable suspicion
d. conducted in a reasonable manner
Following the decision in Illinois v. Gates (1983), _____.
a. all states and the federal government have adopted the totality of circumstances
approach
b. all states adopted totality of circumstances, but the federal government retained the
Aguilar-Spinelli criteria
c. the totality of circumstances approach was subsequently overruled
d. some states rejected the Gates decision and retained the Aguilar-Spinelli criteria on
the basis of their own state constitutions
Which statement concerning Sixth Amendment rights to a speedy trial is most accurate?
a. The Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial covers the process both before and after
a suspect has been formally accused.
b. The Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial covers the process after a suspect is
formally accused, but not before a suspect is formally accused.
c. The Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial covers the process before a suspect is
formally accused, but not after a suspect is formally accused.
d. The Sixth Amendment is applicable to federal cases, but not state cases.
Although e-mail has replaced telephone communication in many spheres, it is not
considered a wire communication” for purposes of Title III of the Wiretap Act.
a. True
b. False
The freshness of the information forming the basis for probable cause is more important
in applications for search warrants than for arrest warrants.
a. True
b. False
A police officer has informed a man seated at a desk in his home that he is under arrest.
The desk top is cluttered and the desk has many drawers within easy reach of the
arrestee. One drawer is locked. As incident to the arrest, what may the officer search
besides the man?
a. not the desk.
b. the top of the desk in plain sight but not the drawers of the desk.
c. the desk top and the unlocked drawers of the desk.
d. the desk top and all the drawers of the desk.
Which best characterizes the concept(s) necessary for understanding the application of
Fourth Amendment?
a. privacy only
b. privacy and reasonableness, only
c. privacy and probable cause, only
d. privacy, reasonableness, and probable cause
What is the difference between a pen register and a trap-and-trace device?
a. A pen register records incoming addressing information (such as caller ID
information); whereas a trap-and-trace device records outgoing addressing information
(such as numbers dialed from a phone).
b. A pen register records outgoing addressing information (such as numbers dialed from
a phone); whereas a trap-and-trace device records incoming addressing information
(such as caller ID information).
c. A pen register intercepts communication; whereas a trap-and-trace device does not
intercept communication.
d. A pen register does not intercept communication; whereas a trap-and-trace device
intercepts communication.
An inmate is housed in a state prison for committing a state offense. The inmate has
noticed that the conditions of his confinement are quickly deteriorating. The state is
placing more than two inmates in a cell, the state is cutting back on rehabilitative and
wellness programs, and there have been a number of recent occasions when he was
verbally and physically abused by prison staff. If the inmate desires a remedy to these
conditions, he might (s)he file?
a. a civil action under 42 U.S.C. 1983.
b. a habeas corpus action.
c. an appeal.
d. a motion to have his sentence reviewed.
Neither Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 nor the
Fourth Amendment requires law enforcement to _____.
a. obtain a judicial order to intercept wire, oral, or electronic communications
b. obtain judicial authorization to covertly enter the premises to install a listening
device
c. first receive administrative authorization to apply for an interception order
d. conduct themselves in a way that minimizes the interception of communications not
subject to the interception order
In a multiple occupancy dwelling, which of the following is typically NOT accessible
under the open fields doctrine?
a. hallways
b. balconies
c. elevators
d. stairways
Failure to comply with Miranda requirements _____.
a. conclusively establishes voluntariness of a subsequent confession
b. has no bearing on the voluntariness of a subsequent confession
c. conclusively establishes involuntariness of a subsequent confession
d. does not, per se, render a confession involuntary
Persons in a lineup may _____.
a. refuse to wear the clothing worn by the perpetrator
b. be required to utter the words used by the perpetrator
c. be of obviously different races
d. refuse to be photographed
Which statement is true?
a. In all situations where questioning occurs at a police station, the person questioned is
considered “in custody”.
b. In all situations where questioning occurs in the interrogation room of a police
station, the person questioned is considered “in custody”.
c. In all situations where questioning occurs at a jail or in a prison, the person
questioned is considered “in custody”.
d. “In custody” determinations are not made based entirely on location. Custody is
determined by examining, from a reasonable person’s point of view, the totality of facts
and circumstances surrounding an encounter between a person and law enforcement
authorities.
Appellate determinations of either plain error or prejudicial error normally result in a
conviction being overturned.
a. True
b. False
An officer’s use of a pair of binoculars to develop probable cause for plain view
searches and seizures is conceptually distinct from an officer’s use of a flashlight for the
same purpose. This is because _____.
a. there are no conceptual distinction between binoculars and flashlights
b. binoculars allow people to observe what could not be observed without their use
c. flashlights require batteries to become operational
d. binoculars allow areas to be viewed that may not otherwise have been viewable
without an impermissible intrusion
The exclusionary rule _____.
a. applies to evidence seized by both the police and private citizens
b. was designed to deter police misconduct
c. is a rule that is explicitly stated in the Fourth Amendment
d. has always applied to both state and federal criminal proceedings
A motion for _____ basically asks the judge to dismiss the case because no reasonable
jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in light of the
insufficient evidence presented by the prosecution.
a. a new trial
b. judgment of acquittal
c. a judgment notwithstanding the verdict
d. revision or correction of sentence
Campus police at a state college have facts leading them to believe that a college
student has marijuana in her shared dorm room. They want to search her room without a
warrant. What legal options do the officers’ have?
a. they may search it with permission of the president.
b. they may search all areas of the room with permission of her roommate.
c. they may search it without anyone’s permission.
d. they must obtain the suspect’s permission.
How are the courts likely to handle instances where a criminal defendant shows that a
police identification procedure was suggestive?
a. automatically exclude the results of the procedure
b. exclude the results only after weighing the suggestibility evidence against factors
indicative of reliability
c. admit the evidence unless defendant can show definitive harm
d. admit the evidence unless the defendant has no civil law recourse
The Fourth Amendment sets probable cause as the minimum standard for issuing
warrants.
a. True
b. False
Relate the circumstances under which a government entity can require employees to
submit to drug testing.
Answer:Answers will vary.
An eyewitness is much more likely to identify accurately someone of his or her own
race than someone of a different race. This is called __________ bias.
The case which established the basic open fields doctrine is __________.
Give two examples that the courts have stated that may be prejudicial when presenting
a photo array to a victim of a crime.
Answer:Answers will vary.
What is the meaning of the term “new federalism”? Provide an example of “new
federalism” in action.
Answer:Answers will vary.
The plain view doctrine is justified on the basis of police _____________________ and
____________________.
Compare and contrast the authority of parents to grant consent to search their child’s
property and a child’s authority to grant consent to search a parent’s residence.
Answer:Answers will vary.
According to the _____________________ doctrine, double jeopardy does not arise
when federal and state courts both have jurisdiction to prosecute.
The location of the court is referred to as the ______________.
An officer stops a vehicle for a minor equipment violation in order to investigate a more
serious crime involving the occupants. This is often referred to as a(n) _____________.
A(n) ___________ condition is a condition precedent, other than the passage of time,
which will establish probable cause to conduct a search and/or seizure.
Explain the conflicting demands for more effective law enforcement and individual
privacy rights relevant to electronic surveillance.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Explain what, if any, affect that cultural bias or personal prejudices may affect memory.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Outline the two stage process used for most searches of electronically stored
information.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Discuss and debate ‘symbolic speech” as interpreted by the courts under the First
Amendment.
Answer:Answer will vary.
The Supreme Court held in Stovall v. Denno (1967) that due process forbids any pretrial
identification procedure that is unnecessarily suggestive and conducive to __________
mistaken identification.
Describe and provide a court case as an example to illustrate Miranda’s limitation
regarding testimonial evidence.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Define these terms: statement, admission, interrogation, and confession.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Third party information is often referred to as ________.
Discuss the findings in California v. Ciraolo, 1986, regarding aerial warrantless
observations by the police.
Answer:Answers will vary.