Under the plain view doctrine, an officer viewing illegal drugs on a coffee table while
executing an arrest warrant may seize the drugs.
a. True
b. False
Police have information that armed robbers carrying the fruits of the crime fled a
robbery scene in a light blue compact station wagon. Four men, wearing certain
clothing, were said to be in the vehicle. The police stopped a vehicle fitting the
description on the side of a busy highway and arrested the four occupants who matched
the descriptions. The officers drove the car to the police station garage. Given this
scenario, how may the officers legally proceed?
a. They must obtain a search warrant.
b. They must obtain permission of the driver.
c. They may search it immediately.
d. They must obtain either permission or a search warrant
A person has a lesser expectation of privacy in a car than in a residence because _____.
a. the car is a personal effect rather than real property
b. a car travels public streets and its occupants are open to public view
c. a car is can serve as a residence and hold personal effects
d. a car can be an instrumentality of a crime
A landlord has _______________ to consent to a search of a tenant’s premises ora
seizure of the tenant’s property during the period of the tenancy.
a. no implied actual or apparent authority
b. implied actual, but not implied apparent authority
c. implied apparent, but not implied actual authority
d. both implied actual and apparent authority
Officers may not deliberately move an arrested person near an object or place they want
to search in order to activate the incident-to-arrest exception.
a. True
b. False
The purpose of the preliminary hearing is to _____.
a. try the defendant
b. accept the defendant’s plea
c. determine the existence of probable cause
d. make a judgment on motions to suppress evidence
Law enforcement officers with probable cause to search a motor vehicle may not
inspect passengers’ belongings found in the vehicle even though those belongings are
capable of concealing the object of the search.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following most appropriately describes the Carroll doctrine?
a. Officers with reasonable suspicion may search the entire motor vehicle if there are
exigent circumstances.
b. The Carroll doctrine does not apply to motor homes.
c. Officers may search the interior of the passenger compartment but may not open the
trunk.
d. Officers with probable cause may search to the same extent as if they had a search
warrant.
When the prosecuting attorney attempts to introduce evidence obtained as a result of a
consent to search into court evidence, which of the following does the court require?
a. the defense to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the consent was involuntary.
b. the defense to prove that there is probable cause to doubt that the consent was
involuntary.
c. the prosecutor to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the consent was voluntary.
d. the prosecutor to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the consent was
voluntary.
A warrant is not required for an inventory that occurs in the field before a vehicle is
impounded, but a warrant is required to justify an inventory that takes place after the
vehicle is impounded.
a. True
b. False
When governmental coercion is at issue, most courts examine the voluntariness of a
Miranda waiver by inquiring about _____.
a. the suspect’s capacity for self-determination was critically impaired
b. whether force was used
c. whether psychological coercion was used
d. whether it was produced by police threats of violence
Prior to the passing of Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968, the United States Government utilized a “national security exception” to conduct
warrantless electronic surveillance of foreign powers. In 1978, the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA) was passed as a result of the _____.
a. Watergate scandal
b. abuses of the Vietnam war
c. Iranian Hostage Crisis
d. violent acts by student groups
For Fourth Amendment purposes, a seizure of property occurs whenever there is a(n)
_____.
a. invasion of a constitutionally protected area
b. interference with a person’s possessory interests in that property
c. interference with a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy
d. infringement on a person’s house, papers, and effects
If the plain view doctrine is found to apply, it will justify a warrantless seizure of an
item _____.
a. unless it is a situation where there is a strong preference for a warrant
b. regardless of whether the officer had a right to be at the location
c. unless there was an intrusion into that individual’s possessory interest
d. regardless of any apparent intrusion into that individual’s possessory interest
What conditions must be present to trigger Miranda warnings?
a. accusation and confinement
b. intelligently and knowingly
c. custody and interrogation
d. reasonable suspicion and detention
Which of the following is a true statement about the use of a thermal imaging device to
detect invisible infrared radiation emanating from a home?
a. The Court found the use of the device did not violate an expectation of privacy.
b. The Court found the use of the device to be constitutional.
c. The court found use of the device to be unconstitutional because the device is not in
general public use.
d. Use of the device constitutes a seizure (of the information), but not a search.
An officer has made a lawful arrest of a motorist for driving while intoxicated (DWI).
The officer searches the passenger compartment of the car but finds nothing of interest.
He then searches the trunk where he finds a bag of what appears to be marijuana.
Which requirement of the plain view doctrine is not fulfilled (or has been violated)?
a. prior valid intrusion
b. incriminating nature immediately apparent
c. probable cause item subject to seizure
d. inadvertent discovery
Officers have a warrant authorizing search for narcotics allegedly being sold in a tavern.
When they execute the warrant, there is a bartender and eighteen customers. Select the
officers’ most legally sound course of action.
a. The officers may search the premises and everyone in it for drugs.
b. The officers may search the premises for drugs and frisk the people for weapons.
c. The officers may search the premises for drugs, but need specific probable cause for
each person they want to search for drugs or frisk for weapons.
d. The officers may search the premises for drugs, but need specific probable cause for
each person they want to search for drugs and specific, articulable suspicion of danger
to frisk for weapons.
An officer wants to enter a certain area of a large apartment building to observe
activities and seize any contraband he might happen across. What is the most legitimate
“good rule of thumb” for the officer?
a. The officer may not enter if he has not been invited by a resident.
b. The officer may enter any area commonly used by visitors, businessmen, and
delivery people to gain access and move about the building.
c. The officer may not enter without probable cause.
d. The officer may enter any area where incriminating evidence is immediately
apparent.
After knocking and announcing their presence and purpose and waiting a few moments,
officers executing a search warrant for stolen property hear no sound. The officers
_____.
a. may then break in without further process
b. must wait for a supervisor’s approval to break in
c. must make a further investigation to ensure no one is home
d. must return when someone is home
Reasonable expectation of privacy is not a consideration when determining the extent
of curtilage.
a. True
b. False
The only crime defined in the United States Constitution is _____.
a. attainder
b. ex post facto
c. forfeiture
d. treason
Which description does not satisfy particularity requirements?
a. VHS videotape, labeled: 349, titled: A. Pretty Pet
b. RCA television set, stolen from 35 Main St., Canton, NY
c. Manufacturer unknown, model unknown, .357 Magnum revolver, stainless steel,
name “Lisa” engraved on stock
d. All cannabis plants normal
United States v. Seelye listed six factors and circumstances to be considered in
determining the amount and kind of force that is reasonable and consistent with an
investigative stop. Which of the following is NOT one of those factors?
a. number of officers and police cars involved
b. nature of the crime and whether there is reason to believe that the suspect is armed
c. need for immediate action by the officer
d. the training and experience level of the officer(s) involved
What test do courts use to determine voluntariness?
a. prima facie
b. Gates
c. totality of circumstances
d. good faith
_____ is a less demanding standard than _____.
a. Reasonable suspicion; probable cause
b. Probable cause; reasonable suspicion
c. Factual belief; probable cause
d. Prudent oversight; reasonable suspicion
A patrol officer stops a car and makes an arrest on the basis of information obtained
from a bulletin that officers in another jurisdiction are looking for the driver of a certain
car that was described in the bulletin. Assume that the information contained in the
bulletin was incorrect. Which statement would be true?
a. The arrest would still be considered valid.
b. The arresting officer is shielded from any civil liability for false arrest.
c. The arrest would still be valid and the officer is shielded from any civil liability for
false arrest.
d. The arrest would not be valid and the officer is not shielded from any civil liability
for false arrest.
The main purpose of ______________ is to accept the defendant’s plea.
Officers have stopped a motorist and recognize him from a previous drug arrest. They
ask and he consents to a search of the car. Just as an officer is about to reach under the
passenger seat the suspect says, “Stop. I”ve changed my mind. No more search.” Given
the circumstance, what legal course of action do the officers’ have?
a. now have probable cause and may continue the search.
b. must stop the search and let the driver go but may impound the car.
c. may arrest the driver and justify the search under Belton.
d. must stop the search and not use the withdrawal of consent as an excuse to detain
him further.
In Barker v. Wingo (1972) the U.S. Supreme Court identified four factors that courts
should assess in determining whether a particular defendant has been deprived of the
right to a speedy trial. Which of the following most accurately states the factors?
a. length of delay, reason for the delay, whether the delay was inadvertent, and prejudice
to the defendant
b. length of delay, whether the delay was inadvertent, defendant assertion of the right,
and prejudice to the defendant
c. whether the delay was inadvertent, reason for the delay, defendant assertion of the
right, and prejudice to the defendant
d. length of delay, reason for the delay, defendant assertion of the right, and prejudice to
the defendant
A __________ error is a belief that events that were imagined were actually perceived.
A(n) __________ line-up or photo array occurs when neither the witness nor the person
administering the lineup or photo array knows who the suspect is or who the foils are.
Describe the circumstances under which law enforcement officers may search
containers. Cite at least one court case pertaining to same.
Answer:Answers will vary.
A __________ is issued to a person accused of a crime to compel attendance at a
criminal proceeding.
Describe the function of a judicial review. Be sure to include important
documents/cases that legitimize the notion of judicial review.
Answer:Answer will vary.
A police officer may detain property for a short period of time if he has a reasonable,
articulable suspicion that the property contains items subject to seizure. The property
may not be searched without a search warrant, but the officer may subject the property
to a properly conducted ______________.
Some courts have ruled that a confession produced by trickery or __________ is not
necessarily involuntary.
A ___________ is used to allow a criminal suspect to challenge the sufficiency of the
information upon which an affidavit supporting a warrant is based.
The power of the government to acquire private property is called
_____________________.
Under what circumstances may law enforcement perform a full search of an arrestee’s
body?
Answer:Answers will vary.
Define the concept of probable cause. Compare and contrast probable cause relating to
search and probable cause as it relates to arrest.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Explain the differences between an appeal, a habeas corpus filing, and a civil action
under 1983.
Answer:Answers will vary.
The essential ingredient which must be present for a statement to be considered
involuntary is police __________.
Explain the rationale and the scope of searches allowed under the Carroll doctrine
regarding automobile exceptions to search warrants.
Answer:Answers will vary.
The term __________ refers to a body of persons, selected and sworn according to law,
to inquire into certain matters of fact and to render a verdict or true answer based on
evidence presented before it.
The prosecutor’s failure to disclose evidence which would show the defendant to be not
guilty is a violation of the __________.
The concept of probable cause is ultimately based on the notion of objective
expectation of privacy. This is in in contrast to subjective expectation of privacy.
Expound the difference.
Answer:Answers will vary.
The prosecutor’s failure to disclose evidence which would show the defendant to be not
guilty is a violation of the ______________.
Define what is meant by a “reasonable expectation of privacy” regarding the law of
search and seizure as it relates to both the open fields doctrine and the abandonment
doctrine.
Answer:Answers will vary.