Which term best defines the particular county or geographical area in which a court
with jurisdiction may hear and determine a case?
a. first notice
b. venue
c. arraignment
d. geographic subdivisions
What do data from The Innocence Project suggest is the leading cause of wrongful
conviction in United States courts?
a. use of improper forensic techniques
b. eyewitness misidentification
c. false confessions
d. unreliable informants
Which of the following most accurately describes a limited search of a person’s body
consisting of a careful exploration or pat-down of the outer surfaces of the person’s
clothing in an attempt to discover weapons?
a. pat-down
b. frisk
c. body search
d. strip search
Who is the only person able to give a valid consent to search?
a. the person who is being accused of the crime.
b. the person who owns the property to be searched.
c. the person whose privacy will be invaded.
d. the person whose property is involved.
Officers executing a search warrant for a particularly described premises may not
search _____.
a. other buildings which may be on that land
b. vehicles which may be parked on that land
c. people on the premises without further justification
d. the open fields around the land
The Supreme Court has ruled that hearsay evidence poses no confrontation clause
problem so long as two conditions are met. What are these conditions?
a. the out-of-court declarant is “unavailable” to testify at trial and there are multiple
witnesses prepared to testify that the statement was made
b. the out-of-court declarant is “unavailable” to testify at trial and the statement can be
empirically tested for reliability
c. the out-of-court declarant is deceased and the statement has ‘some indicia of
reliability”
d. the out-of-court declarant is “unavailable” to testify at trial and the statement has
‘some indicia of reliability.”
After obtaining a waiver of a suspect’s rights police start the process of interrogating a
criminal suspect about a particular crime. After a few questions are asked, the suspect
clearly and unambiguously communicates her desire to talk to an attorney. Which of the
following legal limitations are placed on the police?
They cannot, from this point forward, take any steps to deliberately elicit
a. They cannot, from this point forward, take any steps to deliberately elicit
incriminating statements, under any circumstances.
b. They cannot, from this point forward, take any steps to deliberately
elicitincriminating statements unless the criminal suspect initiates the contact.
c. They can ignore the request because it was not put forth in writing.
d. They can ignore the request because it was made after an initial waiver of rights was
secured.
The judicial process in the United States does not require proof to an absolute certainty
in any phase of proceedings.
a. True
b. False
The U.S. Supreme Court decisions in both United States v. Montoya de Hernandez
(1985) and United States v. Flores-Montano (2004) concerned border searches. The
earlier case involved a search of a person, whereas the more recent case related to a
vehicular search. Which of the following most accurately reflects the decisions in these
two cases?
a. Reasonable suspicion is required for both person and vehicle searches at a border
checkpoint.
b. No level of suspicion is required for either a vehicle or a person search occurring at a
border checkpoint.
c. Reasonable suspicion is required for a more invasive search of a person at a border
checkpoint, whereas no level of suspicion is required for a vehicle search.
d. Reasonable suspicion is required for a search of a vehicle at a border checkpoint,
whereas no level of suspicion is required for a person search.
The exclusionary rule will not be invoked in instances where a police officer acts in
good faith in following what he or she believes to be the law.
a. True
b. False
_____ evidence is evidence tending to prove the same point as evidence already
offered, and is generally disallowed because it does little more than contribute to
inefficiency.
a. Repetitious
b. Cumulative
c. Skipping
d. Suppressed
Police on patrol receive a warning and description of a vehicle wanted in connection
with a burglary. They observe the vehicle and begin pursuit. The suspects flee a distance
and then stop the car suddenly, exit the vehicle, and flee on foot. The officers may
_____.
a. not search the car without a warrant
b. search the car only per the Carroll doctrine
c. not search the car unless they impound it
d. consider the car abandoned and search it forthwith
The common law approach to applying the Fourth Amendment to particular cases was
to focus on whether _____.
a. the subjective privacy rights of the individual had been violated
b. law enforcement used force during a search and/or seizure
c. the government agent intentionally violated the constitutional protection
d. there was a physical intrusion into a constitutionally protected area
If a person in prison believes he or she is being held in violation of the Constitution,
they would most likely seek a _____.
a. writ of corpus delicti
b. writ of habeas corpus
c. bill of attainder
d. prima facie case
A general warrant _____.
a. lacks specificity in the person or place to be searched
b. is directed to a specific officer or department
c. may be signed by the clerk of the court rather than a magistrate
d. can be used only against smugglers
The U.S. Supreme Court case Arizona v. Gant (2009) overruled a long-standing legal
principle that was established earlier in New York v. Belton (1981).
a. True
b. False
A confession produced by police threatening violence but not touching the suspect is
nevertheless a violation of due process.
a. True
b. False
A citizen contacts the local police department and alleges that a particular person is
dealing drugs out of his home. The citizen states that (s)he thought the police should
know, but that (s)he does not “want to get involved by giving my name.” What
information would the officer need to state in the affidavit to satisfy the first prong of
Aguilar-Spinelli (basis of knowledge)?
a. The name of the high school student that purchased the drugs.
b. How, when, and where the informant obtained the information.
c. How, when, and where the drug dealer obtained the drugs that were sold.
d. The reasons to believe that the informant was providing truthful information.
To qualify to issue a warrant, the judicial officer must be _____.
a. biased and attached
b. biased and detached
c. neutral and semi-detached
d. neutral and detached
The prosecutor’s reexamination of the prosecution’s witness in order to rehabilitate him
or her in the eyes of the jury is known as _____.
a. recross-examination
b. cross-examination
c. redirect examination
d. direct examination
An anonymous tip that a particular person at a particular location is dealing drugs is
not, without more information, sufficient to justify law enforcement officers in stopping
and frisking that person.
a. True
b. False
Unarranged, spontaneous showups are considered impermissibly suggestive for
constitutional law purposes.
a. True
b. False
When the United States Supreme Court grants a writ of certiorari, this means that the
Court is _____.
a. taking original jurisdiction over the case
b. obligated to review the case
c. willing to review a case decided by a lower court
d. willing to retry the case
The right to counsel guaranteed by the Wade-Gilbert cases does not apply at the outset
of a criminal investigation, instead, the right must “attach” when a “triggering event”
occurs.
a. True
b. False
Which of the following, standing alone, can serve as the basis for probable cause?
a. flight of a person from an area
b. furtive conduct
c. false or improbable answers to questions
d. observation and evaluation of real or physical evidence
In the case of Safford Unified School District v. Redding (2009) the school officials who
conducted the search of Savana Redding’s undergarments were searching for _____.
a. pills
b. a weapon
c. marijuana
d. crib sheets used for cheating
A(n) _____ can be issued without demonstrating probable cause.
a. indictment
b. prosecutor’s information
c. true bill
d. subpoena
Select the true statement about the proper procedures for conducting a lineup.
a. Multiple suspects should appear in a lineup.
b. Eyewitnesses should state in their own words how certain they are of any
identification they make.
c. A minimum of three people should appear in a lineup; five to seven people is
preferable.
d. Simultaneous viewing of all participants, rather than sequential viewing of one after
another, is preferable.
The U.S. Supreme Court has further clarified that warrantless searches of closely
regulated enterprises are reasonable if they satisfy certain criteria, including _____.
a. ‘substantial” government interest in supporting a regulatory scheme
b. past warrantless searches having found evidence or safety violations
c. the industry being among the top five producers of gross domestic product
d. the need to be flexible in what defines the scope of a search
With respect to warrantless searches of government employees, _____.
a. the courts apply a probable cause standard
b. imposing warrant procedures on supervisors would be unreasonable
c. public employees have no legitimate expectation of privacy
d. courts allow personal property in the employee’s home to be included
Competency to stand trial _____.
a. must be determined before an individual can be arraigned
b. may be raised at any point during the trial but before a verdict is rendered
c. must be raised prior to any evidence being hears
d. may be raised at any point of the proceedings, including after conviction
An advocate of the crime control model would support increased funding for police and
prosecutors and to build more prisons.
a. True
b. False
What has been the interpretation of the courts regarding the area around a house that is
enclosed by a fence?
Answer:Answers will vary.
Do Terry-type investigative stops and ordinary traffic stops require a Miranda warning
by the police? Explain why or why not.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Summarize the Schneckloth rule concerning voluntary consent searches.
Answer:Answers will vary.
What is meant by “common authority.” Provide examples.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Describe the differences between a lineup and a showup.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Define what is meant by a hot pursuit and legal searches surrounding these incidents.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Describe the Court’s decision in the Safford Unified School Dist. v. Redding (2009)
case. What were the Court’s reasons for declaring the search unreasonable?
Answer:Answers will vary.
To avoid the severity of total repression of evidence when a small mistake is made in a
search warrant, the courts have adopted partial suppression, better known as
___________ or severability.
The person swearing-out an affidavit is referred to as the ___________.
Generally, if an object is voluntarily discarded outside the curtilage of the house, the
legality of its seizure will be considered under the doctrine of __________.
__________ require that prosecution commence within a specified period of time from
the date of the alleged commission of the offense.
Describe what is meant by sensory overload.
Answer:Answers will vary.
Even though the search warrant on its face is still valid, the executing officer must
nevertheless determine if the probable cause has become ___________ before
beginning the search.
If the police lack ________ that an object in plain view is contraband without
conducting some further search of the object, the plain view doctrine cannot justify its
seizure.
Briefly discuss the problems that may be associated with multiple line-ups or photo
arrays.
Answer:Answers will vary.