Criminal Procedure Practice Exam Questions

1. 1.Anonymous tip: An anonymous tip alone generally does not provide probable cause or reasonable suspicion (Florida v. J.L.). However, it may provide a basis for further investigation.
2. 2.Dog sniff in common hallway: Under Florida v. Jardines, using a drug-sniffing dog at the front door of a home is a search requiring a warrant. The common hallway may or may not be part of the apartment's curtilage. If it is considered equivalent to the front porch, Jardines applies.
3. 3.Knock and announce: Officers must knock, announce, and wait a reasonable time (Wilson v. Arkansas). Ten seconds may be insufficient unless exigent circumstances justify a shorter wait (United States v. Banks -- 15-20 seconds for drugs).
4. 4.Exigent circumstances: The sound of flushing may create exigent circumstances (destruction of evidence), but the exigency was created by the police themselves. Kentucky v. King holds that police-created exigency does not invalidate the entry unless police violated or threatened to violate the Fourth Amendment.
5. 5.Exclusionary rule: If any step in the chain is unconstitutional, the evidence found may be excluded as fruit of the poisonous tree.

1. 1.Miranda invocation: When a suspect invokes the right to counsel, all interrogation must cease until counsel is provided or the suspect reinitiates communication (Edwards v. Arizona). A different detective asking 'Do you want to tell us what happened?' is interrogation that violates Edwards.
2. 2.Waiver after invocation: A waiver obtained after police reinitiate contact (rather than the suspect reinitiating) is invalid. The confession should be suppressed.
3. 3.Sixth Amendment -- jailhouse informant: After formal charges, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches. Under Massiah v. United States, the government cannot deliberately elicit statements from a charged defendant in the absence of counsel. A jailhouse informant acting as a government agent triggers Massiah.
4. 4.Whether the informant was a government agent or a passive listener matters. If the informant was planted and actively elicited statements, Massiah is violated. If the informant merely overheard voluntary statements, there may be no violation (Kuhlmann v. Wilson).

Correct Answer: A

The traffic stop was valid (broken taillight). During the lawful stop, the officer smelled marijuana, which provided probable cause to believe the vehicle contained contraband. Under the automobile exception (Carroll v. United States), an officer with probable cause may search a vehicle without a warrant, including all areas where contraband might be found. The cocaine found under the seat is admissible.

Correct Answer: C

A search incident to arrest under Chimel v. California is limited to the arrestee's person and the area within the arrestee's immediate control (lunging distance) for purposes of officer safety and preventing destruction of evidence. A locked safe is not within the arrestee's immediate control and requires a separate warrant. The plain view doctrine does not apply to a locked container. Probable cause alone does not justify a warrantless search of a home or its contents (absent exigent circumstances).

Correct Answer: B

Under United States v. Wade, once formal adversarial proceedings have begun (formal charges), the defendant has a Sixth Amendment right to have counsel present at a post-indictment lineup. Failure to notify the defendant's attorney renders the lineup identification inadmissible at trial. The prosecution may still use an in-court identification if it can show an independent basis for the identification.