Criminal Law & Evidence Flashcards

A grand jury subpoenas a corporate officer to produce company documents. The officer asserts Fifth Amendment privilege. Is the privilege valid?

Answer: No, because the Fifth Amendment privilege is personal and does not protect corporate records held in a representative capacity

The Fifth Amendment privilege is personal and does not extend to corporate records; a corporate officer who holds documents in a representative capacity cannot refuse production based on personal self-incrimination.

A defendant is acquitted of robbery. He is later charged with felony murder based on the same robbery. Does Double Jeopardy bar the felony murder charge?

Answer: Yes, because the Blockburger test shows robbery is a lesser included offense of felony murder here

Under the Blockburger test and collateral estoppel principles, acquittal on the robbery charge precludes relitigation of the robbery element essential to the felony murder charge.

Which Connecticut-specific rule governs the admissibility of polygraph evidence in criminal proceedings?

Answer: Polygraph results are generally inadmissible in Connecticut courts

Connecticut courts have consistently held polygraph evidence inadmissible due to questions about reliability and the risk of undue influence on the jury.

A defendant charged with drug trafficking seeks to suppress evidence found in a search of a co-defendant's apartment where the defendant was a guest. Does the defendant have standing to challenge the search?

Answer: Yes, if the defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the area searched

Standing to challenge a search requires a reasonable expectation of privacy in the place searched; an overnight guest may have standing, but a casual visitor generally does not.

Which element is NOT required to establish the crime of conspiracy under the traditional common law approach?

Answer: An overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy

At traditional common law, conspiracy was complete upon the agreement itself with the requisite intent; no overt act was required, though many modern statutes including Connecticut's require one.

A prosecutor introduces a certified copy of the defendant's prior felony conviction during the guilt phase. For what purpose is this evidence admissible without triggering FRE 404(b) analysis?

Answer: To impeach the defendant if he testifies, under FRE 609

FRE 609 permits the use of prior felony convictions to impeach a testifying witness, including a defendant, subject to balancing under Rule 403.

A defendant argues that his confession should be suppressed because he was questioned for 14 hours without food or sleep before signing a written statement. Under which constitutional doctrine is this claim evaluated?

Answer: Fifth Amendment due process voluntariness test

A confession obtained through prolonged interrogation, deprivation, or psychological coercion may be excluded under the due process voluntariness test, which asks whether the will of the accused was overborne.