Criminal Procedure Flashcards

For Miranda purposes, 'custody' exists when:

Answer: A reasonable person in the suspect's position would not feel free to terminate the encounter and leave

Miranda custody is measured by an objective standard: whether a reasonable person in the suspect's circumstances would feel free to end the interrogation and leave.

After a suspect unambiguously invokes the right to counsel during custodial interrogation:

Answer: All interrogation must cease until counsel is present or the suspect voluntarily reinitiates communication

Once a suspect clearly invokes the right to counsel, all interrogation must stop until an attorney is present or the suspect voluntarily reinitiates communication.

The public safety exception recognized in New York v. Quarles permits officers to question a suspect without Miranda warnings when:

Answer: There is an immediate, objectively reasonable need to protect the public from danger

Quarles established that Miranda warnings may be deferred when there is an immediate and objectively reasonable threat to public safety requiring urgent questioning.

In a jury trial, the Double Jeopardy Clause attaches at what point?

Answer: When the jury is empaneled and sworn

In a jury trial, jeopardy attaches when the jury is empaneled and sworn; in a bench trial, jeopardy attaches when the first witness is sworn.

A witness subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury may invoke the Fifth Amendment to:

Answer: Refuse to answer questions whose answers would tend to incriminate the witness

A grand jury witness must appear when subpoenaed but may invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege to refuse answers to specific questions that would be self-incriminating.

Which of the following constitutes 'interrogation' for Miranda purposes?

Answer: An officer making a statement designed to elicit an incriminating response

Interrogation encompasses express questioning and its functional equivalent—words or actions police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.

When a defendant challenges the validity of a Miranda waiver, who bears the burden of proof and by what standard?

Answer: The prosecution must prove the waiver was voluntary, knowing, and intelligent by a preponderance of the evidence

The prosecution bears the burden of proving that a Miranda waiver was voluntary, knowing, and intelligent by a preponderance of the evidence.