GA Bar Criminal Procedure 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: For Miranda purposes, 'custody' exists when:
- A suspect is formally booked at the police station
- A reasonable person in the suspect's position would not feel free to terminate the encounter and leave (Correct answer)
- Any questioning occurs at the police station
- A suspect is detained during a traffic stop
Correct 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.
Question 2: After a suspect unambiguously invokes the right to counsel during custodial interrogation:
- Police may continue questioning about offenses unrelated to the current charge
- All interrogation must cease until counsel is present or the suspect voluntarily reinitiates communication (Correct answer)
- Police may resume questioning after a mandatory 30-minute waiting period
- Only supervisory officers may continue the interrogation
Correct 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.
Question 3: The public safety exception recognized in New York v. Quarles permits officers to question a suspect without Miranda warnings when:
- Members of the public are observing the arrest
- There is an immediate, objectively reasonable need to protect the public from danger (Correct answer)
- The suspect appears physically dangerous to the arresting officers
- The alleged offense involves a firearm
Correct 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.
Question 4: In a jury trial, the Double Jeopardy Clause attaches at what point?
- When the indictment or information is filed
- When the jury is empaneled and sworn (Correct answer)
- When the first witness takes the oath
- When the defendant enters a plea of not guilty
Correct 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.
Question 5: A witness subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury may invoke the Fifth Amendment to:
- Refuse to appear before the grand jury entirely
- Refuse to answer questions whose answers would tend to incriminate the witness (Correct answer)
- Prevent the grand jury from issuing an indictment based on other evidence
- Require defense counsel to be present during grand jury testimony
Correct 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.
Question 6: Which of the following constitutes 'interrogation' for Miranda purposes?
- A booking officer asking a suspect's name and date of birth
- An officer asking whether the suspect needs medical attention
- An officer making a statement designed to elicit an incriminating response (Correct answer)
- A suspect volunteering a confession with no police prompting
Correct 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.
Question 7: When a defendant challenges the validity of a Miranda waiver, who bears the burden of proof and by what standard?
- The defendant must prove invalidity by a preponderance of the evidence
- The prosecution must prove the waiver was voluntary, knowing, and intelligent by a preponderance of the evidence (Correct answer)
- The prosecution must prove waiver beyond a reasonable doubt
- The burden shifts to the defendant once police demonstrate standard procedures were followed
Correct 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.
GA Bar Criminal Procedure 3
For Miranda purposes, 'custody' exists when: