Criminal Law and Procedure Flashcards

Under Illinois law, what is the statute of limitations for most Class 2 felonies?

Answer: 3 years

Illinois generally imposes a 3-year statute of limitations for most felonies, with longer periods for specific offenses like sexual assault and murder.

A police officer conducts a stop-and-frisk of a pedestrian based on specific articulable facts. The required legal standard under Terry v. Ohio is:

Answer: Reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity

Terry stops require reasonable articulable suspicion — specific, objective facts that a crime is afoot — a standard lower than probable cause.

Under Illinois sentencing law, a Class X felony carries a mandatory minimum sentence of:

Answer: 6 years

Illinois Class X felonies carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 6 years and a maximum of 30 years imprisonment, with no possibility of probation.

Accomplice liability in Illinois holds a person accountable for another's criminal conduct if the person:

Answer: Solicited, aided, abetted, agreed to, or attempted to aid another in planning or committing the offense

Under 720 ILCS 5/5-2, accountability attaches when a person solicits, aids, abets, agrees, or attempts to aid another in the planning or commission of an offense with the intent to promote or facilitate it.

A defendant invokes the right to remain silent during a custodial interrogation. Police resume questioning two hours later. Under Berghuis v. Thompkins, this is:

Answer: Permissible if the defendant later waives Miranda rights by making uncoerced statements

Berghuis held that an unambiguous invocation is required to cut off questioning, and a subsequent uncoerced statement can constitute an implied waiver of Miranda rights.

Illinois recognizes the affirmative defense of self-defense. The defendant's belief that force was necessary must be:

Answer: Objectively reasonable and subjectively held

Illinois self-defense requires that the defendant both subjectively believed force was necessary and that this belief was objectively reasonable under the circumstances.