Criminal Procedure Flashcards

Police interrogate a jailed defendant about a burglary after he was appointed counsel on an unrelated robbery charge. He waives Miranda and confesses to the burglary. The confession is:

Answer: Admissible, because the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is offense-specific and did not attach to the uncharged burglary

Under McNeil and Texas v. Cobb, the Sixth Amendment right is offense-specific, so questioning on an uncharged, factually distinct crime is permitted after a valid Miranda waiver.

Under Indiana Evidence Rule 617, a statement made during custodial interrogation at a place of detention is inadmissible in a felony prosecution unless:

Answer: An electronic recording of the interrogation was made, absent an enumerated exception

Indiana Evidence Rule 617 generally requires custodial interrogations in places of detention to be electronically recorded for statements to be admissible in felony cases.

Officers without a warrant enter a home after seeing through the window a fight in which one occupant is being beaten. Their entry is:

Answer: Lawful under the emergency aid exception, because they had an objectively reasonable basis to believe an occupant needed immediate help

Brigham City v. Stuart permits warrantless home entry when officers reasonably believe an occupant is seriously injured or imminently threatened.

A defendant seeks post-conviction relief in Indiana claiming ineffective assistance of trial counsel that was not raised on direct appeal. The claim is:

Answer: Properly raised, because ineffective assistance claims may be brought for the first time in post-conviction proceedings

Indiana permits and generally prefers ineffective assistance claims to be raised in post-conviction proceedings where a factual record can be developed.

Police obtain 127 days of a suspect's historical cell-site location records from his wireless carrier without a warrant. Under Carpenter v. United States, the records were obtained:

Answer: In violation of the Fourth Amendment, because accessing extensive historical CSLI is a search requiring a warrant

Carpenter held that acquiring seven or more days of historical cell-site location information is a search that generally requires a warrant.

During plea negotiations, defense counsel fails to convey the State's favorable plea offer to the defendant, who is later convicted at trial and receives a harsher sentence. Under Missouri v. Frye, the defendant:

Answer: May establish ineffective assistance if he shows a reasonable probability he would have accepted the offer and it would have been entered without withdrawal

Frye holds that counsel's failure to communicate a formal plea offer can be deficient performance, with prejudice shown by a reasonable probability the deal would have been accepted and finalized.

A trial judge in Indiana closes the courtroom to all spectators during jury selection over the defendant's objection, without findings. Under Presley v. Georgia, this is:

Answer: Structural error violating the Sixth Amendment public trial right, which extends to voir dire

Presley held the public trial right applies to voir dire, and unjustified closure is structural error not subject to harmless-error review.