LA Bar Criminal Law and Procedure 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Fourth Amendment, a warrantless search of a home is presumptively unreasonable unless:
- The officer has probable cause
- An exception to the warrant requirement applies (Correct answer)
- The suspect is a known felon
- The search occurs during daylight hours
Correct answer: An exception to the warrant requirement applies
The Fourth Amendment requires a warrant for home searches unless a recognized exception — such as consent, exigent circumstances, or plain view — applies.
Question 2: Police stop a car for a broken tail light and, during the stop, notice marijuana in plain view on the passenger seat. The search of the entire vehicle without a warrant is:
- Unconstitutional because the stop was pretextual
- Constitutional under the plain view doctrine and the automobile exception (Correct answer)
- Unconstitutional because only a traffic citation was authorized
- Constitutional only if the driver consents
Correct answer: Constitutional under the plain view doctrine and the automobile exception
The plain view doctrine and the automobile exception together allow officers to search a vehicle without a warrant when contraband is in plain view.
Question 3: Which of the following statements about the exclusionary rule is correct under federal and Louisiana law?
- Illegally obtained evidence is automatically excluded in all proceedings
- Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is excluded from criminal trials but may be used in grand jury proceedings (Correct answer)
- The exclusionary rule applies equally at trial and to sentencing
- Evidence excluded at the federal level need not be excluded in Louisiana courts
Correct answer: Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is excluded from criminal trials but may be used in grand jury proceedings
The exclusionary rule bars unconstitutionally obtained evidence from criminal trials but the Supreme Court has held it does not apply to grand jury proceedings.
Question 4: Under Louisiana law, a lawful arrest is required to be based on:
- Mere suspicion
- Reasonable suspicion
- Probable cause (Correct answer)
- Proof beyond a reasonable doubt
Correct answer: Probable cause
A lawful arrest requires probable cause to believe the person committed a crime.
Question 5: A Terry stop in Louisiana is justified when an officer has:
- Probable cause to arrest
- Reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity (Correct answer)
- A warrant issued by a magistrate
- A citizen's complaint alone
Correct answer: Reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity
A Terry stop requires reasonable articulable suspicion — a lower standard than probable cause — that criminal activity is afoot.
Question 6: Under the inevitable discovery doctrine, unlawfully obtained evidence may be admitted at trial if:
- The defendant consented to the search after the fact
- The evidence would have been discovered through independent, lawful means (Correct answer)
- The officer acted in good faith reliance on a warrant
- A second search warrant was subsequently obtained
Correct answer: The evidence would have been discovered through independent, lawful means
The inevitable discovery doctrine allows admission of illegally obtained evidence if the prosecution proves it would have been discovered through legal means.
Question 7: Under the 'good faith' exception to the exclusionary rule (United States v. Leon), evidence obtained with a defective warrant is admissible when:
- The officer subjectively believed the warrant was valid
- The officer's reliance on the warrant was objectively reasonable (Correct answer)
- The magistrate who issued the warrant was competent
- The defect in the warrant was minor and technical
Correct answer: The officer's reliance on the warrant was objectively reasonable
Leon's good faith exception applies when officers objectively and reasonably relied on a facially valid warrant later found to be defective.
LA Bar Criminal Law and Procedure 3
Under the Fourth Amendment, a warrantless search of a home is presumptively unreasonable unless: