LLM Criminal Law & Procedure 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes the 'merger doctrine' as applied to common law felony murder?
- Assault merges into battery, preventing separate conviction
- The underlying felony must be independent of and collateral to the homicide to support felony murder liability (Correct answer)
- First and second-degree murder charges merge into a single count at sentencing
- Conspiracy merges into the completed substantive offense
Correct answer: The underlying felony must be independent of and collateral to the homicide to support felony murder liability
The merger doctrine bars felony murder when the predicate felony (e.g., assault) is an integral part of the homicide itself; the felony must be independent and collateral to the killing.
Question 2: An investigative stop under Terry v. Ohio is constitutionally permissible when an officer has:
- Probable cause to believe a crime has been committed
- Reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity (Correct answer)
- A valid warrant for the suspect's arrest
- Knowledge of a prior felony conviction
Correct answer: Reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity
Terry held that a brief investigative detention is lawful if the officer can articulate specific facts giving rise to reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot.
Question 3: Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, 'relevant conduct' can increase a defendant's offense level based on:
- Prior arrests that did not result in conviction
- Acts by co-conspirators in furtherance of jointly undertaken criminal activity (Correct answer)
- Charges that were dismissed as part of a plea agreement
- Offenses committed by the defendant's family members
Correct answer: Acts by co-conspirators in furtherance of jointly undertaken criminal activity
USSG § 1B1.3 requires courts to consider acts of co-conspirators in furtherance of jointly undertaken criminal activity as relevant conduct when calculating the offense level.
Question 4: Which doctrine holds that if police have probable cause to search a lawfully stopped vehicle, they may also search any container within the vehicle that could hold the object of their search?
- Gant rule
- Ross doctrine (Correct answer)
- Belton rule
- Coolidge doctrine
Correct answer: Ross doctrine
United States v. Ross extended the automobile exception to containers within the vehicle, allowing officers with probable cause to search any container that might conceal the item they are looking for.
Question 5: A material false statement made under oath during a judicial proceeding satisfies which element of common law perjury?
- The corroboration requirement
- The falsity element (Correct answer)
- The suborning element
- The scienter element
Correct answer: The falsity element
Perjury requires that the false statement be objectively false (the falsity element), subjectively known to be false by the declarant (scienter), and material to the proceeding.
Question 6: The 'constructive possession' theory in drug cases permits conviction when the defendant:
- Is present in the same room as the controlled substance
- Has knowledge of the substance and the ability to exercise dominion and control over it (Correct answer)
- Lives at an address where drugs are found regardless of ownership
- Was seen near the location where drugs were discovered
Correct answer: Has knowledge of the substance and the ability to exercise dominion and control over it
Constructive possession requires proof that the defendant knew of the substance's presence and had both the power and intent to exercise dominion and control over it.
Question 7: Under the Strickland v. Washington two-prong test, a defendant claiming ineffective assistance of counsel must demonstrate deficient performance AND:
- That counsel failed to object to hearsay evidence at least once during trial
- A reasonable probability that but for counsel's errors the outcome would have been different (Correct answer)
- That the defendant requested a different attorney before trial
- Actual prejudice proven by clear and convincing evidence
Correct answer: A reasonable probability that but for counsel's errors the outcome would have been different
Strickland's prejudice prong requires showing a reasonable probability—sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome—that the result would have differed absent counsel's errors.
LLM Criminal Law & Procedure 5
Which of the following best describes the 'merger doctrine' as applied to common law felony murder?