MCOLES Criminal Law and Procedure 4 ā Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause, when does jeopardy attach in a jury trial?
- When the defendant is formally charged
- When the jury is sworn in (Correct answer)
- When the first witness is sworn in
- When the judge reads the charges to the jury
Correct answer: When the jury is sworn in
In jury trials, jeopardy attaches when the jury is sworn in, which is the point at which Double Jeopardy protections begin.
Question 2: Which scenario best describes the 'inevitable discovery' exception to the exclusionary rule?
- Evidence is admissible if officers acted in good faith
- Illegally obtained evidence is admissible if it would have been discovered through lawful means (Correct answer)
- Evidence is admissible if the defendant consented after the illegal search
- Officers may use evidence if the illegality was minor
Correct answer: Illegally obtained evidence is admissible if it would have been discovered through lawful means
The inevitable discovery doctrine allows admission of illegally obtained evidence if the prosecution can show it would have been inevitably discovered through independent lawful means.
Question 3: A Michigan officer wishes to conduct a 'pat-down' frisk during a Terry stop. What is the legal justification required?
- Probable cause that the person is armed
- Reasonable belief that the person is armed and dangerous (Correct answer)
- The person's prior criminal record for weapons offenses
- Mere suspicion based on the neighborhood's crime rate
Correct answer: Reasonable belief that the person is armed and dangerous
Terry v. Ohio permits a pat-down frisk only when the officer has reasonable articulable belief that the person may be armed and presently dangerous.
Question 4: Under Michigan law, what mental state (mens rea) distinguishes voluntary manslaughter from second-degree murder?
- Manslaughter requires premeditation that murder lacks
- Manslaughter involves killing in the heat of passion with adequate provocation, negating malice (Correct answer)
- Manslaughter requires use of a weapon; murder does not
- Manslaughter involves killing of a family member specifically
Correct answer: Manslaughter involves killing in the heat of passion with adequate provocation, negating malice
Voluntary manslaughter occurs when adequate provocation causes sudden heat of passion that would cause a reasonable person to lose self-control, negating the malice required for murder.
Question 5: What is required for a valid warrantless entry under the 'exigent circumstances' exception?
- Any criminal activity suspected inside the premises
- Emergency conditions such as imminent threat to life, hot pursuit, or destruction of evidence (Correct answer)
- Neighbors reporting suspicious activity within the past hour
- The presence of a known felon inside the dwelling
Correct answer: Emergency conditions such as imminent threat to life, hot pursuit, or destruction of evidence
Exigent circumstances justify warrantless entry only for genuine emergencies: imminent threats to life or safety, hot pursuit of a fleeing felon, or prevention of imminent evidence destruction.
Question 6: Under Michigan's felony murder rule, which statement is accurate?
- A person may only be convicted if they personally caused the death
- A person who commits or assists in specified felonies is liable for murder if a death results during the felony (Correct answer)
- The rule applies only to crimes involving weapons
- The defendant must have had intent to kill for the rule to apply
Correct answer: A person who commits or assists in specified felonies is liable for murder if a death results during the felony
Michigan's felony murder rule holds all participants in specified felonies (robbery, arson, rape, etc.) liable for first-degree murder if a death results during the commission of the felony.
Question 7: What is the 'fruit of the poisonous tree' doctrine?
- Physical evidence from crime scenes near trees requires special handling
- Evidence derived from an initial illegal search or seizure is also inadmissible (Correct answer)
- Informant tips cannot be used as the sole basis for a warrant
- Electronic surveillance evidence is presumptively inadmissible
Correct answer: Evidence derived from an initial illegal search or seizure is also inadmissible
The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine excludes not only evidence obtained directly through illegal means but also all evidence subsequently discovered as a result of that illegality.
MCOLES Criminal Law and Procedure 4
Under the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause, when does jeopardy attach in a jury trial?