NC Bar Criminal Law 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Miranda warnings are required before a custodial interrogation. 'Custody' for Miranda purposes means the suspect is:
- Named as a suspect in a criminal investigation
- Under formal arrest or deprived of freedom of action in any significant way (Correct answer)
- Detained for any period of time by police
- Questioned at the police station voluntarily
Correct answer: Under formal arrest or deprived of freedom of action in any significant way
Miranda custody exists when a reasonable person in the suspect's position would not feel free to terminate the encounter and leave.
Question 2: The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment prevents prosecution for the same offense twice. Under the Blockburger test, two offenses are the 'same offense' if:
- They arise from the same act
- Each offense does not require proof of an additional element not required by the other (Correct answer)
- The same evidence is used to prove both
- They are charged in the same indictment
Correct answer: Each offense does not require proof of an additional element not required by the other
Under Blockburger v. United States, two offenses are the same for double jeopardy purposes if neither requires proof of a fact not required by the other.
Question 3: In North Carolina, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury is classified as a:
- Class A1 misdemeanor
- Class I felony
- Class C felony (Correct answer)
- Class D felony
Correct answer: Class C felony
N.C.G.S. § 14-32(a) classifies assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury as a Class C felony.
Question 4: The exclusionary rule generally bars evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The 'good faith exception' applies when:
- The officer makes a reasonable mistake of fact
- An officer acts in objectively reasonable reliance on a warrant later found to be defective (Correct answer)
- The evidence would have been inevitably discovered
- The violation was minor and technical
Correct answer: An officer acts in objectively reasonable reliance on a warrant later found to be defective
United States v. Leon established that evidence seized in good-faith reliance on a facially valid warrant that is later invalidated need not be suppressed.
Question 5: Voluntary intoxication in North Carolina may be a defense to:
- All criminal charges
- Specific intent crimes where it negates the required mens rea (Correct answer)
- General intent crimes only
- Any crime involving moral turpitude
Correct answer: Specific intent crimes where it negates the required mens rea
Voluntary intoxication may negate the specific intent element of a crime but is not a defense to general intent or strict liability offenses.
Question 6: In North Carolina, impaired driving (DWI) under N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1 requires proof that the defendant:
- Had a BAC over 0.08% only
- Drove a vehicle on a public highway while under the influence of an impairing substance or with a BAC of 0.08% or more (Correct answer)
- Was driving recklessly while intoxicated
- Had prior DWI convictions
Correct answer: Drove a vehicle on a public highway while under the influence of an impairing substance or with a BAC of 0.08% or more
N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1 defines impaired driving as operating a vehicle while under the influence of an impairing substance OR with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher.
NC Bar Criminal Law 2
Miranda warnings are required before a custodial interrogation. 'Custody' for Miranda purposes means the suspect is: