NY Bar Criminal Law and Procedure 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Sixth Amendment, the right to counsel attaches at which point in proceedings?
- Upon arrest
- At arraignment or initial appearance
- At the initiation of formal adversarial proceedings (Correct answer)
- Only at trial
Correct answer: At the initiation of formal adversarial proceedings
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at the initiation of formal adversarial proceedings, whether by indictment, arraignment, or initial appearance before a judicial officer.
Question 2: In a New York criminal case, a defendant enters a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Under New York law, the standard is whether the defendant lacked substantial capacity to:
- Appreciate the nature and consequences of their conduct or that it was wrong (Correct answer)
- Understand the difference between right and wrong
- Premeditate the crime
- Conform conduct to the requirements of law
Correct answer: Appreciate the nature and consequences of their conduct or that it was wrong
New York's insanity defense requires that the defendant lacked substantial capacity to know or appreciate the nature and consequences of the conduct or that the conduct was wrong.
Question 3: Under Double Jeopardy principles, which of the following is NOT barred by the Fifth Amendment?
- Retrial after acquittal
- Retrial after a conviction is reversed on appeal
- Prosecution by a state after federal prosecution for the same act (Correct answer)
- Successive prosecutions for the same offense by the same sovereign
Correct answer: Prosecution by a state after federal prosecution for the same act
The dual sovereignty doctrine allows a state and the federal government to each prosecute a defendant for the same conduct because they are separate sovereigns.
Question 4: A police officer stops a car for a traffic violation and smells marijuana. Under the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment, the officer may:
- Search the passenger compartment only
- Search any area of the vehicle where the contraband might be found (Correct answer)
- Search only with the driver's consent
- Require everyone to exit but may not search without a warrant
Correct answer: Search any area of the vehicle where the contraband might be found
The automobile exception allows a warrantless search of any area of the vehicle, including the trunk and containers, where the evidence sought might reasonably be found.
Question 5: Under New York law, a person commits robbery in the first degree when, during the commission of a larceny, they:
- Use any amount of physical force
- Cause physical injury to a non-participant in the crime
- Display what appears to be a firearm
- Both B and C (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Both B and C
New York first-degree robbery requires that during the larceny the actor causes serious physical injury to any person, or is armed with a deadly weapon, or uses or threatens use of a dangerous instrument, or displays what appears to be a firearm.
Question 6: Under Brady v. Maryland, the prosecution must disclose evidence that is:
- Exculpatory and material to guilt or punishment (Correct answer)
- Any evidence favorable to the defense regardless of materiality
- Only evidence that proves innocence
- Only prior inconsistent statements of witnesses
Correct answer: Exculpatory and material to guilt or punishment
Brady requires the prosecution to disclose evidence that is favorable to the accused and material to either guilt or punishment, including impeachment evidence.
NY Bar Criminal Law and Procedure 2
Under the Sixth Amendment, the right to counsel attaches at which point in proceedings?