OR Bar Criminal Procedure 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Fourth Amendment, a search warrant must be supported by:
- Probable cause supported by oath or affirmation (Correct answer)
- Reasonable suspicion of criminal activity
- Clear and convincing evidence of a crime
- A preponderance of evidence that evidence exists
Correct answer: Probable cause supported by oath or affirmation
The Fourth Amendment explicitly requires probable cause supported by oath or affirmation for issuance of a valid search warrant.
Question 2: Under the 'good faith' exception established in United States v. Leon, illegally obtained evidence may still be admitted if:
- The officer acted in reasonable reliance on a warrant later found defective (Correct answer)
- The magistrate who issued the warrant acted in good faith
- The officer had probable cause independent of the warrant
- The evidence would have been found through lawful means regardless
Correct answer: The officer acted in reasonable reliance on a warrant later found defective
Leon's good faith exception permits admission of evidence when officers reasonably relied on a warrant they had no reason to believe was defective.
Question 3: Under Katz v. United States, the Fourth Amendment protects:
- People's property rights from unreasonable government intrusion
- People's reasonable expectations of privacy, not just property rights (Correct answer)
- The home from any form of government surveillance
- Citizens from all government monitoring of their activities
Correct answer: People's reasonable expectations of privacy, not just property rights
Katz v. United States established the 'reasonable expectation of privacy' test, making the Fourth Amendment protect people rather than merely places or property.
Question 4: The automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement allows police to search a vehicle without a warrant when:
- The vehicle is stopped for a traffic violation
- There is probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime (Correct answer)
- The driver is arrested and the vehicle is searched incident to arrest
- The vehicle is parked in a public location visible to the officer
Correct answer: There is probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime
Under Carroll v. United States, the automobile exception applies when officers have probable cause to believe a vehicle contains contraband or evidence, given the vehicle's inherent mobility and reduced privacy expectations.
Question 5: Under Terry v. Ohio, a brief investigatory stop and pat-down is constitutionally permissible when:
- An officer has a hunch based on experience that a crime is occurring
- An officer has reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity and reason to believe the suspect is armed (Correct answer)
- An officer observes the suspect in a high-crime area for at least ten minutes
- The suspect refuses to identify themselves when an officer approaches
Correct answer: An officer has reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity and reason to believe the suspect is armed
Terry permits brief investigatory stops based on reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity, and a limited pat-down when officers reasonably believe the suspect may be armed and dangerous.
Question 6: In Caniglia v. Strom (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the 'community caretaking' doctrine:
- Justifies warrantless vehicle searches when an officer is assisting a motorist in distress
- Does not justify warrantless searches of a home (Correct answer)
- Applies broadly to any situation where police act to protect public safety
- Creates an exception to the exclusionary rule for evidence found while assisting citizens
Correct answer: Does not justify warrantless searches of a home
The Court unanimously held in Caniglia that the community caretaking exception developed in the automobile context does not extend to justify warrantless entries into the home.
Question 7: The 'independent source' doctrine as an exception to the exclusionary rule allows admission of evidence when:
- The government shows the evidence was discovered through an independent, untainted source apart from the illegality (Correct answer)
- The evidence would inevitably have been discovered through lawful means
- The causal connection between the illegal search and the evidence is sufficiently attenuated
- The evidence was found by private citizens rather than police
Correct answer: The government shows the evidence was discovered through an independent, untainted source apart from the illegality
The independent source doctrine permits admission of evidence actually obtained through a separate, lawful channel completely independent of the constitutional violation.
OR Bar Criminal Procedure 1
Under the Fourth Amendment, a search warrant must be supported by: