POST Criminal Law and Procedure 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the 'good faith' exception to the exclusionary rule established in United States v. Leon, evidence seized pursuant to a defective warrant may be admissible if:
- The officer did not know the warrant was defective
- The officer objectively and reasonably relied on the warrant's validity (Correct answer)
- The magistrate who issued the warrant had probable cause
- The defendant consented to the search after the fact
Correct answer: The officer objectively and reasonably relied on the warrant's validity
The good faith exception applies when officers act in objectively reasonable reliance on a warrant later found to be defective, as long as the warrant was not facially invalid.
Question 2: A vehicle exception to the warrant requirement allows officers to search a vehicle without a warrant when:
- The vehicle is parked in a public lot and unoccupied
- There is probable cause to believe the vehicle contains evidence of a crime (Correct answer)
- The driver has a suspended license
- The vehicle was recently reported as suspicious
Correct answer: There is probable cause to believe the vehicle contains evidence of a crime
The automobile exception, established in Carroll v. United States, allows warrantless searches when there is probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime.
Question 3: Which of the following is an element of robbery that distinguishes it from theft?
- The value of the property taken exceeds $1,000
- The taking occurs through force or fear directly from a person (Correct answer)
- The offender uses a weapon during the crime
- The crime occurs in a commercial establishment
Correct answer: The taking occurs through force or fear directly from a person
Robbery is a theft committed through the use of force or putting the victim in fear, taking property directly from their person or presence.
Question 4: A public defender is appointed for an indigent defendant at which stage of criminal proceedings?
- Only at trial
- At any critical stage of prosecution, including post-charge lineups and interrogations (Correct answer)
- Only after conviction for purposes of appeal
- At the preliminary hearing but not before
Correct answer: At any critical stage of prosecution, including post-charge lineups and interrogations
Under Gideon v. Wainwright and subsequent cases, the right to counsel attaches at all critical stages of prosecution — any point where the absence of counsel might harm the defendant's case.
Question 5: What distinguishes first-degree murder from second-degree murder in most U.S. jurisdictions?
- The type of weapon used
- Premeditation and deliberation in first-degree versus absence of those in second-degree (Correct answer)
- Whether the victim survived more than 24 hours after the attack
- First-degree requires multiple victims
Correct answer: Premeditation and deliberation in first-degree versus absence of those in second-degree
First-degree murder typically requires premeditation and deliberation — a conscious decision to kill made in advance — while second-degree murder is intentional but lacks that prior planning.
Question 6: Under the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement, officers may enter a home without a warrant when:
- They have reasonable suspicion someone inside is armed
- There is an emergency threatening life, imminent destruction of evidence, or hot pursuit of a felon (Correct answer)
- The homeowner is not present to grant or deny consent
- A neighbor reports unusual noise coming from the residence
Correct answer: There is an emergency threatening life, imminent destruction of evidence, or hot pursuit of a felon
Exigent circumstances allowing warrantless entry include emergencies threatening life or safety, the imminent destruction of evidence, and hot pursuit of a fleeing felon.
Question 7: The corpus delicti rule in criminal law requires that:
- A defendant's confession must be corroborated by independent evidence that a crime occurred (Correct answer)
- The victim's body must be produced before a murder conviction
- DNA evidence must be present in all violent crime prosecutions
- Two witnesses must testify to the same criminal act
Correct answer: A defendant's confession must be corroborated by independent evidence that a crime occurred
The corpus delicti rule requires independent evidence establishing that the crime actually occurred before a defendant's confession alone can support a conviction.
POST Criminal Law and Procedure 4
Under the 'good faith' exception to the exclusionary rule established in United States v.
Leon, evidence seized pursuant to a defective warrant may be admissible if: