UT Bar Criminal Procedure 4

Question 1

Police attach a GPS tracker to a suspect's car without a warrant and monitor his movements for 28 days. Under United States v. Jones, this conduct is:

Accepted Answer

A Fourth Amendment search, because the physical attachment to the vehicle was a trespass to obtain information

Answer

Jones held that physically installing a GPS device on a vehicle to gather information is a search under the trespass-based theory of the Fourth Amendment.

Question 2

A defendant free on bail fails to appear at trial after it has begun. The judge continues the trial in his absence, and he is convicted. The conviction is:

Accepted Answer

Valid, because a defendant who voluntarily absents himself after trial begins waives the right to be present

Answer

A defendant's voluntary absence after trial has commenced constitutes a waiver of the right to be present, allowing trial to continue.

Question 3

During jury selection, the prosecutor uses peremptory strikes to remove all three Black venire members. The defense objects under Batson. The prosecutor's proffered reason must be:

Accepted Answer

Race-neutral, after which the court decides whether the defense proved purposeful discrimination

Answer

Under Batson's three-step framework, the striking party need only offer a race-neutral reason, and the trial court then determines whether purposeful discrimination occurred.

Question 4

Police arrest a suspect at home on a valid arrest warrant and, incident to the arrest, look inside a closet immediately adjoining the room of arrest, finding a shotgun. Under Maryland v. Buie, the look into the closet is:

Accepted Answer

Valid as a protective sweep of spaces immediately adjoining the arrest from which an attack could be launched, without any suspicion required

Answer

Buie permits officers, without suspicion, to look in closets and spaces immediately adjoining the place of arrest from which an attack could be launched.

Question 5

A defendant pleads guilty, and the judge fails to inform him of the mandatory minimum sentence during the plea colloquy. The plea is vulnerable because:

Accepted Answer

A guilty plea must be knowing and voluntary, requiring awareness of the direct consequences including mandatory minimums

Answer

Due process requires that a guilty plea be knowing and voluntary, which includes understanding direct consequences such as the mandatory minimum sentence.

(UT Bar) Utah Bar Exam Practice Test

(UT Bar) Utah Bar Exam Practice Test

UT Bar Criminal Procedure 4