Crim Law and Crim Pro Flashcards
(118 cards)
** 4th Amendment
4th Am broadly prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. 4th Amendment is applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment
** 5th Am Right to Counsel
Under Miranda, if a suspect clearly and unambigously requests counsel, all questioning must stop until suspect meets with an attorney
- Police have no duty to clarify an ambiguous request
5th Amendment
The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination
- Requires Miranda warnings and a valid waiver before any statement made by the accused during custodial interrogation can be admitted
** Applies only to COMPELLED, TESTIMONIAL evidence
6th Amendment Right to Counsel
Applies at any POST-INDICTMENT or POST-CHARGE event. Offense SPECIFIC! (Six = Specific)
- Statements in violation can come in for impeachment purposes
** Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel v. 5th Amendment Right to Counsel
SIXTH AMENDMENT: applies to the states through the 14th amendment, provides that in all criminal prosecutions, the defendant has a right to the assistance of counsel during all CRITICAL stages of a prosecution AFTER FORMAL PROCEEDINGS have begun
- OFFENSE SPECIFIC: if it has attached as to one charge, he can be questioned about another charge without attorney present
- Failure to inform a suspect that his lawyer is coming does not violate unless it’s for charges that have commenced
FIFTH AMENDMENT: applicable to the states through the 14th amendment, provides that no person may be compelled to give self-incriminating testimony
- Miranda: a person in police custody must be given the warnings before a police officer may conduct a custodial interrogation
- Any time prior to or during interrogation, detainee may invoke right to counsel
- If he invokes this right ALL QUESTIONING MUST STOP until the detainee has his attorney or further initiates questioning HIMSELF
- Request must be unambiguous and sufficiently clear such that a reasonable police officer in the same situation would understand the statement to be a request for counsel
- No duty to seek clarification
Accomplice Liability
To be convicted as an accomplice under the prevailing rule, a person must have given aid, counsel, or encouragement with the INTENT TO AID or encourage the principal and the INTENT that the principal COMMIT the substantive offense.
- Does not require the principal to be convicted first!
- Mere KNOWLEDGE that a crime would result from the aid provided is generally insufficient for accomplice liability
- The criminal liability for other PROBABLE or FORESEEABLE crimes arises when one is deemed an accomplice of a principal
Arson
- Common law: the malicious burning of the dwelling house of an another [minority]
- Requires some damage to the fiber of the wood or other combustible material of the dwelling, not merely the items inside
- Ownership of the structure is not material for determining whether the dwelling is that of another; rather, the right to occupancy is material - Modern: the malicious burning of any structure or dwelling. At minimum, charring. Not mere blackening (attempted arson)
* Mens rea: MALICE; don’t need specific intent to commit crime; requires that the defendant have acted with the intent or knowledge that the structure would burn, or with reckless disregard of an obvious risk that the structure would burn
- The risk or hazard is not that the building will burn down, merely that damage to the structure from a burning will occur.
- The “burning” required for arson does not require significant damage to the building; a charring of the combustible material is sufficient.
Consent to search
Consent must be
- Given by one who APPEARS to have an apparent right to use or occupy the premises and
- Police reasonably believe person could consent
- Consent is not invalid merely because the person who gave it did not actually have authority to do so - The search cannot go beyond the scope of the consent given
- Areas to which a reasonable person under the circumstances would believe it extends
** Custodial interrogation
To protect the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, a person in police custody must be given certain warnings (Miranda) before a police officer may conduct a custodial interrogation
- Applicable to the STATES through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment
INTERROGATION: any statement, question, or conduct by the POLICE DESIGNED to illicit incriminating response
CUSTODY: freedom of action is limited in a signficant way
Duress
A person is not guilty of an offense, other than intentional homicide, if he performs an otherwise criminal act under the reasonable belief that another will imminently inflict death or great bodily harm on him or an immediate family member if he does not commit the criminal act.
- Any reasonable means to escape the sitaution?
Exclusionary Rule
The exclusionary rule, evidence obtained from an unconstitutional search must be excluded from trial.
- To be valid, searches must be REASONABLE.
- The Supreme Court has held that most searches are unreasonable unless the police obtain a warrant before searching.
Six categories of searches that the Court has held to be reasonable without a warrant
- Consent
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** Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
Under the Supreme Court’s exclusionary rule, evidence obtained in violation of a person’s constitutional rights generally will be excluded from admission into evidence at trial.
Fruit of the poisonous tree: the exclusionary rule generally applies to evidence dervived from unconstitutionally derived evidence
Exception: if police obtain an unwarranted confession from the suspect, warn the suspect, and then requestion the suspect if it appears there was a “question first, warn later” scheme to get around Miranda
Insanity
Model Penal Code: a defendant is entitled to acquittal if he suffered from a mental disease or defect and as a result lacked substantial capacity to either:
- Appreciate the criminality of his conduct; or
- Conform his conduct to the requirements of law
Durham insanity test: defendant is entitled to acquittal if his crime was the product of mental disease or defect.
- But for the disease / defect, defendant would not have done it
M’Naghten rule: provides for acquittal if a disease of the mind caused a defect of reason, such that the defendant lacked the ability at the time of his actions to either:
- Know the wrongfulness of his actions; or
- Understand the nature and quality of his actions
Iresistible impulse test: provides for acquittal if, because of mental illness, the defendant was unable to control his actions or to conform his conduct to the law.
** Model Penal Code test combines the M’Naghten and irresistible impulse tests
DEFENSE TO ALL CRIMES!
Involuntary Manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter is a killing committed with criminal negligence or during the perpetration of some unlawful act not encompassing a felony for felony murder.
- Criminal negligence manslaughter: causes death by criminal negligence
- Requires a greater deviation from the reasonable person standard than is required for civil liability; behavior must be a SUBSTANTIAL DEVIATION from the standard of care that a reasonable person would have exhibited under the circumstances
- Some states use a recklessness standard; requires subjective awareness of risk of death - Unlawful act manslaughter: death is caused by d’s commission of an unlawful act
Jury requirements
Min 6 people (6th and 14th Am). If 6 jurors, must be unanimous.
Larceny by trick
A victim consents to POSSESSION of property as a result of misrepresentation
Lawful arrest
Must be reasonable and based on probable cause
Miranda Rights
Miranda v. Arizona requires that a person in custody be informed of his right to remain silent and his right to the presence of an attorney during questioning.
* FAILURE to give: violates 5th Amendment right to be free from compelled self-incrimination (c.f. 6th Amendment right to counsel!)
- Applies to CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION. Interrogation must be by POLICE and defendant must KNOW he is talking to police.
Interrogation must be by POLICE and defendant must KNOW he is talking to police.
- At any time prior to or during a custodial interrogation, the accused may invoke a Miranda (Fifth Amendment) right to ATTORNEY.
- ALL questioning must cease until the accused is provided with an attorney or initiates further questioning himself - After receiving Miranda warnings, if an accused invokes the right to REMAIN SILENT, the police cannot badger the accused.
- Courts have ruled that if the police scrupulously honor the request, they can rewarn the accused and later resume questioning, at least about a DIFFERENT CRIME.
* A suspect may subsequently WAIVE his rights by making a confession, as long as the waiver was KNOWING and VOLUNTARY
- Due process requires that for confessions to be admissible, they must be “voluntary,” based on the totality of the circumstances,
* Police have no duty to inform the defendant that an attorney is attempting to see him
** Miranda Waiver
Must be KNOWING and VOLUNTARY
- Totality of the circumstances
- Probably sufficient if he received warnings and answered questions
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. “Malice aforethought” exists if the defendant has any of the following states of mind -
- The intent to kill (express malice)
- The intent to inflict great bodily injury
- Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (“abandoned and malignant heart”)
- The intent to commit a felony
Overt act for attempt v. Overt act for conspiracy
Overt attempt required for attempt is much more substantial than overt act for conspiracy.
- Mere PREPARATION is sufficient for conspiracy, but more is required for attempt.
** Plain view exception
An officer may make a WARRANTLESS SEIZURE of evidence if
- The officer is LAWFULLY allowed to be in the place
- Sees in PLAIN VIEW items that he has
- IMMEDIATE probable cause to believe….
- Is CONTRABAND, evidence, instrumentalities, or fruits of a crime
Proximate Cause
Death is a natural and probable consequence of the defendant’s conduct, even if he does not anticipate the precise manner in which the death occurs
Requirements for a valid search warrant
To be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment, most searches must be pursuant to a warrant.
- The warrant must describe with reasonable precision the place to be searched and the items to be seized.
- A search warrant does not authorize the police to search persons found on the premises who are not named in the warrant