VA Crim Pro Essays Rule Statements

Question 1

a police officer may stop a suspect based on

Answer 1

a reasonable articulable suspicion that the suspect has committed or is committing a crime

Question 2

for a search to be valid under the fourth amendment, it generally must be

Answer 2

conducted pursuant to a search warrant

Question 3

automobile exception to search warrant

Answer 3

if the police have probable cause to believe that a vehicle, such as an automobile contains contraband or fruits, instrumentalities, or evidence of a crime, they may search the vehicle without a warrant, search can extend to anywhere they have PC in the car, including trunk and locked compartments

Question 4

during a lawful stop, officer may search a car if

Answer 4

1) he gains probable cause that the car contains contraband or fruits
2) search incident to arrest, if the officer has PC that the car may contain evidence of the crime for which the arrest was made

Question 5

the Fifth amendment does not preclude evidentiary use of a statement that was

Answer 5

volunteered, and not in response to any police questioning

Question 6

Sixth amendment right to counsel attaches

Answer 6

upon commencment of adversarial proceedings

Question 7

Person arrested for drunk driving may

Answer 7

refuse breathalyzer test and his refusal may not be admitted against him on teh drunk driving charge except to refute a defense based on absence of a chemical test, or in a separate trial on teh charge of refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test

Question 8

appeal for crim convictions

Answer 8

no appeal of right (except for misdemeanors from GDC to Circuit Court) discretionary review

Question 9

in criminal cases, husbands and wives

Answer 9

are allowed to testify, and they may also be compelled to testify on behalf of each other

Question 10

a spouse has a privilege against

Answer 10

being compelled to testify as a witness against the other except in 3 situations

Question 11

generally, a person’s home can be searched only pursuant to a warrant, but a warrant is not required if

Answer 11

not required if the police have a voluntary consent to do so, may come from owner or occupier or any person with an apparent equal right to occupy or use the property, valid even if they didn’t actually have that right as long as police reasonably believed they did

Question 12

the remedy for arrests that violate the fourth amendment is

Answer 12

suppression of any evidence that was obtained as a result of the unconstitutional arrest

Question 13

probable cause

Answer 13

totality of circumstances

officer has within his knowledge reasonably trustworthy facts and circumstances sufficient to warrant a reasonably prudent person to believe that the person has committed ac rime

Question 14

Miranda

Answer 14

statements made in response to a custodial interrogation by the police are inadmissible in evidence unless the defendant was first informed of his rights, and voluntarily and intelligently waived those rights

Question 15

a person is considered to be in custody if

Answer 15

the person’s freedom of action is denied in a significant way

Question 16

interrogation includes

Answer 16

any statement or conduct likely to elicit an incriminating response

Question 17

the intent element of a crime can be imputed to

Answer 17

a defendant acting in concert

Question 18

accused has a right to a jury trial in a court of record when

Answer 18

the offense is a felony

Question 19

to obtain a nonjury trial, the accused must

Answer 19

plead not guilty, and consent to a trial without jury, and the commonwealth’s attorney and the court must both concur

Question 20

a juvenile convicted in a circuit court will be sentenced by the court without interference of a jury, unless

Answer 20

the juvenile has previously been convicted and sentenced as an adult

Question 21

for a confession to be valid, the commonwealth’s attorney must show

Answer 21

by a preponderance of evidence that the waiver was knowing and voluntary, totality of circunstances (age, education, mental state, intelligence)

Question 22

evidence that is substantively inadmissible may be admitted for impeachment purposes

Answer 22

if relevant to show bias or interest

Question 23

the sixth amendment grants a defendant in criminal proceedings the right to

Answer 23

confront adverse witnesses

Question 24

through the due process clause of fourteenth amendment, right to confront adverse witnesses seeks to ensure that

Answer 24

defendant has opportunity to cross-examine any witness testifying against him

Question 25

juvenile and domestic relations courts have jx over

Answer 25

matters of juveniles under the age of 18 accused of committing delinquent acts that would be crimes if committed by an adult. If capital murder, only PC hearing and determining whether 16 or older, if yes, sent to circuit court for trial as adult. If malicious wounding, JC determine PC and whether 16 or older or whether should remain in juvenile court or be transferred, discretionary. 14 or older can waive and go to circuit court

Question 26

trial court can order discovery of

Answer 26

statements or confessions of the defendant

Question 27

discoverable items include

Answer 27

written and recorded statements of the accused in connection with the particular case, as well as oral statements made to a law enforcement officer

Question 28

two reqs for discoverable items

Answer 28

relevant to the case, known by the Commonwealth's attorney to be within the possession, control, or custody of the Commonwealth

Question 29

a defendant has a right to a suppression hearing at which the judge

Answer 29

as a matter of law, determines the admissibility of the eviddence out of the jury's presence

Question 30

the proponent of a motion to suppress has the burden of showing

Answer 30

by a preponderance of the evidence that a cognizable injury was committed

Question 31

after a proponent has made a prima facie case of motion to suppress

Answer 31

burden shifts to prosecution to show there was a warrant, or that exigent circumstances, consent, or some other condition obviated the need for a warrant

Question 32

in Virginia, jury trials are bifurcated into

Answer 32

a guilt phase and a sentencing phase

Question 33

Virginia law allows the commonwealth's attorney to introduce the defendant's prior criminal history through

Answer 33

attensted copies of the final order of prior convictions and the punishments imposed, in the sentencing phase

Question 34

under the prohibition against double jeapardy,

Answer 34

an individual may not be retried for the "same offense" once jeopardy has attached, protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction and it protects against multiple punishments for the same offense

Question 35

jeopardy attaches

Answer 35

in a jury trial at the empaneling and swearing in of the jury

Question 36

defenses based on defects in the institution of a prosecution, including double jeopardy, must be raise by

Answer 36

a motion filed prior to trial, unless the defendant can show good cause for not having raised the defense earlier

Question 37

in determining whether two offenses constitute the same offesnse, the first question is

Answer 37

whether the general assembly intended tha there be two different offenses, given the language of any statutes embodying the crimes

Question 38

to preserve issue of whether he should have been able to examine someone

Answer 38

object to ruling at time it occurs and make a proffer of what the evidence would have been if it had been allowed

Question 39

when a person is convicted of a felony, the court may, and upon the defendant's motion must, before imposing sentece

Answer 39

direct a probation officer to thoroughly investigate and report on the history of teh accused and all other relevant facts (presentance report)

Question 40

on motion of the Commonwealth, for good cause shown, the court is to order persons charged with participating in contemporaneous or related acts constituting an offense to be

Answer 40

tried jointly unless a joint trial would cause actual prejudice to a defendant, in which case the court must order severance as to that defendant or provide other appropriate relief

Question 41

actual prejudice results only when there is a serious risk that

Answer 41

a joint trial would compromise a specific trial right of a defendant or prevent the jury from making a reliable judgment about guilt or innocence

Question 42

a juvenile 14 years or older can be transerred from juvenile and domestic relations court to circuit oourt to be tried as an adult if

Answer 42

the crime committed would be a felony if committed by an adult, however, will be sentenced without jury unless prievously been convicted and sentenced as an adult