SCCJA SPECIAL BASIC STUDY GUIDE
QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS 2026
| Study Guide | A+
• Misdemeanor . Answer: Requires a warrant unless committed in officer's presence or
freshly committed
• Hot Pursuit . Answer: Arrest without a warrant exception; 1.)immediate or continuous
pursuit of one who is in flight and 2.)crime must be serious in nature
• Exigent Circumstances . Answer: Arrest without a warrant exception; when there is an
immediate threat to public safety or the risk that evidence will be destroyed, officers may
search, arrest, or question suspects without obtaining a warrant or following other usual
rules of criminal procedure
• Use of Force . Answer: Officers are permitted to use that amount of force, reasonable,
and necessary to impose custody and overcome all resistance; and ensure safety of the
arresting officer, the arrestee, and others in the vicinity of the arrest
• Taking Adult DNA (South Carolina) . Answer: Taking DNA at charging of 1.)Felonies,
2.) crimes with potential sentence of 5 years or more, 3.) eavesdropping, peeping, or
stalking, and 4.) court order (SC 23-3-620)
• Taking Juvenile DNA (South Carolina) . Answer: Taking DNA at conviction or
adjudication of 1.)Felonies, 2.) crimes with potential sentence of 5 years or more, and
3.) eavesdropping, peeping, or stalking, and 4.) court order (SC 23-3-620)
• Probable Cause . Answer: A reasonable belief grounded in facts; the standard by
which all arrest and most searches are judged; required by officers when they make an
arrest; required by judges when they issue a warrant
• Fourth Amendment . Answer: The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or
things to be seized.
• Magistrate's Duty . Answer: The principle that a judicial officer must make an
independent judgment as to whether the fourth amendment standard has been met
• When to Arrest . Answer: 1.) an offense has been committed and 2.) the person
arrested has committed it
, • PC for Search Warrant . Answer: 1.) and offense has been committed, 2.) the item
sought are connected to this criminal activity, and 3.) the item sought will presently be
found in the place to be searched.
• Affidavit . Answer: a sworn written statement
• corroboration . Answer: Confirmation or support by additional evidence authority
• exclusionary rule . Answer: A judicially created remedy which results in the
suppression of evidence which has been derived from an illegal search or seizure
• Independent Source (Exclusionary Rule) . Answer: exception to the exclusionary rule
permitting the use of evidence discovered independent of any improper search or
seizure
• inevitable discovery (Exclusionary Rule) . Answer: exception to the exclusionary rule
that allows the use of illegally obtained evidence at trial if the court determines that the
evidence would eventually have been found by legal means
• Attenuation (Exclusionary Rule) . Answer: allows illegally obtained evidence in court if
the connection between the unconstitutional police actions and the evidence obtained
from those illegal actions weakens enough
• good faith exception . Answer: An exception to the Supreme Court exclusionary rule,
holding that evidence seized on the basis of a mistakenly issued search warrant can be
introduced at trial if the mistake was made in good faith, that is, if all the parties involved
had reason at the time to believe that the warrant was proper.
• Curtilage . Answer: the area immediately surrounding the home
• Open Fields Doctrine . Answer: The principle that officers do not need a warrant to
search what is in an open field.
• Plain View Doctrine . Answer: When the police justifiably intrude into an area for which
there is normally an expectation of privacy, for example, with a search or arrest warrant,
and see evidence located in the same area, they may seize it without a warrant
• Plain View Doctrine Requirements . Answer: (1) Police officer must be legitimately on
premises where viewing is done.
(2) It must be immediately apparent that the item is contraband/fruit of crime.
(3) The contraband or evidence is in the same area where the officer is lawfully present
• Exceptions to the Warrant Requirement . Answer: 1. Consent searches
2. Search incident to arrest
3. Certain vehicle searches
4. Emergency searches
QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS 2026
| Study Guide | A+
• Misdemeanor . Answer: Requires a warrant unless committed in officer's presence or
freshly committed
• Hot Pursuit . Answer: Arrest without a warrant exception; 1.)immediate or continuous
pursuit of one who is in flight and 2.)crime must be serious in nature
• Exigent Circumstances . Answer: Arrest without a warrant exception; when there is an
immediate threat to public safety or the risk that evidence will be destroyed, officers may
search, arrest, or question suspects without obtaining a warrant or following other usual
rules of criminal procedure
• Use of Force . Answer: Officers are permitted to use that amount of force, reasonable,
and necessary to impose custody and overcome all resistance; and ensure safety of the
arresting officer, the arrestee, and others in the vicinity of the arrest
• Taking Adult DNA (South Carolina) . Answer: Taking DNA at charging of 1.)Felonies,
2.) crimes with potential sentence of 5 years or more, 3.) eavesdropping, peeping, or
stalking, and 4.) court order (SC 23-3-620)
• Taking Juvenile DNA (South Carolina) . Answer: Taking DNA at conviction or
adjudication of 1.)Felonies, 2.) crimes with potential sentence of 5 years or more, and
3.) eavesdropping, peeping, or stalking, and 4.) court order (SC 23-3-620)
• Probable Cause . Answer: A reasonable belief grounded in facts; the standard by
which all arrest and most searches are judged; required by officers when they make an
arrest; required by judges when they issue a warrant
• Fourth Amendment . Answer: The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or
things to be seized.
• Magistrate's Duty . Answer: The principle that a judicial officer must make an
independent judgment as to whether the fourth amendment standard has been met
• When to Arrest . Answer: 1.) an offense has been committed and 2.) the person
arrested has committed it
, • PC for Search Warrant . Answer: 1.) and offense has been committed, 2.) the item
sought are connected to this criminal activity, and 3.) the item sought will presently be
found in the place to be searched.
• Affidavit . Answer: a sworn written statement
• corroboration . Answer: Confirmation or support by additional evidence authority
• exclusionary rule . Answer: A judicially created remedy which results in the
suppression of evidence which has been derived from an illegal search or seizure
• Independent Source (Exclusionary Rule) . Answer: exception to the exclusionary rule
permitting the use of evidence discovered independent of any improper search or
seizure
• inevitable discovery (Exclusionary Rule) . Answer: exception to the exclusionary rule
that allows the use of illegally obtained evidence at trial if the court determines that the
evidence would eventually have been found by legal means
• Attenuation (Exclusionary Rule) . Answer: allows illegally obtained evidence in court if
the connection between the unconstitutional police actions and the evidence obtained
from those illegal actions weakens enough
• good faith exception . Answer: An exception to the Supreme Court exclusionary rule,
holding that evidence seized on the basis of a mistakenly issued search warrant can be
introduced at trial if the mistake was made in good faith, that is, if all the parties involved
had reason at the time to believe that the warrant was proper.
• Curtilage . Answer: the area immediately surrounding the home
• Open Fields Doctrine . Answer: The principle that officers do not need a warrant to
search what is in an open field.
• Plain View Doctrine . Answer: When the police justifiably intrude into an area for which
there is normally an expectation of privacy, for example, with a search or arrest warrant,
and see evidence located in the same area, they may seize it without a warrant
• Plain View Doctrine Requirements . Answer: (1) Police officer must be legitimately on
premises where viewing is done.
(2) It must be immediately apparent that the item is contraband/fruit of crime.
(3) The contraband or evidence is in the same area where the officer is lawfully present
• Exceptions to the Warrant Requirement . Answer: 1. Consent searches
2. Search incident to arrest
3. Certain vehicle searches
4. Emergency searches
