LEGAL FINAL MPTC (Constitutional Law/Criminal Law)

LEGAL FINAL MPTC (Constitutional Law/Criminal Law) U.S Constitution was written and ratified in 1787 and 1788 U.S Constitution is ___ articles and ____ Amendments establish basic principles of government and individual rights of all citizens 7 Articles 27 Amendements The first 10 Amendments are known as Bill Of Rights 1st Amendment Establishes freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition. Following types of speech protected by 1st Amendment Religion Speech (spokenwritten) Right to audio and video record 1st Amendment speech types NOT protected -Citizens with an unqualified right to speak out on any conceivable subject at all times ans places (ex. FIRE) -Obscenity -Fighting words -Threats (must be "true threats" and not just expressive speech -Incendiary Speech 2nd Amendment Establishes the right to keep and bear arms. 4th Amendment Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures by the government Searches Physical inbasions or intrusions of privacy by police on people, homes, or personal property to obtain information or gather evidence Seizure When police take possesion of property, make an arrest, or restrict a persons ability to move freely 5th Amendment Prohibits citizens from being punished for the same offense twice (double jeopardy) from being compelled to testify against themselves (self-incrimination) provides the right to indicment for certain types of offenses by a grand jury and guarantee due process law 6th Amendment Requires all persons charged with a crime be i formed of charges against them. People charged with crime have a right to counsel and speedy public trial by an impartial jury. People charged with a crime also have a right to confront witnesses against them and to compel witnesses to appear and testify on their behalf 8th Amendment Protects the people from cruel and unusual punishment 14th Amendment Provided people of all states the right to "due process" and "equal protection under the law" In some cases, the MA Constitution provides greater protection that the U S Constitution TRUE The U.S Constitution we're based on the Declaration of Rights TRUE Article XII (13) No subject shall be held to answer for any crimes or offense, until the same is fully and plainly, substantially and formally described to them; or be compelled to accuse, or furnish eviddence against themself. Article XIV (14) Every subject has a right to be secure fromall unreasonable searches, and seizures or his person, houses, papers and all his possessions Statutory Law Written and enacted by legislative branches of state or federal governments Case Law Consists of decisions by Federal and MA courts, primarily the U.S Supreme Court (USSC), the MA Supreme Judical Court (SJC) and MA Appeals Court Objective Standards Thinks "others" What a reasonable person would do, act or believe Subjective Standards Think "self" What an Individual person did or believed To arrest a person for a crime, police need Probable Cause Needed to detain a person temporarily to investigate a possible crime you need Reasonable suspicion In determining whether a search was reasonable, courts must consider Was a search warrant required? Was the warrantless search permissible by law? Was search based upon probable cause? Was frisk lawful? Was the suspicion specific to a particular person or place? Different actions police can take to determine which legal standard is required for each action Reasonable Suspicion Must be based on specifc and articulable facts which, when taken together, would convince a person of reasonable caution to believe that a person has committed, is committing or is about to commit a crime Frisks require Reasonable suspicion with specific and articulable facts that the person may be armed and dangerous. (Limited searches of a persons outer clothing for weapons) do not require probable cause Terry v. Ohio reasonable suspicion to stop and frisk probable cause Is trustworthy facts and circumstances sufficient to convince a person of reasonable caution to believe that it is more likely than not in the case of a search or in the case of an arrest In the case of a search A specific item subject to seizure will be found in the place to be searched In the case of an arrest A crime has been committed and the person to be arrested has committed it Collective Knowledge Means knowledge of one is knowledge of all. Veracity Whether the source is reliable or believable A report from an anonymous source usually lacks veracity because there is no evidence of their reputation for honesty, past reliability or motivation TRUE exclusionary rule Makes any evidence obtained by police in an unreasonable search or seizure inadmissible in court. Meaning the evidence will not be allowed in any hearing at court and the finder of fact will not be able to rely on it to make a decision of guilt or innocence. Basis of knowledge Is how the source or witness acquired the information Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine Any evidence directly derived from the illegal search or evidence found incidential to the unlawful search will, generally speaking, be suppressed. Exclusionary Rule Exceptions -attenuation/purging the taint -independent source -inevitable discovery -defective warrant -invalid arrest Probable Cause & Reasonable Suspicion Voluntary Encounters To build trusting community relationships, officers must interact regulary with citizens. Taking someone's ID is considered a seizure TRUE Police officers don't violate the 4th Amendment by merely approaching people in a public place and asking them questions if the person is willing to listen and voluntarily answer. TRUE Seizure When police take possession of property, make an arrest or restrict a persons ability to move freely. Terry Stops Investigative stops or threshold inquiries are short duration, warrantless seizures used to determine if probable cause exists, specifically if a crime has or will be committed 2 step inquiry to determine the validity of a Terry Stop - whether the initiation of the investigation by the police was permissible under the circumstances - whether the scope of the search was justified under the circumstances Duration Must not be longer than what is reasonably necessary to determine if probable cause exists that a crime was committed. Scope Of an investigative sfop is limited to gathering infirmation to determine probable cause for a specific crime committed by a specific suspect Questioning Police are not required to administer Miranda warnings during investigations stops and suspects are not required to answer questions. Inferences Of criminal activity may be unreasonable in situation where many alternative, innocent reasons for the circumstances exist. Aguilar/Spinelli Test Basis of knowledge- how does informant know what they know? Veracity- is the informant credible or the information provided reliable? Arrest are one of the most intrusive types of seizures under the 4th Amendment TRUE Fugitive Warrants To arrest a person based on a warrant from foreign states and jurisdictions. Police may make a warrantless arrest of fugitives in a public way if they have reasonable informationthat that they were charged in another state with a crime that is punishable by death or imprisonment for more than 1 year. Police making warrantless arrest outside of their jurisdiction without being involved in a fresh and continued pursuit are acting as Private citizens Curtilage Immediate area surrounding a dwelling that genrally includes driveways, gardens, decks, swimming pools, garages and storage sheds. When determining if an area to be searched is in the curtilage, ask the following 4 questions What is the distance or proximity from the area to the main dwelling? Is the area within an enclosure that also surrounds the dwelling? How is the area used? Were any steps taken by dwelling owner or resident to restrict public observation? Police action that causes a cell phone to ping or disclose its current, real time location intrudes on reasonable expectation of privacy