Criminal Law, Procedure, and Evidence

Section I: Overview

1. Balancing Law Enforcement and Individual Rights

Problem

Questions

Discussion

References

2. Social Control in a Free Society

Constitutional Requirements

Problem

Questions

Applications to White-collar Crime

References

3. A Bill of Rights Summary

First Amendment

Second Amendment

Third Amendment

Fourth Amendment

Fifth Amendment

Sixth Amendment

Seventh Amendment

Eighth Amendment

Ninth Amendment

Tenth Amendment

Rejected Amendment

Problem

Questions

References

4. Development of Due Process Protections

Fourteenth Amendment

Federalism and the Dual Court System

Applying Due Process to the States

Selective Incorporation of Federal Rights into the Fourteenth Amendment

Trial by Jury

Unanimous Verdicts

Self-incrimination

Right to Remain Silent and Presumption of Innocence

Problem

Questions

Warren Court Criminal Procedure Decisions

Right to Keep and Bear Arms

References

5. Principles of Criminal Law

Causation

Felony Murder

Accomplice Liability

Death of Accomplice

Strict Liability Crimes

Problem

Questions

References

6. Crimes and Punishments

Assault and Self-defense

Self-defense

Homicide

Manslaughter

Justification

Citizen's Arrest

Negative and Affirmative Defenses

Mistake of Fact and Factual Impossibility

Problem

Questions

Death Penalty

Rape

Larceny

Three Strikes

Federal Crimes

Double Jeopardy

Felon in Possession of Firearm Act

Patterson v. New York

Reference

7. The Exclusionary Rule and the Fourth Amendment

How Far Does the Exclusionary Rule Go?

Independent Source Exception

Problem

Questions

References

8. Search Warrants

Oath or Affirmation

Probable Cause and Particularity

Confidential Informants

Challenging the Truthfulness of a Warrant Application

Problem

Questions

Anticipatory Warrants and Controlled Deliveries

Procedures and Statutory Rules

Knock-and-Announce Rules

Administrative Warrants

Special Needs Searches

Border and Airport Searches

Prison, Parole, and Probation Supervision

Schools and Students

References

9. The Law of Arrest

Probable Cause

Arrest Warrants

Elements of an Arrest

Questions Raised by Florida v. Royer

Good Judgment and Discretion

Hearsay

Confidential Informants

Use of Force to Arrest

Problem

Questions

Prosecution

References

10. Searches without Warrants

Plain View

Searches Incidental to a Lawful Arrest: Chimel v. California

Telephone and Computer Files

The Emergency Exception

Hot Pursuits

Exigent Circumstances

Questions Raised by Brigham City, Utah v. Stuart

Protective Sweeps

Problem

Questions

Open Fields

References

11. A Not So Uncommon Police/Citizen Encounter

Problem

Questions

Discussion

References

12. Stop, Question, and Frisk

Reasonable Suspicion

Time and Place

The Frisk

Use of Force

Problem

Questions

Anonymous Tips

Inquiries on Less than Reasonable Suspicion

Summary

References

13. Consent Searches

Voluntary Consent

Problem

Questions

Third-party Consent

Questions raised by Georgia v. Randolph

Good-faith Mistakes

Abandoned Property

Questions Raised by California v. Greenwood

Induced Abandonment

References

14. Search and Seizure of Vehicles and Occupants

Mobility and the Automobile Exception

Lesser Expectation of Privacy

Closed Containers

Occupants

Searches Incidental to Arrest

Stop and Frisk In and Around Automobiles

Traffic Stops

Problem

Questions

Detention of Drivers and Passengers

Traffic Violations as a Pretext to Stop, Frisk, or Search

Roadblocks and Safety Checks

Inventory Searches

Standing to Challenge Searches

Summary

References

15. The Privilege against Compelled Self-incrimination and Miranda v. Arizona

Confessions

False Confessions

Supervision of Police Interrogation Practices

Problem

Questions

Miranda v. Arizona

16. Refining Miranda

Questions Raised by Miranda

Problem

Questions

Suppressing Confessions to Enforce the Fourth Amendment

Exceptions to Miranda

Public Safety

Traffic Enforcement

Attenuation

Waiver

Diluting the Poisonous-Tree Doctrine

Congressional Attempt to Overrule Miranda

The Court’s Response

Severing a Branch of the Poisonous Tree

References

17. The Right to Counsel

Indirect Questioning

Inevitable Discovery Exception

Problem

Questions

Jailhouse Informants

Offense-specific Variations

Right to Counsel for Factually-related Cases

Interminable Right to Counsel

Exceptions to Miranda, the Right to Counsel, and the Fruits-of-the-Poisonous-Tree Doctrine

Interconnectivity of Rights

Problem

Questions

References

18. Evidence and Due Process

Relevant, Material, and Competent

Too Prejudicial

Circumstantial Evidence

Character Evidence

Credibility

The MIMIC Rule

Presumptions

Problem

Questions

References

19. Identifications and Due Process

Lineups

Show-ups

Point-outs During a Canvas

Photographs

In-court Identifications

Bolstering In-court Testimony with Prior Identifications

Right to Counsel at Lineups

Confirmatory Identifications by Police Officers

Corroboration

Identifications without Eyewitnesses

Self-incrimination by Physical Evidence

Problem

Questions

References

20. The Right of Confrontation

Hearsay

Non-hearsay

Hearsay Exceptions

Dying Declarations

Confessions

Admissions

Excited Utterances and Spontaneous Statements

Prior Inconsistent Statements

Defendant’s Prior Inconsistent Statements

Prior Testimony

Declarations against Interest

Problem

Questions

21. Government Surveillance

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968

Strict Requirements

E-mail and Text Messages

Pen Registers and Trap-and-Trace Devices

Tracking a Person’s Movements

X-rays, Metal Detectors, Thermal Imaging, and Video

Dogs

Problem

Questions

References

22. Terrorism and the Patriot Act

Problem

Questions

References

Biography

Walter P. Signorelli is Lecturer and Adjunct Professor of Law and Police Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York (CUNY), USA, and a practicing criminal defense attorney. Signorelli was a member of the New York City Police Department for more than thirty years. He retired as an Inspector in the Detective Division having been the commanding officer of precincts in Brooklyn and Manhattan, in the Organized Crime Control Bureau, and in the Narcotics Division. He is a graduate of St. John’s University School of Law, cum laude, and the Columbia University Police Management Institute. He is the author of The Crisis of Police Liability Lawsuits: Prevention and Management (2006), The Constable Has Blundered: The Exclusionary Rule, Crime, and Corruption (2010), Rome and America: The Great Republics: What the Fall of the Roman Republic Portends for the United States (2018), and Tiberius Bound (2022).