Criminal Procedure Investigation
Jeanine Bell
B601, Fall, 2008
Hypotheticals
Consent
- Rutherford "Gunner" Rhodes, an ambitious 3L, rents an apartment on the third floor of a three-family private residence. The police suspect Gunner of involvement in a criminal enterprise selling stolen copies of the upcoming state bar examination to law school graduates. There is not sufficient probable cause to seek a warrant to search the apartment or arrest Gunner.
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- Four officers visit Gunner and ask to search the apartment. He's indecisive, and one officer says, "it sure won't look good on your law school record if you refuse to let us look around your place." Gunner agrees to a search, and the officers find and seize copies of the upcoming bar exam and a package of meth
- The officers visit Gunner's apartment in his absence and speak to Kirk, a man Gunner has hired to clean every other week. The officers explain to Kirk that they would like to look around, and he lets them in. The officers find and seize copies of the upcoming bar examination in Gunner's desk.
- Betty Boop, a former live-in girlfriend of Gunner's, calls the police and tells them she has proof of his criminal activities. At her suggestion, the officers meet her at Gunner's apartment. She opens the door with her key (which she failed to return when she left 2 months ago) and leads the officers into the living room, where they observe several copies of the upcoming bar examination on a coffee table. Boop then brings them to the adjoining study and opens the top drawer of Gunner's desk, revealing an answer key to the bar examination. The officers seize all the incriminating documents.
- Officers visit Gunner's apartment in his absence and speak to his landlord, who lives on the first floor. The officers ask if they could search Gunner's car, which is parked in the driveway. The landlord, who has Gunner's permission to enter the car in order to move it if it is blocking other vehicles, agrees and opens the locked doors with a key Gunner had provided him. The officers find incriminating evidence under the front seat.
Airport Stop
- Two U.S. Customs agents approached Miguel as he proceeded through the bus terminal. Thinking he looked out of place, they identified themselves and requested his identification and ticket which he produced. They posed several questions about his travel plans and returned his papers. Miguel continually asked them the reason why he'd been singled out and the agents glowered at him. One officer muttered something about "Arabs," and ignored his questions. The other officer gently touched his elbow and said, earnestly, "We just want to clear this up." Anxious to dispel their doubts, Miguel allowed himself to be guided to a nearby broom closet.
Plain View Search
- Police officers Cagney and Lacey are investigating a vehicular homicide they believe to have been committed by Joey Soprano. Armed with a search warrant, they enter Soprano’s private five-car garage. The warrant authorized a search of Soprano’s black Ford Explorer, plate number ILUVNJ as well as the area of the garage immediately surrounding the vehicle for evidence of recent impact with the accident victim. The officers inspected the exterior of the automobile, the floor of the garage, and then turned their attention to a workbench located in an alcove at the back of the garage. While examining a shelf above the workbench, the officers discovered a plain white envelope that when opened contained a receipt from an auto body shop indicating that significant repair and painting work had been done to Soprano’s bumper the day after the victim was killed. Can the officers seize the receipt?
Informant's Tip
- Officer Bratt receives a tip from a reliable informant, Wilhelmina, that Jacobs, a known drug smuggler, has swallowed several balloons of cocaine and is due into Detroit the next day on a Northwest flight from Amsterdam. Jacobs is described as a white man who is 5’7’’, 140 lbs and will be wearing a Hawaiian shirt, binoculars around his neck and carrying a Victoria Secret’s bag. Wilhelmina dashes off before Bratt finds out how she knows this. Does Bratt have enough to get a warrant for Jacobs’ arrest?
Anonymous Letter
- You are a prosecutor facing a motion to suppress evidence. Your warrant is based on an anonymous letter sent to the police which told of a woman and her sister, the “Shirelles” who were running an illegal betting operation out of their house. The following facts about their criminal operation were described in the affidavit: people come to the house to place bets for basketball, soccer, and football between 9 A.M. and 3. The games are scheduled to take place either that evening or the next day.
Indiana University Maurer School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association
