Confessions and self-incrimination — MCQs

Using only the supplied client file (Exhibits A–C) and legal resources, prepare an advisory email assessing whether the proposed second prosecution of Maya Chen is barred and recommending the most appropriate next step. Address when jeopardy attached and terminated, whether the two charges are the same offense, and whether the separate-sovereigns rule changes the result.

Using only the supplied client file and legal resources, prepare a persuasive memorandum supporting defendant Aaron Pike’s motion to suppress the firearm and his stationhouse statement. Address the prosecution’s strongest arguments, distinguish the Fourth Amendment and Miranda issues, and recommend whether the defense should seek an additional evidentiary fact before the hearing.

Using only the supplied file and legal resources, prepare an objective memorandum assessing each proposed charge and recommending a negotiation position. Identify the strongest argument against felony-murder liability, the prosecution's best response, and the most important additional fact to investigate before the charging conference.

A supervising prosecutor has asked you to assess potential charges against Ava Ortiz arising from a planned pharmacy theft carried out by Ben Cole. Ava proposed the plan, supplied a copied key and employee schedule, agreed to serve as driver, and later attempted to withdraw. Using only the supplied client file and legal resources, prepare an objective charging memorandum analyzing solicitation, conspiracy, accomplice liability for burglary and robbery, the legal effect of Ava's attempted withdrawal, and the most appropriate charging recommendation.

After a defendant was indicted for armed robbery and appointed counsel, officers placed a cooperating informant in the defendant's jail cell. The officers instructed the informant to ask specifically where the defendant had hidden the robbery weapon. During their first conversation, the informant said that the defendant would receive a lighter sentence if police recovered the weapon and repeatedly asked where it was. The defendant eventually identified its location. The informant had not threatened the defendant, made promises authorized by prosecutors, or given Miranda warnings. The prosecution intends to introduce the defendant's statement at the robbery trial. Defense counsel moves to suppress it. Which of the following is the defense's strongest argument?

A shop owner wanted to collect insurance proceeds by having her store destroyed. She offered a friend $5,000 to burn the store that weekend. The friend immediately refused and left. An hour later, the owner sent the friend a message stating, "Forget what I asked. I will not go through with it." The friend never intended to burn the store and never took any action toward doing so. The jurisdiction follows the general rule that solicitation requires intentionally asking another person to commit a crime with the purpose that the crime be committed. Which of the following best states the owner's criminal liability?

During a lawful traffic stop, an officer saw an unlabeled bag of illegal pills on the center console between the driver and a passenger. Both occupants denied owning it. The officer arrested the driver and secured both occupants in separate patrol cars. Based on the pills, the officer had probable cause to believe that the car contained additional illegal drugs. The officer searched the passenger compartment and opened a zipped backpack lying on the rear seat. The backpack belonged to the passenger and contained more pills and a ledger. The passenger, who was later charged with drug possession, moves to suppress the backpack evidence. Is the court likely to grant the motion?

A defendant, intending to kill a business partner, secretly put a lethal poison in the partner's coffee. The partner drank the coffee. Medical evidence establishes that the poison would have killed the partner within two hours without treatment. Ten minutes later, an unrelated robber entered the building and immediately shot and killed the partner. The gunshot alone caused instantaneous death, and the poison did not accelerate or otherwise contribute to that death. Police later discovered the poisoning plan and recovered the defendant's messages stating an intention to kill the partner. The jurisdiction follows generally accepted principles of criminal liability and defines attempt as acting with the purpose of committing an offense and taking a substantial step strongly corroborative of that purpose. Which offense is the defendant most likely to have committed?