I85PREP
⌘ K
CT POSTC Basic Training study materials
CT POSTC Basic Training study resources

CT POSTC Basic Training practice questions

One question at a time. Build your CT POSTC Basic Training understanding.

First 50 of 200 questions. Each one lists the choices, the correct answer, and an explanation. The checker at the top of this page saves progress in this browser when it is available.

Continue in the practice tool above to load more questions, 50 at a time.

Question 1Connecticut Criminal Law

Under Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-3, a person acts "intentionally" with respect to a result when that person's conduct is undertaken with which of the following?

  1. A gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would exercise
  2. Awareness that the conduct creates a substantial and unjustifiable risk of such result
  3. A conscious objective is to cause such result Correct answer.
  4. Awareness that such result is practically certain to occur

Explanation

Section 53a-3 defines intent in terms of a conscious objective to cause the result or to engage in the conduct. The other mental states in the statute are knowledge, recklessness and criminal negligence, each with its own definition.

Question 2Connecticut Criminal Law

Under § 53a-35a, the maximum term of imprisonment authorized for a class D felony is:

  1. One year
  2. Ten years
  3. Twenty years
  4. Five years Correct answer.

Explanation

A class D felony carries a term of not less than one year nor more than five years. The longer maximums belong to the higher felony classes, and one year is the ceiling for a class A misdemeanor.

Question 3Connecticut Criminal Law

Assault in the third degree, § 53a-61, is classified as:

  1. A class B misdemeanor
  2. An infraction
  3. A class D felony
  4. A class A misdemeanor Correct answer.

Explanation

Section 53a-61 grades assault in the third degree as a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year. Third-degree assault involves intent to cause physical injury and causing such injury.

Question 4Connecticut Criminal Law

A person who enters or remains unlawfully in a building with intent to commit a crime therein is guilty of burglary in the third degree, which is:

  1. A class C felony
  2. A class A misdemeanor
  3. A class D felony Correct answer.
  4. A class B felony

Explanation

Section 53a-103 grades burglary in the third degree as a class D felony. The higher degrees apply when aggravating factors such as being armed, causing injury, or entering a dwelling at night are present.

Question 5Connecticut Criminal Law

Breach of the peace in the second degree, § 53a-181, is graded as:

  1. A class A misdemeanor
  2. An infraction
  3. A class B misdemeanor Correct answer.
  4. A class C felony

Explanation

Section 53a-181 grades breach of the peace in the second degree as a class B misdemeanor, which carries a maximum of six months. More serious conduct supporting a felony charge would be charged under a different offense.

Question 6Connecticut Criminal Law

Interfering with an officer or resisting arrest, § 53a-167a, is graded as:

  1. A class C felony
  2. An infraction
  3. A class A misdemeanor Correct answer.
  4. A class B misdemeanor

Explanation

Section 53a-167a makes interfering with an officer a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year. The offense covers obstructing or hindering an officer in the performance of the officer's duties.

Question 7Connecticut Criminal Law

In Connecticut, a person may lawfully consent to sexual intercourse at which age?

  1. Sixteen years old Correct answer.
  2. Eighteen years old
  3. Fifteen years old
  4. Fourteen years old

Explanation

Connecticut sets the age of consent at sixteen. Sexual assault in the second degree prohibits intercourse with a person thirteen, fourteen or fifteen years old when the actor is more than two years older, and intercourse with a person under thirteen is sexual assault in the first degree.

Question 8Connecticut Criminal Law

Murder as defined in § 53a-54a is classified as:

  1. A class A misdemeanor
  2. A capital felony
  3. A class B felony
  4. A class A felony Correct answer.

Explanation

Section 53a-54a grades murder as a class A felony, and a person convicted of murder faces a sentence of not less than twenty-five years nor more than life. Connecticut repealed its death penalty, so capital punishment no longer applies.

Question 9Connecticut Criminal Law

In a robbery, the use or threatened use of physical force must be for the purpose of:

  1. Retaliating against the victim for an earlier argument unrelated to the property
  2. Concealing evidence of the taking long after the offender has reached safety and hidden the property
  3. Expressing anger without any intent to obtain property from the victim
  4. Overcoming resistance to the taking or compelling delivery of the property Correct answer.

Explanation

Section 53a-133 requires that force or a threat of force be used to prevent or overcome resistance to the taking, or to compel the owner to deliver the property. Force used in an attempt or in immediate flight after the taking also counts, but it must serve that purpose.

Question 10Connecticut Criminal Law

Under § 53a-19, deadly physical force may be used in self-defense only when the actor reasonably believes it is necessary to defend against:

  1. Insulting words or offensive gestures
  2. Death or serious physical injury Correct answer.
  3. An unwanted touching of the arm
  4. A minor push during an argument

Explanation

Deadly force in self-defense is limited to situations where the actor reasonably believes it necessary to repel death or serious physical injury. The statute also lists sexual assault, robbery, kidnapping, and burglary of a dwelling as triggering circumstances.

Question 11Connecticut Criminal Law

A resident who is not the initial aggressor confronts an armed intruder inside her home. Under § 53a-19(b), before using deadly force she:

  1. Must attempt to leave through the nearest exit
  2. Must first call out a warning to the intruder
  3. Must retreat to the farthest interior room of the house
  4. Has no duty to retreat Correct answer.

Explanation

The retreat requirement in § 53a-19(b) does not apply to an actor who is in her own dwelling and was not the initial aggressor. In that setting the resident may stand her ground and use deadly force if the statutory prerequisites are met.

Question 12Connecticut Criminal Law

Under § 53a-21, a person may use reasonable physical force to prevent or terminate a trespass on land or interference with personal property, but:

  1. May not use deadly force solely to protect property Correct answer.
  2. May use force only if the trespasser is a stranger to the owner
  3. May also use deadly force if the property is especially valuable
  4. May use any degree of force if a warning is first given

Explanation

Section 53a-21 allows reasonable, non-deadly force to protect land or property. Deadly force is never justified by the mere need to protect property; it is limited to defending against the harms enumerated in the self-defense statute.

Question 13Connecticut Criminal Law

Which statement correctly describes the duress defense under § 53a-14?

  1. It requires only that the defendant subjectively feared some future harm
  2. It is unavailable to a defendant who intentionally or recklessly placed himself in a situation where duress was probable Correct answer.
  3. It requires that the defendant report the threat to police before acting
  4. It applies only when the threat of force is directed at the defendant and not at another person

Explanation

Duress requires coercion by the use or threatened imminent use of unlawful physical force that a person of reasonable firmness could not resist. The statute expressly denies the defense to a defendant who intentionally or recklessly placed himself where duress was probable.

Question 14Connecticut Criminal Law

The entrapment defense under § 53a-15 focuses primarily on whether:

  1. The arresting officer failed to identify himself as a law enforcement officer before the encounter
  2. The defendant showed some predisposition toward criminal conduct before the police became involved
  3. The defendant was mistaken about the scope of the criminal statute
  4. Police inducement created a substantial risk that an unready person would commit the offense Correct answer.

Explanation

Section 53a-15 asks whether a public servant induced the conduct by methods of persuasion or encouragement creating a substantial risk that the offense would be committed by a person not ready to commit it. The focus is on the nature of the inducement, not on the individual defendant's prior disposition.

Question 15Connecticut Criminal Law

Under § 53a-8, a person is criminally liable for the conduct of another when, with the mental state required for the offense, the person:

  1. Solicits, requests, commands or intentionally aids the other person Correct answer.
  2. Fails to report the crime after it has been committed
  3. Is present at the scene when the crime is committed
  4. Knows that the other person plans to commit a crime in the near future

Explanation

Accomplice liability attaches when a person, acting with the mental state required for the offense, solicits, requests, commands, importunes or intentionally aids another in committing it. Liability is based on the purposeful conduct, not on knowledge or presence alone.

Question 16Connecticut Criminal Law

In addition to an agreement, a conspiracy under § 53a-48 requires that:

  1. One conspirator commits an overt act in furtherance of the agreement Correct answer.
  2. Every conspirator must personally commit an overt act in furtherance of the agreement
  3. The object offense actually be completed by one of the conspirators
  4. The agreement be reduced to writing and signed by the parties

Explanation

Section 53a-48 requires an agreement to engage in criminal conduct plus an overt act by any one of the conspirators in pursuance of the conspiracy. The crime is complete once that act occurs, regardless of whether the object offense is accomplished.

Question 17Connecticut Criminal Law

Under § 53a-91, to "abduct" a person means to restrain that person with intent to:

  1. Keep the person in a room for a few minutes while a friend calms down
  2. Prevent liberation by secreting the person where he is unlikely to be found Correct answer.
  3. Frighten the person by standing in front of a doorway he must pass
  4. Detain the person for a short period in an open public place to ask questions

Explanation

Abduction requires restraint combined with intent to prevent liberation, either by secreting or holding the person where he is unlikely to be found, or by using or threatening physical force. Kidnapping in the second degree requires an abduction.

Question 18Connecticut Criminal Law

A participant in an armed robbery shoots and kills a store clerk during the crime. Under § 53a-54c, felony murder is a:

  1. Class C felony
  2. Class A felony Correct answer.
  3. Class D felony
  4. Class B felony

Explanation

Section 53a-54c makes a participant liable for a death caused in the course of and in furtherance of certain felonies, and grades felony murder as a class A felony. The victim may be any person other than a participant in the felony.

Question 19Connecticut Criminal Law

Under § 53a-49, criminal attempt requires that the actor, acting with the intent required for the offense:

  1. Formulate a private intention to commit the crime at some point in the future
  2. Make a detailed plan but take no action toward carrying it out
  3. Take a substantial step strongly corroborative of the criminal purpose Correct answer.
  4. Purchase ordinary household items that also have lawful uses

Explanation

Attempt requires conduct amounting to a substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in the crime, and that step must be strongly corroborative of the actor's criminal purpose. Thoughts and remote preparation do not suffice.

Question 20Connecticut Criminal Law

Assault in the first degree, § 53a-59, generally requires that the actor cause:

  1. Emotional distress
  2. Offensive physical contact
  3. Temporary pain
  4. Serious physical injury Correct answer.

Explanation

First-degree assault under § 53a-59 is a class B felony requiring serious physical injury caused intentionally, or with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument. Lesser injuries are prosecuted under the lower degrees of assault.

Question 21Connecticut Criminal Law

After buying a weapon and driving to the intended victim's house, a man abandons the plan and goes home. Under § 53a-49(c), his renunciation is a defense to criminal attempt only if it was:

  1. Expressed to another person before he changed his mind
  2. Made after the police had already arrested one of his companions
  3. Voluntary and complete and it prevented the commission of the crime Correct answer.
  4. Prompted by a decision to postpone the crime until a later date

Explanation

Renunciation is an affirmative defense when the actor abandons the effort under circumstances showing a complete and voluntary renunciation of the criminal purpose, and the abandonment prevents the crime. Renunciation is not voluntary when motivated by an increased likelihood of detection or by a decision to postpone.

Question 22Connecticut Criminal Law

Under § 53a-13, a defendant is not criminally responsible if, as a result of mental disease or defect, he lacked substantial capacity to:

  1. Recall the events surrounding the commission of the offense
  2. Form the specific intent required for the particular offense
  3. Understand the proceedings against him and assist counsel in his defense
  4. Appreciate wrongfulness of the conduct or control it within the law Correct answer.

Explanation

Connecticut uses a substantial-capacity test: the defendant must lack substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of the conduct or to control it within the requirements of the law. This is distinct from competency to stand trial, which concerns the ability to understand proceedings and assist counsel.

Question 23Connecticut Criminal Law

A man starts a fistfight, is knocked down, and then draws a knife. Under § 53a-19, his claim of self-defense for using the knife:

  1. Succeeds because the fight took place on his own property where he had no duty to retreat
  2. Succeeds because a fistfight always amounts to deadly force
  3. Fails unless he had withdrawn and the other person continued or escalated Correct answer.
  4. Succeeds because he was losing the fight at that point

Explanation

A person who is the initial aggressor may not claim self-defense unless he withdraws from the encounter and communicates that withdrawal, and the other person nevertheless continues or escalates the attack. The dwelling exception does not excuse an initial aggressor's use of deadly force.

Question 24Connecticut Criminal Law

Under § 54-193, the general limitation period for prosecuting a felony other than a class A felony is:

  1. Three years
  2. One year
  3. Five years Correct answer.
  4. No limitation period

Explanation

Section 54-193 generally bars prosecution of a felony unless it is commenced within five years after the offense. Misdemeanors must be prosecuted within one year, and certain class A felonies and specified serious offenses carry no limitation period.

Question 25Connecticut Criminal Law

A driver racing through a crowded intersection at high speed for thrills strikes and kills a pedestrian. The state may charge murder on the theory that he acted:

  1. With an intent to damage property rather than to injure any person
  2. With an intent to cause only a minor physical injury to someone in the crowd
  3. Negligently, by failing to exercise the care that a reasonable driver would use
  4. With extreme indifference to human life, recklessly creating a grave risk Correct answer.

Explanation

Section 53a-54a(a)(3) reaches a killing caused by reckless conduct committed under circumstances evincing an extreme indifference to human life and creating a grave risk of death. Ordinary negligence supports a lesser homicide charge, not murder.

Question 26Connecticut Criminal Law

Under Connecticut law, a person commits larceny when, with intent to deprive another of property, the person does which of the following?

  1. Fails to pay a debt that the person owes to a merchant
  2. Borrows property with the owner's permission and returns it late
  3. Damages property while committing an unrelated felony
  4. Wrongfully takes, obtains or withholds property from its owner Correct answer.

Explanation

Connecticut's larceny statute defines the offense as wrongfully taking, obtaining or withholding property from an owner, and the withholding continues for as long as it lasts. The mental state required is an intent to deprive the owner of the property. Merely damaging property or owing money is not the same as obtaining or withholding another's property.

Question 27Connecticut Criminal Law

At about 2:00 a.m., a man with no right to be on the premises forces open a rear door of an apartment building, enters the common hallway carrying a loaded handgun, and intends to steal packages from the mail area. Of which offense can he most seriously be convicted?

  1. Criminal mischief in the third degree
  2. Burglary in the first degree Correct answer.
  3. Robbery in the first degree
  4. Criminal trespass in the first degree

Explanation

Burglary requires entering or remaining unlawfully in a building with intent to commit a crime inside, and it is elevated to the first degree when the actor is armed with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument. The man entered unlawfully with intent to steal and was carrying a loaded firearm, so the aggravated degree applies. Robbery requires force or threat against a person, which the facts do not show.

Question 28Connecticut Criminal Law

A business owner is charged with violating a licensing statute. Before acting, he asked his private attorney, who said the conduct was lawful, and he also read a newsletter issued by the agency that administers the statute, which stated that the conduct was permitted. He relied on both. Which is his strongest basis for a defense under Connecticut law?

  1. No defense of any kind is available, because ignorance of the law is never a defense
  2. Reliance on both sources combined, since together they show he acted in good faith
  3. His good faith reliance on the agency's official interpretation of the statute Correct answer.
  4. Reliance on his private attorney's advice, since counsel told him in advance that the conduct was lawful

Explanation

A belief that conduct does not legally constitute an offense is a defense when the actor relies in good faith on an official statement of the law, which includes an official interpretation by the public officer or body charged with administering or enforcing the law defining the offense. An agency newsletter interpreting its own statute fits that category. Advice from a private attorney is not an official statement of the law.

Question 29Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects which of the following from unreasonable searches and seizures?

  1. Only the interior of a person's home
  2. Businesses, vehicles, and financial records only
  3. Persons, houses, papers, and effects Correct answer.
  4. Only persons who have been formally charged with a crime

Explanation

The Fourth Amendment secures the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The protection is not confined to the home and does not depend on whether charges have been filed.

Question 30Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

Miranda warnings are required before police question a suspect when the suspect is:

  1. a witness to a crime who is being asked what he saw
  2. the subject of an investigatory stop on the street
  3. under arrest but not being questioned by anyone
  4. in custody and subject to interrogation Correct answer.

Explanation

Miranda applies to custodial interrogation, which requires both custody (a formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement of the degree associated with formal arrest) and interrogation (express questioning or its functional equivalent).

Question 31Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

An investigatory stop under Terry v. Ohio requires that the officer have:

  1. probable cause to believe a crime has been committed
  2. articulable reasonable suspicion of criminal activity Correct answer.
  3. consent from the person to be stopped and searched
  4. a hunch grounded in the officer's training and experience

Explanation

Terry permits a brief detention when the officer has reasonable suspicion supported by specific and articulable facts that criminal activity may be afoot. An unparticularized hunch or generalized suspicion is not enough.

Question 32Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

A search warrant must particularly describe the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. The main purpose of this requirement is to:

  1. ensure that a supervisor approves the warrant before it is served
  2. confine the search to the specific items and places authorized Correct answer.
  3. give the suspect advance notice that a search will occur
  4. require that the warrant be executed within 24 hours

Explanation

The particularity requirement prevents general warrants and limits the executing officer's discretion to the places and items a magistrate authorized. It also protects against exploratory rummaging through a person's belongings.

Question 33Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

The primary purpose of the exclusionary rule is to:

  1. require officers to obtain warrants in every case
  2. deter police from violating Fourth Amendment rights Correct answer.
  3. punish the defendant for committing the offense charged
  4. compensate crime victims for their financial losses

Explanation

The exclusionary rule is a judicially created remedy whose principal purpose is to deter future Fourth Amendment violations by law enforcement. It is not designed to punish the accused or to compensate crime victims.

Question 34Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination protects a person from being compelled to:

  1. testify against himself in a criminal case Correct answer.
  2. submit to the taking of fingerprints
  3. provide a handwriting exemplar
  4. stand in a lineup for identification by witnesses

Explanation

The privilege bars compelled testimonial self-incrimination, meaning statements that communicate facts based on the contents of the person's mind. It does not extend to physical or identifying evidence such as fingerprints, handwriting exemplars, or lineup appearances.

Question 35Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

Probable cause to arrest exists when the facts and circumstances known to the officer would lead a reasonable person to believe that:

  1. a crime has been reported somewhere in the jurisdiction
  2. the person roughly matches a description of a suspect
  3. an offense has been or is being committed by that person Correct answer.
  4. the person is likely to commit a crime at some future time

Explanation

Probable cause is measured by the totality of the circumstances known to the officer and asks whether a reasonable person would believe that an offense has been or is being committed by the person to be arrested. It requires more than suspicion but less than certainty.

Question 36Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

Officers have probable cause to believe a car on a public street contains contraband, and they have no warrant. Under the automobile exception, the officers may:

  1. hold the vehicle for 48 hours while applying for a warrant
  2. search only the passenger compartment and not the trunk
  3. search the vehicle only if the driver gives consent
  4. search the vehicle and its containers for the contraband Correct answer.

Explanation

When officers have probable cause to believe a readily mobile vehicle contains contraband, the automobile exception permits a warrantless search of the vehicle and of containers inside that could hold the object of the search.

Question 37Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

An officer arrests a driver for a traffic offense and secures him in the cruiser. May the officer search the passenger compartment incident to the arrest?

  1. Yes, because the passenger compartment may always be searched after an arrest
  2. No, because a vehicle may never be searched incident to arrest
  3. Only if he could reach the compartment or evidence of the offense is inside Correct answer.
  4. Yes, provided that the driver was the only occupant of the vehicle

Explanation

Under Arizona v. Gant, a vehicle search incident to arrest is permitted only when the arrestee is unsecured and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment, or when it is reasonable to believe the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.

Question 38Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

A father shares a home with his adult son, who keeps his bedroom locked. Officers ask the father to consent to a search of that bedroom. The father's consent is:

  1. invalid, because a warrant is required to enter any home
  2. valid, because the father lives on the premises
  3. valid, because a parent always exercises control over the whole home
  4. invalid, because the father lacks common authority over that room Correct answer.

Explanation

Third-party consent is valid only if the consenting person has common authority over the premises, meaning mutual use and joint access or control. A parent may consent to shared areas but not to a room that an adult child exclusively controls.

Question 39Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

Which set of facts best supports a warrantless entry into a home under the exigent circumstances doctrine?

  1. Officers believe the suspect is at work during the day.
  2. The suspect has a prior conviction for the same offense.
  3. Officers have probable cause but would rather not wake a judge.
  4. Officers hear a scream for help and see smoke inside. Correct answer.

Explanation

Exigent circumstances include danger to life (emergency aid), hot pursuit, and the imminent destruction of evidence. A scream for help combined with smoke indicates a life-threatening emergency justifying immediate entry.

Question 40Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

A vehicle has been lawfully impounded. Officers may conduct an inventory search of it if the search is:

  1. approved in advance by a supervisor
  2. done to look for evidence of the crime under investigation
  3. conducted under standardized departmental procedures Correct answer.
  4. limited to areas visible from outside the vehicle

Explanation

Inventory searches are valid when conducted according to standardized departmental procedures and are aimed at protecting the owner's property, documenting its contents, and protecting police against false claims.

Question 41Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

During a lawful frisk, an officer feels an object that, from its plain feel, is immediately apparent to be contraband. The officer may:

  1. seize it, because its identity as contraband is immediately apparent Correct answer.
  2. not seize it, because a protective frisk is limited to a search for weapons
  3. seize it only if the person first admits what it is
  4. seize it only after obtaining a search warrant

Explanation

Under Minnesota v. Dickerson, if an officer lawfully pats down a person and immediately recognizes contraband by its feel, the officer may seize it. If the incriminating character is not immediately apparent, the officer may not squeeze or manipulate the object.

Question 42Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

A suspect in custody invokes his right to counsel during interrogation. Police must:

  1. stop questioning for one hour and then resume
  2. stop questioning unless the suspect reinitiates contact Correct answer.
  3. re-administer the warnings and then resume questioning immediately
  4. continue questioning only about unrelated offenses

Explanation

Under Edwards v. Arizona, once a suspect in custody invokes the right to counsel, interrogation must cease until counsel is provided or the suspect himself initiates further communication with police.

Question 43Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

After arresting a suspect in a supermarket, an officer asks 'Where is the gun?' before giving Miranda warnings. Under the public safety exception, the suspect's answer is:

  1. inadmissible, because Miranda warnings must always precede questioning
  2. admissible, because it was prompted by concern for public safety Correct answer.
  3. inadmissible, unless the suspect signed a written waiver
  4. admissible only in a later civil proceeding

Explanation

New York v. Quarles permits officers to ask questions reasonably prompted by concern for public safety without first giving Miranda warnings. The questioning must be limited to addressing the threat.

Question 44Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

During a lawful traffic stop, an officer may order the passengers out of the vehicle because:

  1. the driver's consent to search is implied by driving
  2. officer safety justifies removing occupants during a lawful stop Correct answer.
  3. the stop gives the officer authority to frisk all of the passengers
  4. the passengers are automatically under arrest during a stop

Explanation

In Pennsylvania v. Mimms and Maryland v. Wilson, the Supreme Court held that the weighty interest in officer safety justifies ordering the driver and passengers out of a lawfully stopped vehicle without any particularized suspicion.

Question 45Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

A suspect arrested for a drug offense is carrying a smartphone. May officers search the phone's data incident to that arrest?

  1. Yes, if the phone is not protected by a password
  2. No, because phone data is never admissible in court
  3. Yes, because a phone on the arrestee is within his wingspan
  4. No, unless a warrant is obtained or an exception applies Correct answer.

Explanation

Riley v. California held that officers may not search digital data on a cell phone incident to arrest; they must generally obtain a warrant. Physical inspection of the phone itself, such as removing a case, remains permissible.

Question 46Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

Evidence obtained through an unlawful search may still be admitted if the prosecution shows that:

  1. the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the area searched
  2. the evidence is reliable and particularly probative
  3. the evidence would have been discovered by lawful means anyway Correct answer.
  4. the officers acted in subjective good faith

Explanation

The inevitable discovery exception permits admission when the prosecution establishes by a preponderance that the evidence would have been obtained through lawful means independent of the police misconduct.

Question 47Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

Under Connecticut law, an officer may arrest a person without a warrant for a misdemeanor when:

  1. the offense was committed in the officer's presence Correct answer.
  2. the person refuses to identify himself at the scene
  3. the officer has a strong hunch that the person is guilty
  4. a reliable informant reported the offense the day before

Explanation

Connecticut General Statutes Section 54-1f permits a warrantless arrest for any offense committed in the officer's presence, and for a felony when the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person committed it. Special family-violence provisions broaden that authority in domestic situations.

Question 48Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

Which statement best describes how the Connecticut Supreme Court treats Article First, Section 7 of the Connecticut Constitution relative to the Fourth Amendment?

  1. It must follow federal precedent in every case without independent analysis
  2. It treats the state provision as affording less protection than the Fourth Amendment
  3. It applies the state provision only to the State Police
  4. It may construe the state provision to afford greater protection Correct answer.

Explanation

State constitutions may serve as an independent source of individual liberties, and Connecticut courts have construed Article First, Section 7 to provide greater protection than the Fourth Amendment in some circumstances. State courts are not bound to follow federal interpretation.

Question 49Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

Under Connecticut's electronic recording statute, custodial interrogations of suspects in certain felony investigations conducted at a place of detention must be:

  1. recorded only if the suspect agrees on the record
  2. documented in a written report instead of recorded
  3. recorded electronically in full when feasible Correct answer.
  4. recorded only in homicide investigations

Explanation

Connecticut General Statutes Section 54-1o requires that custodial interrogations of persons suspected of a felony at a place of detention be electronically recorded in full when feasible. If the state fails to record, the jury is instructed that it may consider that failure.

Question 50Constitutional Law and Criminal Procedure

A defendant claims an officer deliberately omitted a material fact from a search warrant affidavit, without which probable cause would fail. The defendant is entitled to a hearing only if he makes a substantial preliminary showing that:

  1. the affiant had fewer than five years of experience
  2. the officer was merely negligent in preparing the supporting affidavit
  3. the warrant was served at night rather than during the day
  4. the omission was material and was made deliberately or recklessly Correct answer.

Explanation

Under Franks v. Delaware, a defendant may challenge a warrant affidavit by showing that the affiant deliberately or recklessly included a false statement or omitted a material fact, and that the affidavit would lack probable cause without it.