MCOLES Test cheat sheet

Actus reus plus mens rea: a voluntary act (or a breach of a legal duty) combined with the mental state the statute requires; a status or an involuntary act cannot be punished.

Larceny = trespassory taking and carrying away of another's personal property with intent to permanently deprive the owner.

Robbery = larceny taken from the person or presence of another by force or fear; armed robbery adds a dangerous weapon or an article the victim reasonably believes is dangerous.

Burglary requires a breaking and entering of a building with intent to commit a felony or larceny inside; entry into a dwelling carries the highest penalty.

Assault is either an attempt to commit a battery or placing another in reasonable apprehension of an immediate battery; battery requires unlawful, non-consensual physical contact.

First-degree premeditated murder requires premeditation and deliberation; felony murder requires a death caused during the perpetration of an enumerated felony.

Michigan self-defense (MCL 780.972): deadly force is justified by a reasonable belief of imminent death or great bodily harm; a person lawfully present and not engaged in crime has no duty to retreat.

Felony versus misdemeanor is fixed by the statutory maximum: a misdemeanor is punishable by not more than one year in jail, a felony by more than one year.

Fourth Amendment: searches and seizures must be reasonable; a warrant requires probable cause supported by oath or affirmation and must particularly describe the place and the things to be seized.

Terry stop: reasonable suspicion of criminal activity based on specific, articulable facts; a frisk additionally requires reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and dangerous.

Search incident to arrest: the arrestee's person and the area within immediate control (Chimel); a vehicle passenger compartment only if the arrestee is unsecured and within reach or evidence of the offense of arrest is likely inside (Gant).

Automobile exception: probable cause to believe contraband or evidence is in a vehicle permits a warrantless search of the vehicle and of containers that may hold it.

Miranda applies to custody plus interrogation; the waiver must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary, and an unambiguous request for counsel ends questioning until counsel is present or the suspect reinitiates.

Exclusionary rule exceptions: good-faith reliance on a warrant, inevitable discovery, independent source, and attenuation.

Sixth Amendment counsel attaches at the initiation of adversarial judicial proceedings (formal charge, preliminary hearing, indictment, information, or arraignment), not at the moment of arrest.

Michigan warrantless arrest: an officer may arrest for a felony on reasonable cause; misdemeanor arrests generally require the offense to occur in the officer's presence, except domestic violence (MCL 764.15a), which mandates arrest on probable cause.

Arraignment must occur without unnecessary delay; Michigan court rules set the preliminary examination at 14 days after arraignment in custody and 21 days when not in custody, absent waiver.

Reaction gap: an officer's decision-and-trigger time exceeds a suspect's reaction time, so distance, cover, and readiness determine survival.

Traffic stop positioning: offset to the left and slightly behind the violator's vehicle, angle the patrol car, and use the passenger-side approach when circumstances favor it.

Cover stops projectiles; concealment only blocks observation; officers should move to cover before issuing commands.

High-risk stop sequence: broadcast location and plate, wait for backup, use the PA, order occupants out one at a time, and have each walk backward to a designated location.

Handcuffing: search before and after cuffing, apply cuffs double-locked and checked for tightness, and never leave a prisoner unattended.

Use of force is measured by Graham v. Connor objective reasonableness: severity of the crime, immediate threat to officers or others, and active resistance or flight.

Tunnel vision and auditory exclusion are normal stress responses; officers must consciously scan, breathe, and reassess the scene.

Domestic violence calls: separate the parties, interview separately, photograph injuries and scene, and in Michigan arrest is mandatory when probable cause of domestic assault exists (MCL 764.15a).

Pursuit: weigh the need to apprehend against danger to the public; policy-compliant pursuits require continuous radio updates and termination when risk becomes disproportionate.

Corpus delicti: independent evidence must show that the charged crime actually occurred; a confession alone cannot support a conviction.

Chain of custody records every transfer of evidence from seizure through trial; a break generally affects the weight of the evidence, not its automatic admissibility.

Best evidence rule: the original writing, recording, or photograph is required to prove its contents unless an exception applies.

Common hearsay exceptions: excited utterance, present sense impression, dying declaration, statements against interest, business records, and public records.

Photo lineups should be double-blind where feasible, use fillers matching the witness's description, and include no comment or cue indicating which photo is the suspect.

Crime scene sequence: secure and protect, photograph and document before moving anything, then collect and package with proper seals, labels, and initials.

Entrapment requires government inducement plus a defendant not predisposed to commit the crime; furnishing an opportunity alone is not entrapment.

A K-9 sniff of a vehicle's exterior is not a search (Illinois v. Caballes), but prolonging a stop beyond its original purpose to await the dog violates Rodriguez v. United States.

Michigan OWI: operating with a bodily alcohol content of 0.08 or more; 0.17 or more is high BAC with enhanced penalties.

Under-21 zero tolerance: 0.02 or more bodily alcohol content is prohibited; commercial vehicle drivers are held to 0.04.

Implied consent: a lawfully arrested driver must submit to a chemical test; refusal triggers a license suspension and the refusal may be used at trial.

Michigan requires a written crash report when a crash involves injury, death, or property damage of $1,000 or more.

Pennsylvania v. Mimms permits ordering the driver out of a lawfully stopped vehicle; Maryland v. Wilson extends that authority to passengers.

Basic speed law: speed must be reasonable and prudent for existing conditions regardless of the posted limit.

Michigan move-over law: move at least one lane away from a stationary emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights, or slow to a safe speed when a lane change is unsafe.

Seat belt enforcement in Michigan is primary for front-seat occupants; an officer may stop a vehicle solely because an occupant is unbelted.

Speed enforcement requires articulable observations (pacing, radar or lidar with calibration and operator certification) plus documented road and weather conditions.

Michigan juvenile court jurisdiction generally covers persons under 18 at the time of the offense (raise the age); specified serious offenses may be waived or designated to adult court.

Status offenses (truancy, running away, curfew violation, incorrigibility) are not delinquent acts and are handled through the court's status jurisdiction.

A juvenile taken into custody: notify the parent or guardian promptly and bring the juvenile before the court without unnecessary delay; Michigan requires a detention hearing within 24 hours.

Juvenile Miranda waiver is judged on the totality of the circumstances: age, education, intelligence, prior contacts with police, length of questioning, and presence of a parent or interested adult.

School searches require reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause (New Jersey v. T.L.O.); more intrusive searches require a correspondingly higher justification.

Juvenile records are generally confidential, and fingerprinting and photographing are limited to circumstances specified by statute.

Juveniles have a right to counsel in delinquency proceedings; a waiver of counsel must be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary and placed on the record.

Designation and waiver: Michigan permits adult prosecution of juveniles for enumerated offenses at specified ages, and designated proceedings allow an adult sentence while juvenile jurisdiction is retained.

42 U.S.C. § 1983 requires conduct under color of law plus deprivation of a right secured by the Constitution or federal law.

Qualified immunity shields officers unless the violated right was clearly established at the time of the conduct.

Excessive force is judged by objective reasonableness under Graham; deadly force requires probable cause of a significant threat of death or serious physical injury (Garner).

Equal protection prohibits selective enforcement based on race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, or other protected class status.

The First Amendment protects speech and assembly; officers may not retaliate against a person for protected activity such as recording police in public or filing a complaint.

Ethnic intimidation (MCL 750.147b) makes malicious intimidation or harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin a felony.

Duty to intervene: an officer must stop excessive force by another officer when in a position to do so and must report the conduct.

Bias-free policing: stops must be justified by observed behavior or specific information, not by a person's appearance, group membership, or presence in an area.

Truthfulness in reports, affidavits, and testimony is absolute; knowingly false statements can result in criminal charges and loss of licensure.

Brady: exculpatory and impeaching information must be documented and disclosed; an officer who suppresses it jeopardizes the prosecution and the case.

Garrity: statements compelled from an officer under threat of discipline are inadmissible in a criminal prosecution of that officer but may be used for administrative discipline.

Use of force reports must state the specific facts that made force objectively reasonable, the force used, injuries observed, medical aid rendered, and witnesses.

MCOLES licensure requires compliance with commission standards and training rules; a felony conviction or specified misdemeanor disqualifies a person from licensure.

Secondary employment, gratuities, and gifts create conflicts of interest and are regulated by agency policy and Michigan law.

Confidential informants: corroborate information, document payments and contacts, and protect identity consistent with agency policy and court orders.

Sexual harassment and inappropriate relationships with victims, witnesses, or complainants violate policy and may constitute criminal sexual conduct.