MCOLES Test key terms

The guilty state of mind a person has when committing a crime, such as intending, knowing, or recklessly disregarding a risk. Prosecutors generally must prove it to obtain a conviction.

The physical act or unlawful failure to act that makes up a crime. It is the conduct element, separate from the person's mental state.

The unlawful taking and carrying away of another person's personal property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner, accomplished without force or intimidation against the person.

A Michigan offense for entering or remaining in another person's dwelling without permission, with aggravating factors such as being armed or intending harm, charged by degree.

A justification for using force when a person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent unlawful harm to themselves or another, limited by rules on deadly force and retreat.

An agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, often requiring an overt act, charged as a separate offense even when the planned crime is never completed.

Facts and circumstances that would lead a reasonable officer to believe a crime has been, is being, or will be committed, or that evidence of a crime will be found in a specific place.

A standard lower than probable cause that requires specific, articulable facts suggesting criminal activity, enough to justify a brief investigative stop but not a full arrest.

A brief investigative detention based on reasonable suspicion during which an officer may pat down outer clothing for weapons; its scope and duration must stay tied to the suspicion that prompted it.

The principle that evidence obtained through unconstitutional police conduct is usually inadmissible in court, deterring violations, subject to exceptions such as good faith and inevitable discovery.

Advance notice given to a suspect in custody that he may remain silent, that anything said may be used against him, and that he may have an attorney present.

Questioning by police after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of freedom in a significant way, which requires Miranda warnings before questioning begins.

Urgent conditions such as hot pursuit, imminent destruction of evidence, danger to life, or a fleeing suspect that justify a warrantless entry or search.

Permits an officer who is lawfully present to seize items whose incriminating character is immediately apparent, without needing a separate warrant for that seizure.

The distance an officer keeps from a person, often around six to ten feet, to allow enough time and space to respond to a sudden attack.

Cover is material that stops bullets, such as an engine block or brick wall; concealment only hides a person from view, such as bushes, and offers no ballistic protection.

A two-officer tactic in which the contact officer handles communication and investigation while the cover officer watches for threats and controls the scene.

A felony stop using several officers, drawn weapons, and loud verbal commands to safely remove and control the occupants of a vehicle suspected in a violent crime.

Danger created by officers' own tactical decisions, such as poor positioning or unnecessary pursuit, rather than by the suspect's conduct alone.

The documented, unbroken record of who handled evidence, when, and how, from collection through trial, used to show it has not been altered or substituted.

The rule that the prosecution must prove a crime actually occurred through evidence independent of the defendant's own confession before that confession can be used.

An out-of-court statement offered at trial to prove the truth of what it asserts; it is generally inadmissible unless a recognized exception applies.

A hearsay exception allowing statements about a startling event made while the speaker is still under the stress or excitement caused by that event.

A one-person identification procedure held soon after a crime, allowed only when necessary and conducted so the witness is not led to believe the suspect is guilty.

A traffic stop that is legally justified by an observed violation but actually motivated by a wish to investigate something else; it is valid if the violation itself supports the stop.

The legal theory that drivers, by using public roads, agree in advance to chemical testing after a lawful impaired-driving arrest, with penalties for refusal.

Standardized divided-attention and coordination exercises, such as the walk-and-turn and one-leg stand, used with other observations to decide whether a driver is impaired.

Operating a vehicle without due care and caution, or in a way that endangers people or property, which is a civil infraction in Michigan rather than a crime.

Conduct that is unlawful only because the person is a minor, such as truancy, curfew violations, or running away, usually handled outside the criminal justice system.

A juvenile court finding that a minor committed an act that would be a crime if done by an adult, handled with a focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment.

The test of whether a minor understood and voluntarily gave up Miranda rights, weighed by age, education, prior experience, and whether a parent was present.

The requirement that a parent or guardian be told when a minor is taken into custody or questioned, which affects whether a juvenile's statements are later admitted.

The requirement that a civil rights claim involve someone using authority given by government, such as an on-duty officer acting under state power.

Force beyond what a reasonable officer would use under the circumstances, judged from the perspective of the moment rather than with hindsight.

A federal statute letting people sue government officials who, acting under color of law, deprive them of rights secured by the Constitution or federal law.

A doctrine that shields officers from civil damages unless their conduct violated clearly established law that a reasonable officer would have known.

Protection that statements compelled from a public employee under threat of discipline cannot later be used against that employee in a criminal prosecution.

Evidence favorable to the accused that is material to guilt or punishment, which the prosecution must disclose; officers must pass such information along.

The force standard asking whether an officer's actions were reasonable given the facts known at the time, without hindsight and weighing the severity of the crime, threat, and resistance.

The practice of making enforcement decisions based on behavior and evidence rather than race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or other protected characteristics, supported by documented, articulable reasons.