Criminal Law and Procedure
This domain tests substantive elements (actus reus, mens rea, causation, defenses) and the constitutional rules governing investigation, interrogation, and trial.
Substantive elements
Mens rea categories: purposely, knowingly, recklessly, negligently. Murder requires malice aforethought - intent to kill, intent to inflict serious bodily harm, depraved-heart recklessness, or felony murder. Voluntary manslaughter requires adequate provocation or imperfect self-defense; involuntary rests on criminal negligence or misdemeanor manslaughter. Attempt requires intent plus an act beyond preparation; conspiracy requires agreement plus, federally, an overt act.
Investigation
Fourth Amendment: stops need reasonable suspicion; arrests need probable cause. Warrant exceptions include search incident to arrest, automobile (including containers), plain view, consent, exigency, inventory, and Terry frisk. Fifth Amendment: Miranda applies to custodial interrogation only. Sixth Amendment counsel attaches at the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings and is offense-specific.
Worked example
An officer stops a car for an expired tag. Approaching, he sees a bag of pills on the passenger's lap, then smells burnt marijuana and hears the driver admit there is more in the trunk. The pills are admissible under plain view; the odor and admission supply probable cause for the full vehicle search under the automobile exception. No warrant is required.
Traps
- Assuming Miranda governs all questioning rather than custody plus interrogation.
- Placing Sixth Amendment attachment at arrest rather than formal charging.
- Forgetting the merger rule: the predicate felony in felony murder must be independent of the killing.
- Overlooking the good-faith and inevitable-discovery limits on exclusion.