Criminal Litigation
The Criminal Litigation domain tests the case chronology-arrest, initial appearance, charging, discovery, motions, plea/trial, sentencing, appeal-and the rules at each stage. Expect rule-matching and paralegal-role questions.
Constitutional and procedural framework
- Fourth Amendment: probable cause for arrests/searches; reasonable suspicion for stops; particularity for warrants.
- Fifth Amendment: Miranda for custodial interrogation; federal felony indictment unless waived.
- Sixth Amendment: counsel at critical stages, speedy/public trial, confrontation, compulsory process.
- Eighth Amendment: bail and punishment limits.
- FRCP timing: initial appearance (Rule 5), arraignment (Rule 10), discovery (Rule 16), pleas (Rule 11).
Charging and pre-trial
Arraignment reads charges, takes a plea, sets bail. States often use preliminary hearings; federal felonies proceed by indictment. Discovery includes Rule 16 materials, Brady exculpatory evidence, and Giglio impeachment material. Common motions: suppress, dismiss, sever, bill of particulars, venue. A guilty plea needs a Rule 11 colloquy, factual basis, and voluntariness.
Trial and post-conviction
Trial: jury selection, openings, evidence, closings, instructions, verdict. Guidelines are advisory after Booker; statutory maximums bind. Appeals require preserved error; unpreserved issues get plain-error review. Habeas corpus is post-conviction.
Worked example
Police stop a car for a burned-out taillight. After the license check and warning, the officer keeps the driver eight minutes for a dog sniff; drugs are found. The dashcam timeline shows the delay came after the warning was complete. Under Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348 (2015), a stop cannot be prolonged beyond the time reasonably required absent reasonable suspicion. The evidence is likely suppressible; draft a motion to suppress citing the timeline. If the sniff happened while the warning was still being processed, no violation.
Traps
- A grand jury has no judge or defense counsel.
- Brady covers exculpatory and impeachment evidence, not all discovery.
- Probable cause ≠ reasonable suspicion.
- Suppression requires standing and a timely motion.
- Failure to object usually limits appeal to plain error.