CLEET Criminal Law & Procedures 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'public safety exception' to Miranda, established in New York v. Quarles, allows officers to:
- Detain suspects indefinitely for public safety reasons
- Question suspects without Miranda warnings when there is an immediate public safety threat (Correct answer)
- Search without a warrant in high-crime areas
- Arrest without probable cause in emergencies
Correct answer: Question suspects without Miranda warnings when there is an immediate public safety threat
Quarles allows officers to ask questions necessary to address an immediate public safety threat without first giving Miranda warnings, and the answers remain admissible.
Question 2: Oklahoma's felony murder rule imposes murder liability when a death occurs:
- Only if the defendant intended to kill
- During the commission or attempted commission of certain inherently dangerous felonies (Correct answer)
- Whenever a person dies during any felony
- Only when the defendant personally causes the death
Correct answer: During the commission or attempted commission of certain inherently dangerous felonies
Felony murder applies when a death results from the commission of specified dangerous felonies, even if the defendant did not intend the killing.
Question 3: When police use a confidential informant to establish probable cause, the informant's tip must generally demonstrate:
- The informant's criminal history
- Both the informant's basis of knowledge and their reliability or veracity (Correct answer)
- That the informant was paid for the information
- That the informant witnessed the crime personally
Correct answer: Both the informant's basis of knowledge and their reliability or veracity
Under the totality-of-circumstances test from Illinois v. Gates, courts assess whether a tip provides a substantial basis for probable cause by looking at the informant's knowledge and reliability.
Question 4: Which of the following is an element of the crime of extortion (blackmail) under Oklahoma law?
- Using physical force to take property
- Obtaining property by threatening to expose embarrassing or criminal information (Correct answer)
- Breaking and entering a dwelling at night
- Deceiving a victim about the value of an item
Correct answer: Obtaining property by threatening to expose embarrassing or criminal information
Extortion involves compelling someone to surrender property or money through threats, including threats to expose information, distinguishing it from robbery or theft by deception.
Question 5: The Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at:
- The moment of arrest
- The initiation of formal criminal proceedings (indictment, arraignment, or preliminary hearing) (Correct answer)
- The first police interview
- When Miranda warnings are given
Correct answer: The initiation of formal criminal proceedings (indictment, arraignment, or preliminary hearing)
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel is offense-specific and attaches once formal adversarial proceedings have been initiated against the defendant.
Question 6: A defendant claiming self-defense in Oklahoma generally must show that force was used because they:
- Were provoked by harsh words
- Reasonably believed they faced imminent unlawful force and used proportional force in response (Correct answer)
- Were in a public place when attacked
- Had previously reported threats to law enforcement
Correct answer: Reasonably believed they faced imminent unlawful force and used proportional force in response
Oklahoma's self-defense law requires a reasonable belief of imminent unlawful force and that the defensive force used was proportional to the perceived threat.
Question 7: Under the 'plain feel' doctrine, an officer conducting a pat-down frisk may seize contraband that is NOT a weapon when:
- The officer suspects drug activity based on prior intelligence
- The incriminating nature of the object is immediately apparent through touch (Correct answer)
- The suspect is on probation or parole
- The officer can smell the contraband
Correct answer: The incriminating nature of the object is immediately apparent through touch
Minnesota v. Dickerson extended plain view to touch: if an officer's tactile sensation immediately reveals an object as contraband during a lawful pat-down, it may be seized.
CLEET Criminal Law & Procedures 4
The 'public safety exception' to Miranda, established in New York v.
Quarles, allows officers to: