Constitutional Law & Civil Rights Flashcards
7 cards from real MPOETC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Constitutional Law & Civil Rights flashcards as text
During a lawful traffic stop, an officer smells marijuana coming from the vehicle. Under current Fourth Amendment doctrine, this provides:
Answer: Probable cause to search the vehicle without a warrant
The smell of marijuana provides probable cause to search a vehicle under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement.
A person is 'in custody' for Miranda purposes when:
Answer: A reasonable person would not feel free to terminate the encounter and leave
Custody is determined by an objective test: whether a reasonable person in the suspect's position would feel free to leave.
Which constitutional provision requires that police obtain a warrant supported by probable cause, particularly describing the place to be searched and items to be seized?
Answer: Fourth Amendment's Warrant Clause
The Fourth Amendment's Warrant Clause requires particularity — warrants must specify the place to be searched and items to be seized.
Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a civil rights lawsuit against a police officer requires the plaintiff to prove:
Answer: The officer acted under color of law and violated a federally protected right
Section 1983 claims require showing the defendant acted under color of state law and deprived the plaintiff of a constitutional or federal statutory right.
The concept of 'qualified immunity' protects officers from civil liability unless they violated:
Answer: A clearly established constitutional right that a reasonable officer would have known
Qualified immunity shields officers unless their conduct violated clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.
A suspect who is arrested and provides a statement before receiving Miranda warnings has that statement:
Answer: Potentially suppressed under the exclusionary rule if it was a custodial interrogation
Statements made during custodial interrogation without Miranda warnings are generally inadmissible as a violation of the Fifth Amendment.
The First Amendment protects a citizen's right to record police officers performing their duties in public because:
Answer: Gathering information about government officials acting in their official capacity is protected speech and press
Courts have widely recognized that recording police in public falls within First Amendment protections for newsgathering and free speech.