Bail and Charges
Dalton forges signatures of registered voters on a nomination petition. He is charged under a felony statute and moves to dismiss the charges because a different statute prescribes the conduct as a misdemeanor. The court should...
Dismiss because when conduct violates more than one criminal statute, the prosecutor may charge under either statute, without regard to the severity of the penalty.
The Four Factors under Barker v. Wingo for determining whether there is a Speedy Trial violation.
1. Length of delay.
2. Reason for delay.
3. Whether defendant demanded a speedy trial.
4. Prejudice to defendant.
Alford pleads guilty but maintains his innocence while acknowledging that the record strongly indicates his guilt. He appeals this conviction. The appellate court should...
Affirm because a judge can accept a guilty plea, even if defendant does not admit guilt, if there is sufficient evidence on the record to support guilt (clear and convincing evidence).
The two prongs for determine Ineffective Assistance of Counsel under Strickland v. Washington.
(1) deficient performance by defense counsel and (2) prejudice suffered by defendant
The government wants to admit the following statement by one co-defendant against another: "Me and (redacted) robbed the Quik-E-Mart." The judge instructs the jury this cannot be considered against the other co-defendant. Is this proper?
No, because a redaction that merely substitutes a blank space, “delete,” a neutral pronoun, or a symbol is not permitted. Gray v. Maryland.
A prosecutor offers to bring misdemeanor charges if Curry waives his right to a jury trial. Curry refuses so the prosecutor files felony charges. Curry moves to dismiss as prosecutorial vindictiveness in violation of the Due Process Clause. The court should...
Deny because there is no presumption of vindictiveness from new charges after the defendant requests a jury trial.
After accepting a plea bargain, Jenny moves to dismiss the charges after discovering that the prosecutor withheld impeachment evidence against its star witness. The court should...
Deny because the Constitution does not require the prosecutor to disclose impeachment information relating to any informants or other witnesses before entering into a plea agreement with a criminal defendant.
Mr. Glass pleads guilty to a federal crime. He later appeals the conviction, asserting that the statute is unconstitutional. The government argues that he cannot appeal because he waived that right. The court should...
Allow Mr. Glass to appeal because a guilty plea alone does not bar a federal criminal defendant from challenging the constitutionality of the statue of conviction on direct appeal.
The state court applied the legal standard in an objectively unreasonable manner and fair-minded jurists could not disagree on the outcome.
A state's Constitution prohibits a defendant from testifying if the prosecution's evidence is overwhelming. This is unconstitutional because...
State restrictions on a defendant’s right to testify may not be arbitrary or disproportionate to the purposes they are designed to serve.
The State of New Mexico files a multi-count Information charge against Peter, pursuant to its State Constitution. Peter moves to dismiss, claiming this violates his Fifth Amendment right to a Grand Jury Indictment. The court should...
The prosecutor discovers evidence that would corroborate the Roger's alibi. Despite this, the prosecutor withholds the information, and Roger accepts a plea deal to avoid the anxiety of trial. After discovery the withheld information, he appeals the conviction. The appellate court should...
Reverse because Due Process requires the government to disclose information when it is favorable to an accused and is material either to guilt or punishment.
Greeley pleads guilty to a crime. The record shows that the judge asked him if he understood what rights he was giving up and nothing more. He appeals this conviction as a violation of due process. The appellate court should...
Reverse because when a defendant pleads guilty, the record must affirmatively show that the defendant both voluntarily waived the privilege against self-incrimination, the right to a trial by jury, the right to confront one’s accusers, and understood those rights that he was waiving, as well as the range of penalties of the offenses to which he is pleading.
Ineffective assistance in defense counsel's advice that leads to not accepting a plea offer can result in Strickland prejudice. The defendant must show that 'but for' counsel's error...
Gary is charged with armed robbery of a store. A jury acquitted him, finding that he was not present at the scene. The government then charges him with burglary of the same store during the same transaction. He argues that collateral estoppel prohibits this subsequent prosecution and moves to dismiss. The court should
Grant the motion because a factual issue in defendant’s favor at one proceeding precludes prosecution from disputing that fact in another proceeding against the same defendant.
The government moves to deny bail to Tony because he poses a serious risk to public safety. The trial court finds the government has proven this by a Preponderance of Evidence and denies bail over Tony's objection. The appellate court should...
Reverse because the government must prove the defendant is a risk by Clear and Convincing Evidence, under the Bail Reform Act.
Robert is accused of sexually assaulting a child. His subpoena requesting the government to turn over all files regarding information on the child, including CPS records, is denied by the trial court. He objects to this as a denial of his Confrontation Right. The appellate court should...
Affirm because the Confrontation Clause is a trial right, designed to prevent improper restrictions on the types of questions that defense counsel may ask during cross-examination. Does not include the power to require the pretrial disclosure of any and all information that might be useful in contradicting unfavorable testimony.
Hendrix pleads guilty to aggravated assault. The records lacks information regarding whether he was informed of the nature of aggravated assault. He appeals this as a due process violation. The appellate court should...
Reverse because a plea must be made intelligently. The defendant must have enough information from defense counsel or the trial court about the elements of the charge to which he is pleading and the consequences of the plea.
Mary is offered a plea deal of three years. She declines the offer on advice of her attorney, believing she had a strong chance to win at trial. She is found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison. She appeals, asserting ineffective assistance of counsel. The appellate court should...
Affirm, because although her attorney was wrong, his performance did not fall below that of a reasonably competent attorney.
Scott is charged with intoxication manslaughter in Lubbock County and acquitted. He is then charged with intoxication manslaughter of a different victim during the same transaction. He moves to dismiss as double jeopardy. The court should...
Michael is indicted for drug trafficking based solely on evidence that is inadmissible at trial. He moves to dismiss the charges. The court should...
Deny because an indictment that is valid on its face is sufficient to charge. Defendants cannot challenge the indictment on ground that the evidence presented to the grand jury was obtained unconstitutionally.
Donald is charged with armed robbery and murder, seven years after the offense was committed. His alibi witness would have been able to place him away from the crime scene when it was committed but has since passed away. He moves to dismiss the charges as a pre-charge delay in violation of Due Process. The court should...
Probably deny. To establish a due process violation, defendant must show:
The fact pattern does not show intentional delay.
Sally is charged with check fraud, a felony which carries a maximum sentence of five years. The prosecutor offers her defense attorney a plea deal which would reduce the offense to a misdemeanor and recommend ten years' probation plus fines. The defense attorney fails to inform Sally and she is convicted of check fraud. She appeals the conviction. The appellate court should...
Reverse because defense counsel has the duty to communicate formal offers from the prosecution to accept a plea on terms and conditions that may be favorable to the accused.
Victor is indicted on kidnapping charges. He refuses to speak to the authorities. Anxious to find the victims alive, the prosecutor offers him fifteen years if he reveals their location. He accepts and discloses the information. The victims are found dead. Believing Victor negotiation in bad faith, the prosecutor revokes the deal. Victor moves for the court to enforce the deal. The court should...
Enforce the deal because Victor upheld his end and the government must as well.
Ava is charged with driving while intoxicated and sentenced to six months in jail under one statute. She is then charged under a separate statute which imposes a mandatory sentence of two years. The statute explicitly states that the provision is a criminal punishment. She moves to dismiss under double jeopardy. The court should...
Grant because double jeopardy protects against imposing multiple criminal punishments for the same offense