Running head: CRIMINOLOGY 1

Criminology
Student’s Name:
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Question1

The lower court levels of Appellate courts identifies and determines if an error of law

occurs in a trial. The two types of errors that can happen in a trial include harmful errors and

reversible errors. Harmless errors are errors with minimal impact to the verdict, and ruling of the

jury remains constant regardless. On the other hand, reversible errors have impacts on the verdict

and are often denoted as meaning that without an error, and changes the ruling of the jury. For

the appellant, an error of law might be grounds for the appeal and can be identified by the

questions asked by the judges. The judges questions the methods used to acquire the evidence,

and gather exhibits and materials presented as evidence in the court. The court also questions the

defendant regarding the legal means used to understand whether the evidence is admissible.

Question 2

Probable cause is the standard for a reasonable search or arrest under the U.S.

Constitution’s Fourth Amendment. Judges will not define it, but it’s usually stated as such reason

as a reasonable person would have to think that one had committed a crime or that there was

evidence of a crime in a place to be searched. As a standard, probable cause is lower than a

preponderance, more likely than not. The standard for, among other things, civil liability and

higher than reasonable suspicion, portrays an articulable reason for engaging in a stop or pat-

down search. The courts almost always find probable cause. Only known one case to be

dismissed for lack of probable cause, and there the prosecutors realized that it was a dead bang

loser and dropped it in mid-trial.

Question 3

There are more than three exceptions to the Exclusionary rule. All the exceptions are

based on how they impact the 4th Amendment. 5th Amendment, 6th Amendment Rights
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prevents the Government from using evidence gained from ‘the poisonous tree,’ even if new

evidence is discovered from it. While it is based on the Rights, it is not an independent

Constitutional Right, but instead, a court created a remedy for violations of those Constitutional

Rights. A local judge granted a warrant and is usually given within a few days if not faster, often

for compromised evidence.

Question 4

During an incident to arrest search, police are allowed to search the immediate control

area with a certain proof level. The most exigent level of proof is circumstance known as the

Plain View Doctrine, and it applies to both vehicle and home searches. If an officer views

contraband in plain view, they can seize it and search. If they smell the odor of marijuana, for

example, they can explore. Sometimes if a k9 Officer, they will have a cursory search outside of

the vehicle before searching it further.

Question 5

A search incident to arrest can be a search of one or a vehicle—investigation following a

hot pursuit. If a suspect bails from a car into a house and is seen by an officer doing so. The

officer does not need a warrant to enter the residence to search for the suspect. During this

search, anything in plain view that is illegal weapons or drugs are fair game. However, a warrant

would have to be obtained to further detailed search for evidence of drug/weapons crimes.

Custodial investigation means searching a person whether under arrest or just being detained, or

an extensive search, including a strip search, once one is being processed into a jail/detention

center.
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