CRIMINAL PROCEDURE - Professor Moskovitz
Monday, October 30, 1995 - 10:15 a.m.
MIDTERM EXAM
To: My law clerk
From: Judge Lance Itovitz
O.J. Sampson has been charged with sale of cocaine. He has moved to suppress a plastic bag of cocaine which Detective Mark Foreman found in Sampson’s home. At the hearing on the motion, Foreman testified as follows:
Q (Ms. Clark): Why did you go to Mr. Sampson’s home?
A (Mr. Foreman): My phone rang at the police station. When I answered, a male voice said that Mr. Sampson was selling cocaine from his home at 456 North Rockingham, in order to raise money to pay his attorneys. I knew, of course, that Sampson had run up some huge bills for his lawyers at his recent criminal trial, and he was having trouble finding work.The caller said that if I went to the house tomorrow morning at 9, I would see O.J. come out of the house and start practicing golf strokes on his lawn, and then he’d start selling drugs to people who drove by. I asked the caller his name, but he hung up.
Q: What happened when you went out there the next morning?
A: I parked my car on the street across from the house. At 9 o’clock, Mr. Sampson came out of the house and began practicing golf on the lawn. A car pulled up to the curb. Sampson spoke to the driver, then he went in the house for a moment. He came out, went to the car, looked up and down the street, and took something out of his pocket and gave it to the driver. The driver handed something to Sampson, and then he drove off. Sampson went back toward the house, and I followed him. When he got to the doorstep, I arrested him. I handcuffed him and locked him in the police car. Then I went back to the house and opened the front door, which opened right into the living room. The place was a mess, like a party had been going on. As I walked in, I saw a woman and asked who she was. She said she was Rosa Lopez, and she worked for Mr. Sampson as a housekeeper. I said, "I’m Detective Foreman, LAPD. Do you mind if I look around?" She said, "Go ahead, but don’t take long. I got to clean up." I looked at the stuff on the tables and chairs, and then, under some seat cushions on a couch, I found a clear plastic bag full of white powder, which turned out to be cocaine.
* * * *
Q (Mr. Cochran): Now Detective Foreman, it’s entirely possible that Mr. Sampson was giving or selling that man an autograph or a souvenir, wasn’t it?
A: I suppose so. But in my experience, it was more likely that he was selling drugs.
How should I rule on the motion?
[Please read Chapter 10 for the next class.]
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE - Professor Moskovitz
Monday, October 30, 1995 - 10:15 a.m.
OUTLINE OF ISSUES ON MIDTERM EXAM
I. Arrest. As arrest in public, only probable cause needed - no arrest warrant or e.c. needed.
A. Informant’s tip?
1. Reliability of informant? None.
2. Basis of knowledge? None shown directly, but might it be inferred from informant’s detail, which was corroborated? Prediction was no too intimate.
B. Cop’s own observations?
C. Add ‘em up. Compare Gates.
II. Entry into house
A. Search incident to valid arrest?
1. Was arrest valid? See above.
2. Was search within S’s reach when S arrested on front step?
B. Probable cause + exigent circumstances?
1. Probable cause to believe drugs in living room?
2. Exigent circumstances (perhaps due to L’s saying she was about to clean house)?
C. L’s consent? Did she have authority?
III. Looking under cushions
A. A search?
B. Unreasonable?
1. Search incident to valid arrest? Less likely than above, as would be harder for S to reach there from doorstep.
2. P.c. + e.c.? Same analysis as above.
3. Consent? Perhaps beyond scope of "look around".
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE - Professor Moskovitz
Monday, October 30, 1995 - 1:15 p.m.
MIDTERM EXAM
To: My law clerk
From: Judge Lance Itovitz
O.J. Sampson has been charged with sale of cocaine. He has moved to suppress a plastic bag of marijuana which Detective Mark Foreman found in Sampson’s car. At the hearing on the motion, Foreman testified as follows:
Q (Ms. Clark): What happened when you saw Mr. Sampson that night?
A (Detective Foreman): I was parked out in front of the Mezzaluna Restaurant, a local celebrity hangout, when I saw this white Ford Bronco drive up. Out stepped Mr. Sampson. He went over to Kato Kane, who was standing next to the restaurant. I knew that Kato had been arrested before for selling cocaine, and he had a sleazy reputation. They spoke for a few minutes, then they both looked around, and Kato handed something small to O.J. I couldn’t see what it was. O.J.went back to the Bronco. The front window was open, so he reached in and quickly put something in the glove compartment. He then gave his car keys to the parking valet, and he walked back towards the restaurant. That’s when I went over to him.
Q: Then what happened?
A: I said, "Hang on a minute, Mr. Sampson. What did you just put in your car?" He stopped and looked very nervous and said, "After all my troubles, I need something to help me relax." That was enough for me, so I put him under arrest. I handcuffed him and locked him in the back of my police car. I then went back to the Bronco, opened the door and the glove compartment, and found a plastic first aid kit. I opened it, and inside I found a clear plastic bag full of marijuana.
How should I rule on the motion?
[Please read Chapter 10 for the next class.]
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE - Professor Moskovitz
Monday, October 30, 1995 - 1:15 p.m.
OUTLINE OF ISSUES ON MIDTERM EXAM
I. Stop
A. A "seizure"? Compare Mendenhall.
B. Did C have "specific & articulable facts"? Compare Terry, Bower.
II. Arrest. As arrest in public, only probable cause needed - no arrest warrant or e.c. needed. Did C have probable cause? Compare Cunha.
III. Entry into car.
A. Search incident to valid arrest?
1. Was arrest valid? See above.
2. Was search incident to arrest?
a. Under Chimel, was door in D’s reach at time & place of arrest?
b. Under Belton, was D a "recent occupant"?
B. "Automobile" exception (probable cause, without exigent circumstances)?
Did C have probable cause to believe drugs in car?
IV. Opening glove compartment.
A. Search incident to valid arrest? Same as above, though might be a bit harder for D to open glove compartment before C could stop him.
B. Auto exception? Same as above.
V. Opening first aid kit.
A. Search incident to valid arrest? Same as above, though it might be even harder for D to open first aid kit before C could stop him.
B. Auto exception? Probable cause seems weaker, as D had "quickly" put something in glove compartment, so it is unlikely that he had time to open any container inside the compartment.