SECTION 1
VOCABULARY

Use the information provided in the pretest materials to answer the following questions. You may not refer to any pretest materials or notes during the exam.


1. The offender claimed that he committed the assault but that he was acting in self-defense. The offender is:

(A) Insane

(B) Claiming a justification

(C) Incompetent

(D) Claiming an alibi

2. The police detective is called to the scene of a homicide but told nothing else by dispatch. Which of the following statements can the detective infer is true before reaching the scene?

(A) The victim is dead.

(B) The perpetrator acted with premeditation.

(C) The perpetrator was committing a serious felony when the homicide occurred.

(D) The perpetrator was angry at the time the homicide occurred.

3. A police officer is told to assist in gathering all physical evidence at a crime scene. He looks around the area but does not see anything that looks like evidence of a crime. Has he completed his duty?

(A) Yes. Physical evidence must be visually identifiable.

(B) Yes. Physical evidence is evidence associated with the victim.

(C) No. Physical evidence is evidence associated with the perpetrator.

(D) No. Physical evidence includes items that are not clearly visible such as latent fingerprints.

4. The Police Manual states that all officers must report questions or concerns about other officers through the official chain of command. Officer Martin has seen his partner remove evidence from a crime scene without logging it in as required. Officer Martin should ______.

(A) Report his concerns to his union representative.

(B) Talk with his partner, unofficially, to try to find out what is going on.

(C) Report his concerns to his direct supervisor.

(D) Send an anonymous note to the Chief of Police.

5. Sergeant Martin identified Exhibit 4 as a necktie found in the bedroom of the Smith residence. When Martin testified that the evidence tag on Exhibit 4 indicated that another officer had processed the evidence, defense counsel objected based on foundation for the _________________ and the State withdrew the exhibit. However, Detective Ferris later identified the evidence tag on Exhibit 4, testifying that Martin gave him the evidence and he tagged it and sent it to the State Patrol Lab thus resolving the earlier issue.

The appropriate term to fill in the blank above is:

(A) Latent fingerprint

(B) Physical evidence

(C) Chain of custody

(D) Discretion

6. Officer Martin had authority to enforce the criminal laws of both the state and his city, as both the state and his city have enacted criminal ______.

(A) Laws

(B) Codes

(C) Jurisdictions

(D) Venues

7. State law and departmental policy states that “offender’s vehicles could be impounded at the direction of law enforcement present at the scene.” Both state law and departmental policy were defining the scope of ________ applicable to vehicle impoundment.

(A) A warrant

(B) Physical evidence

(C) Chain of custody

(D) Officer discretion

8. The offender is legally incompetent. This means that the offender:

(A) Is incapable of assisting in his own defense.

(B) Has a legal justification for his actions.

(C) Was legally insane at the time he committed the offense.

(D) Is unable to afford legal counsel.

9. Professor Martinez taught a course about human sexuality at the local community college. A female student signed a complaint against Professor Martinez alleging that she distributed obscene literature to the class. Professor Martinez will likely not be charged with any offense because the law concerning obscene materials excludes “those persons or entities having scientific, educational, or similar reason for possessing such materials.” This law gives Professor Martinez __________ for possessing and disseminating the information to her students.

(A) Lack of mens rea so she cannot be held accountable

(B) Discretion

(C) A legally recognized justification

(D) A right to distribute obscene material whenever she likes

10. Officer Martin found a latent fingerprint. This means she found a fingerprint ______.

(A) After the investigation officially concluded

(B) That is invisible to the naked eye

(C) That was left by a member of the investigative team

(D) That was unidentifiable due to significant residue and deposits

11. John wanted to try out his new sports car to see how fast it would go. After dark he went out to a stretch of paved road that was seldom used and put the gas pedal to the floorboard. After a few seconds the vehicle had exceeded the speed limit and was about to go into a blind curve. Before John could slow his car, another vehicle came around the turn and the two vehicles collided causing the driver in the other car severe injuries. Before deciding whether to charge John with a crime, the officer gathered as much information about John’s actions in order to determine John’s _________.

(A) Authority

(B) Discretion

(C) Competency

(D) Mens rea.

12. After investigation, Officer Martin determined that the facts showed that John’s behavior was reckless. This means that John:

(A) Could not have known that speeding down a dark road could cause serious harm to others.

(B) Was less at fault for the accident than the other driver.

(C) Knew there was a substantial risk that speeding down a dark road could cause serious harm to others.

(D) Was a juvenile.

13. Dominic went into a store to rob it while his brother Louis waited in the car. Louis’ job was to keep the car running so that Dominic would be able to escape the scene of the robbery as fast as possible. Carl was sitting on a bench down the street with a cell phone ready to call Dominic as soon as he heard sirens in the area. Who was/were the accomplice(s)?

(A) Carl and Dominic

(B) Dominic and Louis

(C) Louis and Carl

(D) Dominic

14. Dominic went into a store to rob it while his brother Louis waited in the car. Louis’ job was to keep the car running so that Dominic would be able to escape the scene of the robbery as fast as possible. Carl was sitting on a bench down the street with a cell phone ready to call Dominic as soon as he heard sirens in the area. Who was/were the perpetrator(s)?

(A) Carl and Dominic

(B) Dominic and Louis

(C) Louis

(D) Dominic

15. Officer Peterson was through investigating a homicide in Edwardsville. He needed to file his case with the appropriate court. He knows that only state courts have jurisdiction to hear homicide cases, but he doesn’t like the state court judges in his area. Officer Peterson decides to file his case in the state court located in a large metropolitan area on the other side of the state, outside the geographical area of the state court for Edwardsville. Will the state court in the metropolitan area be able to accept this case?

(A) Yes, as long as a court has jurisdiction it may accept the case.

(B) Yes, a police officer has discretion to file his case in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(C) No, a court must have both jurisdiction and venue.

(D) Yes, each case has its own individual venue.

16. Officer Peterson tells his supervisor that he is acting on a warrant. From this information alone, what can the supervisor determine that Officer Peterson is doing?

(A) He is serving an arrest warrant.

(B) He is serving a bench warrant.

(C) He is serving a search warrant.

(D) The supervisor needs more information.

17. Which of the following defenses to a crime is NOT a justification?

(A) Self-defense

(B) Defense of others

(C) Insanity

(D) Defense of property

18. Officer Smith found an empty whiskey bottle on the back floorboard of Petra’s car after Petra’s vehicle is involved in an accident. Officer Smith believes that Petra is under the influence of alcohol. The whiskey bottle should be considered physical evidence because ______.

(A) it used to contain an alcoholic beverage

(B) it can establish a link between Petra and the use of alcohol

(C) it can establish a chain of custody between Petra and the alcohol

(D) it can establish that Petra used discretion to drink an alcoholic beverage

19. Officer Peterson drafts and signs an arrest warrant and gets ready to serve it. His supervisor stops him and tells him the warrant is not valid. What is the primary problem with Officer Peterson’s arrest warrant?

(A) Officer Peterson, a law enforcement officer, has no authority to arrest.

(B) Officer Peterson, a law enforcement officer, has no authority to sign an arrest warrant.

(C) Officer Peterson, a law enforcement officer, has no authority to serve warrants.

(D) Officer Peterson, a law enforcement officer, has no authority to request an arrest warrant.

20. Greg sees a man waving a knife at a small child in a parked car. Greg grabs a baseball bat and breaks the driver’s side window of the car. Before the man in the vehicle can react Greg takes his knife away. When the police arrive the man in the vehicle asks them to charge Greg with criminal destruction of property. After hearing the facts, the police decline to arrest Greg because _______.

(A) Greg obtained physical evidence of a crime for them.

(B) Greg is a hero.

(C) Greg was not the perpetrator of the more serious crime.

(D) Greg had a lawful justification to support his actions.

STOP. THIS IS THE END OF SECTION 1.