NCJ Number
89150
Journal
Howard Law Journal Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Dated: (1981) Pages: 9-88
Date Published
1981
Length
80 pages
Annotation
This report presents cases which reflect the current U.S. Supreme Court standards on criminal procedure and the most recent District of Columbia Court of Appeals applications thereof, and the applicable District of Columbia statutes and rules of criminal procedure are discussed.
Abstract
The project includes a synthesis of the areas of criminal procedural law dealt with by both courts between December 1979 and November 1980. Court decisions bearing upon criminal procedure in arrests deal with the nature of probable cause in issuing arrest warrants and making warrantless arrests. Decisions related to police stop-and-frisk bear upon the U.S. Supreme Court's standard of 'reasonable suspicion' that criminal activity is imminent and that the person is armed and dangerous. Court rulings on criminal procedure regarding search warrants cover the warrant requirement, the statutory right to a warrant, the involvement of informants, and search incident to execution. Decisions yielding exceptions to the requirement of a search warrant are explained with reference to exigent circumstances, vehicle searches, and inventory searches. Other areas of criminal procedure considered are the exclusionary rule, the right to counsel and the effectiveness of counsel, standing to challenge constitutional violations, indictment and information, and joinder and severance. U.S. Supreme Court rulings are explained in the areas of capital punishment, cruel and unusual punishment, false statements, impeachment, obscenity, principals and accessories, prisons, and sentencing. A total of 436 footnotes are provided.