Lawful Stop Means Lawful Search
This trap appears as a wrong-answer choice in 1 active question. Spotting how it is built is the repair: read each example's “why it's attractive” before the “why it's wrong.”
Subject distribution
- Criminal Law1
Example wrong choices
20476_road_to_bethlehem_sash · CRIMINAL_LAW · Choice BYes, because the officer had reasonable suspicion that Peter was involved in illegal-pill activity, justifying a search for drugs.
Why it's attractive
The illegal-pill setting makes drug suspicion feel like the central fact. The breaker is that reasonable suspicion answers the wrong question; the call is plain-feel seizure validity.
Why it's wrong
The answer uses drug reasonable suspicion to answer the wrong frame. The call is plain-feel seizure validity.
Spot it next time
Ask whether the choice answers plain-feel seizure validity.
20476_road_to_bethlehem_sash · CRIMINAL_LAW · Choice CNo, because the officer needed a warrant before reaching into the sash pocket once she realized the object was not a weapon.
Why it's attractive
The answer gets the suppression outcome and therefore feels safer than the technical answer. The breaker is that it names the wrong defect; the first unlawful move was the manipulation before identification.
Why it's wrong
The answer reaches the right result but names the wrong defect. The defect is manipulation before identification, not simply lack of a warrant before pocket entry.
Spot it next time
Compare the two No answers by the first unlawful move.
20476_road_to_bethlehem_sash · CRIMINAL_LAW · Choice DYes, because the officer was conducting a lawful Terry frisk and any item discovered during the frisk may be seized.
Why it's attractive
The lawful Terry frisk makes the broad permission sound legitimate. The breaker is the absolute 'any item,' which inflates a limited weapons frisk into a general search.
Why it's wrong
The phrase 'any item' overstates a lawful Terry frisk. Plain feel does not authorize seizing everything discovered.
Spot it next time
Mark 'any item' and apply the plain-feel Gold Key.
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