Legal is CJK 0018 in the law enforcement basic recruit curriculum, and FDLE says SOCE questions are taken directly from that curriculum. Every question has four options and never "all of the above". FDLE does not publish how many questions come from any one course, so treat the law as something you have to know cold, not a section you can trade off.
How the legal questions work
Most of them are short scenarios: an officer does something, and you decide whether the law allows it or what the law requires next. The answer nearly always turns on one phrase in a statute or one holding in a case. Three habits help:
- Read the last line of the stem first. "May the officer…" and "the officer must…" are different questions about the same facts.
- Look for the statute's own words. "Reasonably believes", "immediate vicinity", "good faith" and "fresh pursuit" are each the hinge of a rule.
- Distrust absolutes. Options that say "never" or "any" are usually there because the real rule has an exception.
The broader list of courses is on our law enforcement exam topics page. Traffic and DUI law has its own set of ten.
Ten practice questions
1. When done by an officer on duty, which of these is NOT deadly force under Florida law?
- A. Firing a handgun at the tires of a car the suspect is driving
- B. Firing a beanbag round designed not to penetrate the body
- C. Firing a rifle toward a fleeing suspect with no intent to hit him
- D. Firing buckshot at a suspect's legs to stop him
Answer: B. Under s. 776.06(1), F.S., deadly force includes firing in the direction of the person to be arrested even with no intent to kill, and firing at a vehicle the person is riding in. Section 776.06(2) excludes a firearm loaded with a less-lethal munition, a projectile designed to stun or incapacitate without penetrating the body.
2. A detainee awaiting trial for burglary is climbing the perimeter fence of a county detention facility. Under Florida law, a correctional officer may use force, including deadly force, to prevent the escape when the officer:
- A. Has received advance approval for deadly force from the shift supervisor
- B. Knows the detainee is charged with a violent felony
- C. Has seen the detainee carrying a weapon while climbing the fence
- D. Reasonably believes the force is necessary to stop the escape
Answer: D. Section 776.07(2), F.S., justifies force, including deadly force, that the officer reasonably believes necessary to prevent escape from a penal institution by a person reasonably believed to be lawfully detained there under sentence or awaiting trial or commitment. The statute does not require a weapon, a violent charge or a supervisor's approval.
3. Outside a bar, a man throws the first punch. He then backs away, raises his open hands and says clearly that he is done, but the other man draws a knife and keeps coming. May the first man now use force to defend himself?
- A. Yes, because he withdrew in good faith and said so clearly
- B. No, the one who starts a fight loses any claim of self-defense
- C. Only if he first tries to call 911 from where he stands
- D. Only after the man with the knife has actually cut him
Answer: A. Section 776.041(2), F.S., takes self-defense away from the person who provokes the force, but gives it back if he withdraws from physical contact in good faith, clearly indicates he wants to stop, and the assailant continues or resumes. He does not have to wait to be cut.
4. Deputies arrive after a homeowner has shot an armed intruder, and the homeowner claims self-defense. The sheriff's office may investigate using its standard procedures, but it may arrest the homeowner for the shooting only if:
- A. A grand jury first returns an indictment
- B. The homeowner declines to give a recorded statement
- C. It finds probable cause that the force used was unlawful
- D. The prosecutor files charges within 30 days of the shooting
Answer: C. Section 776.032(2), F.S., allows standard investigative procedures but bars an arrest for the use of force unless the agency determines there is probable cause that the force was unlawful. Section 776.032(1) counts arresting and detaining as part of the "criminal prosecution" from which justified force is immune.
5. Under the Florida Stop and Frisk Law, a temporary detention:
- A. May last up to one hour while the officer runs records checks
- B. Must stay at the place it began or in its immediate vicinity
- C. May move to the station if the person's identity is unclear
- D. Ends automatically once the person gives a name and date of birth
Answer: B. Section 901.151(3), F.S., limits the detention to the time reasonably necessary and says it may not extend beyond the place where it was first effected or the immediate vicinity. Under s. 901.151(4), the person is arrested if probable cause appears and released if it does not.
6. A Gainesville police officer sees a felony, chases the suspect without a break into the next county and arrests him there. Under Florida's fresh pursuit law, the officer must:
- A. Notify the officer in charge of that jurisdiction immediately
- B. Release the suspect, since the arrest is outside his city
- C. Take the suspect back to a judge in his own home county
- D. Hold the suspect until a warrant arrives from his own county
Answer: A. Section 901.25(2), F.S., authorizes an officer in fresh pursuit to arrest outside his jurisdiction. Section 901.25(3) requires him to notify the officer in charge where the arrest was made immediately, and the person goes before a trial court judge of the county where the arrest was made, without unnecessary delay.
7. Detectives execute a search warrant at a closed warehouse office. Nobody is there, and they seize two boxes of ledgers. What does Florida law require before they leave?
- A. Nothing until the owner asks the agency for an inventory
- B. Seal the door and notify the owner by certified mail
- C. Return to the judge for approval to seize without a receipt
- D. Leave a written inventory and receipt on the premises
Answer: D. Under s. 933.11, F.S., the officer gives a copy of the warrant to the person named or a person in charge of the premises and, when property is taken, a detailed written inventory and receipt. If no one is in possession of the premises, the receipt is left there.
8. A judge issues a warrant to seize a suspect's laptop and search the data on it. Which statement is correct under Florida law?
- A. The laptop must be seized and its data fully analyzed within 10 days
- B. The warrant must be returned within 20 days of issuance
- C. It is timely if the laptop is seized within 10 days of issuance
- D. The data may be searched only during daytime hours
Answer: C. Section 933.05(3), F.S., treats a warrant for a computer or electronic device as timely executed if the device is seized within 10 days of issuance, not counting the day it was issued. Such a warrant is returnable within 365 days under s. 933.05(2), and s. 933.05(4) says the analysis need not be finished within that period. The 20-day return applies to warrants served on out-of-state providers of electronic communications data.
9. Officers have probable cause, but no warrant, to arrest a man for a felony committed two days ago. He is at home, there is no emergency and no one consents to their entry. Under Payton v. New York (1980), the officers:
- A. Need a warrant to enter the home and make the arrest
- B. May enter because probable cause for a felony exists
- C. May enter if they knock and announce their purpose first
- D. May enter only between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Answer: A. Payton held that the Fourth Amendment bars a warrantless, nonconsensual entry into a suspect's home to make a routine felony arrest when there are no exigent circumstances. Knocking and announcing under s. 901.19(1), F.S., does not cure the problem: after Payton, a routine arrest inside a home needs a warrant unless there is consent or an exigent circumstance.
10. Under Rhode Island v. Innis (1980), "interrogation" for Miranda purposes means:
- A. Only formal questioning in a police station, after booking is complete
- B. Express questioning or its functional equivalent
- C. Any conversation at all between an officer and a person in custody
- D. Only questions about the crime the suspect has been arrested for
Answer: B. Innis defined interrogation as express questioning or any words or actions by police, beyond those normal to arrest and custody, that the police should know are reasonably likely to draw an incriminating response. Miranda v. Arizona (1966) requires the warnings before custodial interrogation, so a statement the suspect volunteers is not covered.
Notice how many wrong options here sound like sensible policy: get a supervisor's approval, wait for a warrant, call 911 first. The exam asks what the law says, not what a cautious agency might prefer. Pick the option you can point to in the statute or the case.
Practicing at full length
Our bank has about 737 questions across law enforcement and corrections, each with a written explanation. The full practice exam is 200 questions in 3 hours with an 80% line; the quick mode is 50 questions in 45 minutes. One difference from the real exam: all 200 of ours are scored, while the state exam has 10 unscored field-test items among its 200. What 80% means on the real exam is set out on the passing score page, and the format of the bank is described on the practice test page.