With a “plea on the nose”, a defendant
a. pleads guilty to the original charge.
b. pleads guilty only to the top charge.
c. avoids later prosecution for possibly related offenses.
d. accepts the maximum sentence.
In Ewing v. California (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the State of California’s
Three Strikes Law on what grounds?
a. The punishment was not disproportionate to the crime committed.
b. The punishment did not violate the Eight Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and
unusual punishment.
c. Offenders who repeatedly engage in serious or violent crime may be isolated from
the rest of society.
d. All of these are correct.
CASE 16.1
Appeals courts approach appellate decision making in different ways, depending on the
types of questions presented for review on appeal. Sometimes appellate courts are very
deferential to what happened in lower courts, while other times they give no deference
at all. How much deference or scrutiny an appellate court will afford to the decisions of
a judge, jury, or administrative agency in an appeal is referred to as the standard of
review.
Discretionary decisions made by a judge will receive what kind of deference in the
appellate review process?
a. none.
b. moderate.
c. high.
d. very high.
How can a defense attorney hope to gain the lightest sentence possible for his/her
client?
a. get a lenient judge.
b. downplay the severity of the offense.
c. discuss the case with the prosecutor.
d. all of these answers are correct.
Which method of providing legal representation for indigent defendants is the most
common in large cities?
a. assigned counsel
b. contract
c. public defender
d. pro bono
Which of the following is not a traditional aspect of juvenile court proceedings?
a. informal proceedings
b. proceedings that are open to the public
c. proceedings that are based on civil law
d. a lack [or absence] of jury trials
The U.S. Courts of Appeals is made up of how many judgeships?
a. 14
b. 50
c. 98
d. 179
An example of assembly-line justice in a big-city public defender’s office may include
which of the following?
a. One assistant public defender will conduct the defendant’s initial interview but may
not necessarily represent him or her at trial.
b. One assistant public defender will represent the defendant at the initial appearance
but may not necessarily represent him or her at trial.
c. One assistant public defender will conduct the defendant’s initial interview but may
not necessarily negotiate the defendant’s plea deal.
d. All of these are examples of assembly-line justice.
CASE 10.1
A careful reading of the Eighth Amendment reveals that the Constitution does not
specifically provide that all citizens have a right to bail. Rather, if bail is granted, it
must not be “excessive,” defined by the Supreme Court in Stack v. Boyle (1951), as an
amount higher than reasonably calculated to ensure the defendants presence at trial. A
right to bail, however, was recognized in common law and in statutes as early as 1789
for all those accused of committing noncapital crimes. In 1966, Congress enacted the
Bail Reform Act, thereby creating a statutory presumption favoring pretrial release of
federal arrestees.
How many forms of bail are available to a defendant?
a. two.
b. three.
c. four.
d. five.
In which of the following U.S. Supreme Court decisions was the exclusionary rule
developed?
a. Miranda v. Arizona
b. Weeks v. U.S.
c. U.S. v. Miller
d. U.S. v. Salerno
A lower trial court would only handle the initial stages of which type of case?
a. Public drunkenness
b. Petty theft
c. Disorderly conduct
d. Robbery
CASE 3.1
The founding fathers engaged in a vigorous debate over whether there should be a
federal court system separate from the state systems. Those who supported a strong
federal judiciary ultimately prevailed. Subsequent expansion of the federal courts has
created a contemporary controversy over how to alleviate the problem of rising
caseloads within the federal court system.
Which of the following proposals would due process advocates least likely support?
a. Abolish federal diversity jurisdiction except in certain cases.
b. Abolish concurrent jurisdiction on crimes punishable by both state and federal law.
c. Creation of several new Article I legislative courts.
d. Limit ability of prisoners to file civil rights lawsuits.
CASE 10.3
Deciding whom to release and whom to detain pending trial poses critical problems for
American courts. The realities of the bail system in the United States reflect an attempt
to strike a balance between the legally recognized purpose of setting bail to ensure
reappearance for trial and the working perception that some defendants should not be
allowed out of jail until their trial.
Which of the following is true regarding bail?
a. Trial-court judges have a great deal of discretion in fixing bail.
b. Statutory law provides few specifics about how much money should be required.
c. Appellate courts have spent little time deciding what criteria should be used.
d. All of these are true regarding bail.
Which of the following is consistent with court unification?
a. centralized jury selection
b. integration of federal and state judicial systems
c. localized budgeting
d. statewide financing
According to a recent Federal Bureau of Investigation report, women account for
approximately what percent of all arrests?
a. 6
b. 14
c. 25
d. 30
Which of the following is a law in action approach to court delay?
a. implementing speedy trial laws
b. adding court resources
c. streamlining court procedures
d. trying to achieve better coordination among members of the courtroom work group
With regard to the death penalty, the Supreme Court has ruled that
a. potential jurors may be excluded if they oppose the death penalty.
b. convicted defendants with an IQ of 85 or less may not be executed.
c. the death penalty is constitutional as punishment for the rape of a child.
d. defendants who were 19 or younger at the time they committed murder may not be
executed.
Which of the following is the primary reason for high turnover among assistant district
attorneys?
a. little formal on-the-job training
b. low salaries
c. high stress
d. little opportunity for promotion
Of all the cases that the U.S. Supreme Court hears each year, only between what
number are criminal cases?
a. 10 to 20
b. 20 to 35
c. 35 to 50
d. 50 to 65
Federal judges in virtually all states have ordered state governments to dramatically
alter the way in which they operate their prisons. These court orders have specified
a. a maximum prison population.
b. necessary upgrades to physical conditions.
c. an increased number of guards.
d. All of these answers are correct.
Of the following, which is not one of the duties of a judge?
a. setting bail.
b. accepting guilty pleas.
c. ruling on pretrial motions.
d. participating in plea-bargaining.
CASE 8.1
In evaluating which judicial selection system is best it is important to determine if one
system produces better judges than another. Judicial folklore has long held that
particular systems may produce superior judges. Several studies have systematically
analyzed this folklore. Researchers use measurable judicial credentials, such as
education and prior legal experience, as indicators of judicial quality.
Which system is likely to produce judges who have held political office?
a. the appointment system.
b. the merit system.
c. the Missouri system.
d. the election system.
The decision to suppress evidence rests with the
a. trial judge.
b. prosecutor.
c. defense attorney.
d. appellate judge.
CASE 13.3
In recent years, jury selection has taken a scientific turn. Rather than relying on
personal hunch, attorneys in a few highly publicized cases have employed social
scientists to aid them in a more intelligent, systematic use of the voir dire that has come
to be called ‘scientific jury selection.”
Trial consultants are hired most often by
a. prosecutors.
b. defense attorneys.
c. judges.
d. victims.
CASE 9.2
The criminal courts confront a double bind with regard to victims. On the one hand,
victims are valued for the cases they bring to the system; their misfortunes become the
raw material of the court process. On the other hand, individual victims represent a
potential source of irrationality in the process. The personal and often emotional
involvement of victims in the crime experience can generate particular demands for
case outcomes that have little to do with the public interest.
Members of the courtroom work group may perceive that the victim’s demands for
public justice actually mask a desire for
a. private vengeance.
b. private regret.
c. public vengeance.
d. public vindication.
As compared with less serious crimes, defendants charged with serious crimes such as
rape and murder are
a. more likely to accept a plea bargain.
b. more likely to go to trial.
c. more likely to have their cases dismissed.
d. more likely to be acquitted by a jury.
Prior to the 1980s, how many federal judges were removed from office?
a. 4
b. 25
c. 40
d. 75
Which of the following is not an argument made by advocates of the public defender
system?
a. A lawyer paid to represent indigents on a continuous basis will devote more attention
to cases than a court-appointed attorney who receives only minimal compensation.
b. The public defender system provides more experienced, competent counsel.
c. The public defender system assures continuity and consistency in the defense of the
poor.
d. Public defenders will dispose cases more quickly than attorneys given contracts to
work with indigent defendants.
CASE 13.3
In recent years, jury selection has taken a scientific turn. Rather than relying on
personal hunch, attorneys in a few highly publicized cases have employed social
scientists to aid them in a more intelligent, systematic use of the voir dire that has come
to be called ‘scientific jury selection.”
What do jury consultants use to test which pieces of evidence, witnesses, and arguments
might be most effective in convincing people to vote a particular way?
a. focus groups
b. Polls
c. mock trials
d. focus groups and polls
Searches in which types of cases are most likely to involve questions of police conduct?
a. Burglaries
b. Fraud
c. DWI cases
d. Weapons and drug cases
What is the name of the situation where a case is heard by all the judges on the
appellate court?
a. de facto
b. corpus delicti
c. mandamus
d. en banc
“An eye for an eye” is an example of a punishment based on
a. retribution.
b. rehabilitation.
c. incapacitation
d. deterrence.
Law in action approaches to solving the problem of delay can prove effective because
a. They focus on coordinating the activities of the key actors in the courthouse.
b. They ignore activities of the key actors in the courthouse.
c. They override the activities of juries in the courthouse.
d. They assist the activities of the key actors in the courthouse..
A study in the state of Washington found that groups supporting what act reflected a
punitive orientation toward defendants more than an effort to aid victims of sexual
assault?
a. the Community Protection Act.
b. the Community Victims Act.
c. the Victim Protection Act.
d. the Protection Act.
If a person is found not guilty in a criminal case, they may not be sued in civil court.
If a judge grants bail, many defendants who lack the financial resources to post cash or
property as bail turn to the services of commercial .
The clerk of court is responsible for maintaining order in the courtroom.
Explain the function of the criminal justice system from both an interdependent system
perspective as well as a fragmented non-system perspective.
An example of a procedural safeguard in the trial process is contained in the Sixth
Amendment’s right to confront witnesses.
To understand case attrition, Samuel Walker (2006) suggested that it is useful to view
criminal justice as a ____________________.
Describe the wedding cake model of the criminal justice system. Be sure to provide
examples of the types of offenses that may be found in each layer.
Some proponents of the crime control model of criminal justice go as far as to argue
that it is time to abolish the juvenile court altogether.
A failure to act when there is a legal duty to act can also qualify as “actus reus.”
Proponents of the _____________________ Model of criminal justice argue that
children who commit crimes should be punished as adults.
In ____________________ v. N.Y., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors must
keep their side of the plea bargain.
If the House of Representatives vote articles of impeachment charging a federal judge
with serious misconduct, the Senate conducts a trial and may remove the judge from the
bench.
Case attrition results from general prosecutorial policies about of cases.
Delinquency cases that are handled informally are referred to as
_________________________ cases.
ANS: nonpetitioned (another acceptable
Brady material consists of any exculpatory material that the prosecutor has and must be
turned over to the defense prior to trial.
To proponents of the crime control model the death penalty is not a deterrent.
Compare and contrast the law on the books and the law in action approaches to court
delay. Which approach do you think is the most effective at addressing the problem of
dely in courts? Why?
The informal and formal exchange of information between prosecution and defense is
referred to as ______________________.