Which of the following represents a clear disadvantage of localized control of justice?
a. Local courts are closely linked to the people they serve.
b. The application of ‘state” law often has a local flavor.
c. The officials who staff these courts are recruited from the local community they serve
and thus reflect the sentiments of that community.
d. Local control has been an incubator of corruption and injustice..
A habeas corpus petition may include which of the following?
a. A challenge of a criminal conviction based on the argument the trial was
constitutionally defective.
b. A federal prisoner’s request to get their sentence set aside or corrected because the
punishment was harsher than that allowed by law.
c. Allegations that prison officials do not allow inmates to practice their religion behind
bars.
d. Allegations that an inmate’s constitutional rights were violated by a federal official
acting under color of law.
All states that have altered judicial selection techniques in recent years have adopted
some form of
a. merit selection.
b. legislative appointment.
c. election.
d. executive appointment.
CASE 15.2
Since 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court has raised serious doubts about the
constitutionality of many state sentencing guidelines, holding that other than a prior
conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the statutory
maximum must be tried before a jury (Apprendi v. New Jersey, 2000). Based on this
reasoning, in 2004 the Court struck down sentencing guidelines in the State of
Washington, holding that the Sixth Amendment gives juries (and not judges) the power
to make a finding of fact beyond a reasonable doubt (Blakely v. Washington, 2004). The
dissenters argued that the decision will serve only to increase judicial discretion and
lead to less uniformity in sentencing, perhaps leading to increasing racial
discrimination.
What two extra-legal factors that impact the imposition of a sentence above the
maximum range of sentencing guidelines appear to affect both jury and judicial
decision-making in particular?
a. age and sex.
b. age and economic status.
c. economic status and sex.
d. race and age.
Which of the following is not part of the Miranda warnings?
a. right to a speedy and public trial
b. right to remain silent
c. right to an attorney
d. right to a court appointed attorney if necessary
Which of the following is one example of a safeguard provided by the adversarial
system?
a. The presumption of equality
b. Pretrial detention of defendants
c. The right to compensation for losses suffered
d. The right to cross-examination
Self representation is limited to individuals who
a. have a law degree.
b. cannot afford to hire a lawyer.
c. want to represent themselves
d. show the judge they have the ability to conduct a trial.
CASE 9.3
In some ways, victims of crimes are a diverse lot including the rich and the poor, the
young and the old, and men as well as women. This diversity aside, however, crime
victims are more likely to be young, nonwhite, male, divorced or never married, low
income, and unemployed (Truman 2011; Elias 1986). Thus in many ways the profile of
victims matches that of defendants.
In what percent of all felony arrests in New York did the victim have a prior
relationship with the offender?
a. fifty percent.
b. forty percent.
c. sixty percent.
d. seventy percent.
Which of the following statements is true about trial courts of limited jurisdiction?
a. All states have at least one trial court of limited jurisdiction.
b. Some states do not have any trial courts of limited jurisdiction.
c. Circuit courts are considered trial courts of limited jurisdiction.
d. These courts focus on felony case processing.
CASE 7.3
Indigents are defendants who cannot afford to pay a lawyer and, therefore, are entitled
to a lawyer for free. Although the Supreme Court has essentially mandated the
development of indigent-defense systems, it has left the financing and type of delivery
system up to states and counties, which have considerable discretion in adopting
programs (Worden and Worden 1989). How best to provide legal representation for the
poor has been a long-standing issue for the courts and the legal profession. In the
United States, the three primary methods are assigned counsel, contract systems, and
public defender.NARREND
The public defender method is
a. attorneys appointed by the judge on a case-by-case basis.
b. attorneys hired to provide services for a specified dollar amount.
c. a salaried public official representing all indigent defendants.
d. None of these answers is correct.
Which of the following is one way that discretion can offset mandatory minimum
penalties?
a. reduction in arrests
b. prosecutorial discretion
c. decrease in convictions
d. all of these answers are correct
Most victim compensation programs
a. reimburse victims for lost or damaged property.
b. provide for the recovery of medical expenses and some lost wages.
c. ensure that defendants pay restitution.
d. All of these answers are correct.
The main difference between a guilty plea and a no contest (nolo contendere) plea is
that the latter
a. cannot be used in a civil proceeding against the defendant.
b. results only in a conditional conviction.
c. cannot be entered in felony cases.
d. cannot be entered by defendants charged with violent offenses.
If the defendant wants to enter an Alford plea, the judge
a. cannot lawfully accept it.
b. may accept the plea only if the defense attorney agrees.
c. may accept it only if there is a substantial evidence of guilt or a strong factual basis
for the plea.
d. may accept it only if the defendant is not able to understand the meaning of factual
guilt.
The responsibilities of the U.S. Sentencing Commission include which of the
following?
a. Recommending to Congress appropriate modifications of substantive criminal law
and sentencing procedures.
b. Making sentencing recommendations after cases are adjudicated in federal court.
c. Appointing judges to special tribunals and courts, such as the U.S. Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.
d. Implementing policies established by the Judicial Conference of the United States.
Preliminary evaluations of victim compensation programs have suggested that
a. these programs lessen victim frustration with the criminal justice system.
b. most victims of violent crimes apply for benefits, and most are compensated.
c. victims of property crimes are often reimbursed for lost or damaged property when
they do not have insurance coverage.
d. none of these answers is correct.
CASE 16.2
Criminal appeals are generally routine because they seldom raise meritorious issues
(Primus, 2007; Wold & Caldeira, 1980). Current standards of effective assistance of
counsel often force lawyers to appeal, no matter how slight the odds of appellate court
reversal. As a result, a significant number of criminal appeals lack substantial merit. For
example, of the roughly 5,125 written dispositions in criminal appeals filed by
defendants in the California Court of Appeals in 2010, the court reversed only 226 (4%)
convictions (Judicial Council of California, 2011). Why do criminal appeals rarely
succeed? First, the appellate standards of review applicable to most decision-making
during criminal trials are highly deferential to trial court outcomes (Primus, 2007).
Second, appellate courts often find that no reversible error was committed during the
trial court proceedings.
Why do appellate courts often find no reversible error was committed during the trial
court proceedings?
a. in large part because of the harmless error doctrine.
b. in large part because of the plain error doctrine.
c. in large part because of the reversible error doctrine.
d. in large part because of the deferential error doctrine.
CASE 6.1
The U.S. Attorneys serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the
attorney general. One U.S. Attorney is assigned to each of the judicial districts, with the
exception of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, where one serves both districts.
Each U.S. Attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer of the United States
within his or her particular jurisdiction.
Who are U.S. Attorneys appointed by?
a. The President.
b. The Senate.
c. The Vice President.
d. The Congress.
Which of the following is a false statement about the role of defense attorneys in
juvenile court proceedings?
a. Defense attorneys play a key role in most juvenile court matters.
b. Defense attorneys typically become involved in juvenile court matters after their
client has cooperated with the police and prosecutor.
c. Researchers find that youths represented by counsel actually receive harsher
dispositions than those who appear in court without attorneys.
d. Where the evidence against the juvenile is strong, the defense lawyer seeks the best
possible deal for his/her client.
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 were former legislators?
a. the appointment system.
b. the merit system.
c. the Missouri system.
d. the election system.
CASE 11.1
The exclusionary rule prohibits the prosecutor from using illegally obtained evidence
during a trial. Under the common law, the seizure of evidence by illegal means did not
affect its admissibility in court. Any evidence, however obtained, was admitted as long
as it satisfied other evidentiary criteria for admissibility, such as relevance and
trustworthiness.
That changed when the exclusionary rule was first developed in
a. Weeks v. United States (1914).
b. Wolf v. Colorado (1949).
c. Mapp v. Ohio (1961).
d. Katz v. United States (1967)
Which of the following is the primary requirement for a search warrant?
a. probable cause
b. good faith
c. reasonable suspicion
d. preponderance of the evidence
Proponents of the due process model of criminal justice believe all of the following,
except:
a. The courts’ priority should be to protect the rights of the individual.
b. The belief in the need to reform people through rehabilitation.
c. That the court system is fundamentally unfair to poor and minority defendants.
d. Informal fact-finding is sufficient to prevent false convictions.
CASE 12.2
Guilty pleas are the bread and butter of the American criminal courts. Between 85 and
95 percent of all state and federal felony convictions are obtained by a defendant
entering a negotiated plea of guilt (Covey 2008; Hashimoto 2008). Plea bargaining can
best be defined as the process through which a defendant pleads guilty to a criminal
charge with the expectation of receiving some consideration from the state.
When the prosecutor allows the defendant to plead guilty to a less serious charge than
the one originally filed this is called
a. charge bargaining.
b. count bargaining.
c. sentence bargaining
d. limit bargaining.
What case overturned Weeks and Wolf and applied the exclusionary rule to the states?
a. Mapp v. Ohio (1961).
b. Katz v. United States (1967)
c. Berger v. New York (1967)
d. United States v. Calandra (1974)
The law on the books approach to criminal justice emphasizes that
a. during the preliminary hearing the judge decides whether there is probable cause to
hold the defendant.
b. in most jurisdictions there is a strong probability that the case will proceed.
c. during the preliminary hearing the prosecutor decides whether there is probable cause
to hold the defendant.
d. in most jurisdictions there is a weak probability that the case will proceed.
Intermediate courts of appeals do which of the following?
a. These courts carefully review evidence presented at a trial.
b. These courts determine whether technical violations of the law were committed at
trial and release affected defendants.
c. These courts review trial proceedings to make sure the law was followed and that the
defendant received a fair trial.
d. All of the above.
Which Amendment states: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the
right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation”?
a. 4th Amendment
b. 5th Amendment
c. 6th Amendment
d. 8th Amendment
CASE 14.1
No consensus exists on how the courts should punish the guilty, perhaps due to the fact
that five different philosophical principles guide sentencing in the United States:
retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and restoration. These sentencing
philosophies differ in important ways. Some focus on past behavior, whereas others are
future-oriented. Some stress that the punishment should fit the crime, whereas others
emphasize that punishment should fit the criminal. These issues influence contemporary
thinking about sentencing.
The idea that the sentence of one offender should be a warning to others is inherent in
what sentencing philosophy?
a. Retribution
b. Incapacitation
c. Deterrence
d. Rehabilitation
To ensure fairness in negotiations between the prosecution and the defense, the U.S.
Supreme Court recognized that when prosecutors make a promise to the defendant and
when the defendant relies on this promise, the defendant may withdraw his/her plea if
the promise is broken by the government. In which case did the Court recognize this?
a. Santobello v. New York
b. Alford v. North Carolina
c. Bordenkircher v. Hayes
d. Boykin v. Alabama
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 workgroup also know that the same individual may
a. be a victim, a witness, and an offender.
b. be a victim and an offender.
c. be a witness and an offender.
d. be an offender.
CASE 11.3
Pursuant to the mandates of the plain text of the Constitution, the Supreme Court held
in Katz v. United States (1967, p. 357), that warrantless searches “are per se
unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment subject only to a few specifically
established and well-delineated exceptions.” Accordingly, warrants play a very
important role in criminal procedure. It might therefore come as a surprise to many
people that the majority of searches are conducted without a warrant under one of the
recognized exceptions to the warrant requirement.
One of the exceptions to the warrant requirement involves “exigent circumstances.”
What is the meaning of “exigent circumstances?”
a. Police may conduct warrantless searches when granted consent to search by someone
with actual or apparent authority to grant such consent.
b. Police may conduct warrantless searches when incident to a lawful arrest.
c. Police may conduct warrantless searches when probable cause exists to search a
motor vehicle.
d. Police may conduct warrantless searches when emergency situations make it
impracticable for police to seek and obtain a warrant first.
At trial a prosecutor is expected to advocate the guilt of the defendant while also being
mindful that s/he is not
a. an example for others in the courtroom work group.
b. an officer of the court.
c. an advocate for the victim.
d. part of the executive branch of government.
CASE 15.2
Since 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court has raised serious doubts about the
constitutionality of many state sentencing guidelines, holding that other than a prior
conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the statutory
maximum must be tried before a jury (Apprendi v. New Jersey, 2000). Based on this
reasoning, in 2004 the Court struck down sentencing guidelines in the State of
Washington, holding that the Sixth Amendment gives juries (and not judges) the power
to make a finding of fact beyond a reasonable doubt (Blakely v. Washington, 2004). The
dissenters argued that the decision will serve only to increase judicial discretion and
lead to less uniformity in sentencing, perhaps leading to increasing racial
discrimination.
Failure to submit a sentencing factor to a jury is subject to what kind of review?
a. harmless error review.
b. harmful error review.
c. strict scrutiny review.
d. harmless scrutiny review.
A court that has a choice as to whether or not to hear the appeal is said to have what
kind of appellate jurisdiction?
a. discretionary
b. optional
c. prescient
d. elective
Grand jury proceedings are held in a courtroom open to the public.
The rules established in Daubert v. Merrill-Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1993) have
been applied to forensic evidence as well as expert testimony. Discuss the impact of
these rules regarding forensic evidence in criminal cases.
Most criminal cases are affirmed on appeal because of the error rule and the standards
of review applied by appellate courts.
In Barker v. Wingo, the Court held that the right to a ____________________ trial is
relative, not absolute.
Because the payment to court-appointed counsel or public defenders is very low,
discuss the quality of counsel often available to indigent defendants. What type of
lawyer engages in court-appointed defense work?
Researchers consistently find that jurisdictions with larger caseloads have higher rates
of plea bargaining than jurisdictions with smaller caseloads.
The doctrine of applying the Bill of Rights to the states through the Fourteenth
Amendment is known as ____________________.
____________________ courts are divided into major and lower courts.
Appeals courts hear evidence at trials.
Today, most courts (even at the trial court level) routinely employ professional court
administrators.
What is an Alford plea? Explain what it is, whether or not it is constitutional, and why
this type of plea has its critics.
Lower trial courts frequently conduct the initial proceedings in felony cases.
Guilty intent or guilty mind is also known as ____________________.
The federal speedy-trial law is designed to protect the interests of society; that is, a
speedy trial is viewed as an important objective irrespective of whether the defendant’s
interests are in jeopardy.
Domestic violence laws began to change as society started to view domestic violence as
an important social issue. Discuss the impact of such changes.
A prosecutor is a lawyer as well as a(n) ___________________ of the court, whose
primary responsibility is to see that justice is served.
The formal of judges extend throughout the criminal court process.
Often, it is federalnot state or localofficials who prosecute corrupt local officials.
In federal courts, defendants are entitled to a 12-person jury unless the parties agree in
writing to a smaller jury.
Explain the contemporaneous objection rule and its impact on appeals.