Which of the following statements is true about drug courts?
a. The first drug court was in New York City.
b. These courts assume that treatment will reduce the likelihood that convicted drug
offenders will reoffend.
c. Judges who oversee these courts take a “hands-off” approach to offender monitoring.
d. These courts emphasize the speedy administration of punishment.
Heavy caseloads of the federal courts result in what problem(s)?
a. burdens those who work in the courts
b. delay cases for litigants
c. burdens those who work in the courts and delays cases for litigants
d. none of these answers is correct
What plea has the same consequences in criminal court as a guilty plea?
a. de jure
b. de facto
c. non compos mentos
d. nolo contendere
Which of the following is the highest burden of proof?
a. Clear and convincing evidence
b. Preponderance of evidence
c. Probable cause
d. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt
A discretionary decision based on decision makers’ values and attitudes reflects
a. legal judgments.
b. policy priorities.
c. personal philosophies.
d. judicial restraints.
What concept is directly related to the reality that the criminal courthouse is not a single
organization but rather a collection of separate institutions that gather in a common
workplace?
a. discretion
b. mutual interdependence
c. assembly-line justice
d. legal ethics
Nationwide, approximately what percentage of violent crimes are committed by
relatives, friends, or acquaintances of the victim?
a. 5%
b. 20%
c. 50%
d. 90%
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.
“An eye for an eye” is an example of a punishment based on
a. retribution.
b. rehabilitation.
c. incapacitation
d. deterrence.
How many states currently use election by legislature to choose judges?
a. none
b. one
c. two
d. three
At which of the following stages in the criminal justice process is an indigent defendant
provided counsel paid by the government?
a. at the time of arrest
b. during a preliminary hearing
c. during a grand jury hearing
d. when filing a discretionary appeal
Most states consider children to be juveniles until they reach what birthday?
a. 17
b. 18
c. 19
d. 21
Factors such as young age, lack of mental capacity, and lower social stability may have
an influence on sentencing and are called
a. mitigating factors.
b. positive and negative sanctions.
c. latent and patent considerations.
d. exacerbating and exculpatory factors.
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.
Most people in the United States learn about the ways in which criminal cases are
processed through the courts from what source?
a. college
b. the media
c. internet blogs
d. government informational bulletins
Federal judges are appointed for how long?
a. four-year terms
b. six-year terms
c. ten-year terms
d. life
If the grand jury finds probable cause to hold the defendant for trial it returns a
a. warrant
b. no true bill
c. true bill
d. Alford bill
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
What is the term used to explain why few cases receive individual treatment?
a. courthouse dynamics.
b. the courtroom work group.
c. plea bargaining.
d. assembly-line justice.
Which of the following three reasons for case attrition directly involves the courtroom
work group?
a. legal judgments
b. policy priorities
c. personal standards of justice
d. None of these involve the courtroom work group
Mens rea refers to the:
a. guilty act
b. body of the crime
c. scene of the crime
d. guilty mind
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.
In most communities, the lower-court judges have adopted what kind of bail schedule?
a. A fixed bail schedule.
b. A sliding bail schedule.
c. A fee bail schedule.
d. A day fines bail schedule.
CASE 8.2
A U.S. district judge pled guilty to obstruction of justice for lying to judges who
investigated sexual misconduct complaints. Sentenced to 33 months in federal prison in
May 2009, the judge attempted to retire from the bench, thereby allowing him to draw
his salary. He was impeached and resigned from the bench in disgrace, effectively
ending his impeachment trial.
If the proceedings went to trial who would conduct the trial?
a. the House of Representatives
b. the Senate
c. the Supreme Court
d. the judicial commission
What concept dominated thinking about sentencing throughout much of the 20th
century?
a. Retribution
b. rehabilitation
c. Incapacitation
d. Deterrence
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.
Inconsistencies resulting from the decision making process are called
a. disparities
b. discrimination
c. aggravators
d. mitigators
CASE 6.3
Prosecutors spend most of their time working directly with other members of the
courtroom work group. Even when interviewing witnesses or conducting legal research,
the prosecutor is anticipating the reactions of judges and defense attorneys. Thus, the
activities of prosecutors can be understood only within the setting of the courtroom
work group (Worden 1990).
Prosecutors control the flow of information about
a. cases.
b. defendants.
c. defense attorneys.
d. appeals.
In what type of plea bargain does the defendant plead guilty to a less serious offense
than the one charged?
a. sentence bargaining
b. charge bargaining
c. defense bargaining
d. prosecution bargaining
The largest category of juvenile cases is
a. delinquency.
b. status offenses.
c. children in need of supervision.
d. none of these answers is correct.
Delinquency cases begin with a referral. Most referrals come from
a. parents unable to control their children.
b. teachers and other school officials (e.g., guidance counselors and principals).
c. arrests made by law enforcement personnel.
d. health and human services personnel.
The United States operates under the adversary system of law, characterized by which
of the following important principles?
a. Accusations of criminal conduct would not be raised against a defendant unless there
was some certainty of guilt.
b. That two parties approaching the facts from entirely different perspectives offers the
best chance at uncovering the truth.
c. Obtaining the truth is paramount regardless of the methods employed in uncovering
it.
d. That punishment should be swift and certain.
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.
Which of the following is not one of the exceptions to the warrant requirement?
a. Searches incident to lawful arrest.
b. Motor vehicle searches.
c. Consent searches.
d. Profile searches.
Which of the following is true about celebrated cases?
a. they are atypical.
b. they are typical.
c. they are a good example of how the court operates.
d. all of these answers are true of celebrated cases.
In 1968 Congress created what position to alleviate the workload of U.S. District Courts
and to replace the former position of U.S. commissioner?
a. U.S. magistrate judges
b. U.S. attorneys
c. U.S. bankruptcy judges
d. U.S. circuit justices
The U.S. _____ specifies that the President of the United States has the power to
nominate judges with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The preliminary hearing is a formal judicial proceeding preside over by a judge or
_____.
What technique do jury consultants use to help attorneys develop convincing trial
presentations? What does the research generally show with regard to the effectiveness
of jury consultants?
One of the hardships victims and witnesses face while participating in the criminal
court process is trial _____.
A trial by a judge only, without a jury is called a(n) _____ trial.
The term “dual court system” refers to separate state and federal courts.
Compare and contrast the tasks of trial and appellate courts.
The judge is generally the most influential official of the court house actors.
One of the major reasons for case attrition is policy priorities.
A guilty plea involves _____ of many constitutional rights.
Law in action expresses a strong preference for bail.
A U.S. attorney is nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and serves
during “good behavior.”
The same differences of opinion about crime that characterize society as a whole
likewise divide courthouse actors.
Define, discuss, compare, and contrast sentencing disparity and sentencing
discrimination.
Plea negotiations are governed by informal understandings of what sentence is
appropriate for a given type of defendant.
All errors are subject to the harmless error rule except plain errors.
The prejudicial effects of pretrial publicity can sometimes be overcome by a change of
_____.
Explain why few cases go to trial but most defendants plead guilty.
_____ model advocates worry that plea bargaining results in excessively lenient
sentences.
In U.S. v. Booker (2005) the U.S. Supreme Court held that the federal sentencing
guidelines were unconstitutional, but allowed judges to continue to use them in a(n)
_____ capacity.