True / False
1. The drug court movement began in New York.
a. True
b. False
2. Appellate courts try cases.
a. True
b. False
3. The prosecution uses an adversarial procedure to obtain the truth when trying to determine guilt.
a. True
b. False
4. The U.S. Supreme Court is the only court established by constitutional mandate.
a. True
b. False
5. In Gideon v. Wainwright, the Court took the first major step on the issue of right to counsel.
a. True
b. False
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
6. The Sixth Amendment assures the right to counsel.
a. True
b. False
7. Interviewing witnesses in a criminal case is one of the duties of the prosecutor.
a. True
b. False
8. Technology in the courtroom is a controversial issue because much of the information used infringes on the rights
of the accused.
a. True
b. False
9. Plea bargaining is rare.
a. True
b. False
10. The concept of attorney competence was defined by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Strickland v.
Washington.
a. True
b. False
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
11. The U.S. Court of appeals is empowered only to hear federal cases on substantive and procedural issues
involving rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
a. True
b. False
12. Each state has one court of last resort that reviews issues of law and fact appealed from the trial courts.
a. True
b. False
13. There are specialized courts for gangs, domestic violence, guns, sex offenders and the homeless.
a. True
b. False
14. Computers are replacing judges every day by allowing the judge to video-conference into the courtroom.
a. True
b. False
15. Oneformofanindigentdefenseiswhereprivateattorney’sorprivatelawformsprovidetheirservicesforfree.
a. True
b. False
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
Multiple Choice
16. Courts of limited jurisdiction and named as such because:
a. all cases in that type of jurisdiction handle 1-2 particular types of crime, making a limited scope
b. they are restricted to hearing minor or less serious civil and criminal cases
c. they not only review fact but procedures of the case to limit judicial decision making
d. they were named this when each state was only allowed to have one court
17. Courts of general jurisdiction are also known as what?
a. Appellate courts b. Municipal courts
c. District courts d. Felony courts
18. Which of the following is false regarding appellate courts?
a. Appellate courts try cases.
b. Appellate courts review the procedures of the case to determine whether an error was made by judicial
authorities.
c. The appellate court can order a new trial.
d. The appellate court can allow the defendant to go free.
19. Courts of limited jurisdiction are most likely to handle which of the following crimes?
a. Domestic violence b. Juvenile crime
c. Shoplifting d. Traffic violations
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
20. Which of the following would not constitute a specialty court?
a. Probate court b. Circuit court
c. Drug court d. Mental health court
21. If you are charged with the crime of armed robbery, your trial would take place in which type of court?
a. A court of limited jurisdiction b. A court of general jurisdiction
c. An appellate court d. A specialty court
22. Generally, state appellate decisions are based on court transcripts, however in some instances, the felony court
will grant a new trial known as:
a. the trial de novo. b. a reaffirmation of verdict.
c. the trial de jure. d. a habeas corpus hearing.
23. The U.S. Supreme court is composed of ____ members that are ________?
a. 7; appointed for 8 year terms
b. 9; appointed for lifetime terms
c. 9; elected by the voters during the presidential election
d. 10; recommended by congress
24. The legal basis for the federal court system is found in the:
a. Judicial Act of 1789.
b. Sixth Amendment.
c. Article 3, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution.
d. Original Articles of Confederation.
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
25. Thefederalgovernments’threetieredhierarchyofcourtjurisdictionincludesallofthefollowingexcept?
a. U.S. Court of Appeals b. U.S. District Court
c. U.S. Special Jurisdiction Court d. U.S. Supreme court
26. When a jury trial is waved, the judge must
a. ask the defense to use their ethics to decide whether the defendant is guilty
b. instruct the jury to leave the court room
c. decide whether the defendant is guilty using a bench trial
d. maintain court records themselves
27. When the U.S. supreme court justices reach a split decision, the chief justice assigns a member of the majority
group to write the
a. opinion. b. issuance of legalis.
c. writ of certiorari. d. mandate of precedence.
28. Which of the following is not one of the judicial functions of a judge?
a. Considering leniency or severity requests from police and prosecutors
b. Administrative control over probation
c. Consulting with probation staff on treatment decisions
d. Drafting legislative language to be forwarded to congressional sponsors
29. Many states have adopted some form of what is known as the ____ Plan to select judges.
a. Illinois b. Missouri
c. New York d. Ohio
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
30. Which of the following is not one of the duties of a prosecutor?
a. Investigate possible violations of the law
b. Maintain administrative control over grand jury proceedings
c. Represent the government in appeals
d. Subpoena witnesses to a crime
31. In the federal system, prosecutors are appointed by whom?
a. Congress b. The Senate
c. The President d. The U.S. Supreme Court
32. All evidence points to the conclusion that prosecutorial discretion is used to:
a. influence judicial decision making in the sentencing stage.
b. influence who gets re-elected to judgeships.
c. screen out the weakest cases.
d. achieve a desirable sentence.
33. Which of the following is the most common reason for prosecutors to reject cases?
a. Due process problems b. Arrest problems
c. Evidence problems d. Interest of justice problems
34. Prosecutorial discretion is used to:
a. reduce the number of cases to trial
b. help the charging decision.
c. punish offenders.
d. impose indictment in the state court process.
35. Which of the following reasons may cause a case to be dismissed?
a. Inefficient evidence b. Interests of justice
c. Due process problems d. All the above
36. What is the duty of a defense lawyer to his client and the legal system?
a. To participate in the courtroom workgroup
b. To fully and competently defend his client
c. To engage in the pursuit of justice
d. To represent the state
37. In what 1963 landmark case did the U.S. Supreme Court rule that state courts must provide counsel to indigent
defendants in felony prosecutions?
a. Gideon v. Wainwright b. Strickland v. Washington
c. Burger v. Kemp d. Argersinger v. Hamlin
38. In what 1972 cases did the Court rule that an attorney must be provided in all criminal cases where the penalty
includes imprisonment?
a. Gideon v. Wainwright b. Strickland v. Washington
c. Burger v. Kemp d. Argersinger v. Hamlin
39. Today, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the ____ and ____ Amendments guarantee of due process of
law have been judicially interpreted together to provide the defendant with counsel by the state in all types of
criminal proceedings.
a. Fourth, Fifth b. Fifth, Fourteenth
c. Sixth, Eighth d. First, Seventh
40. Which type of indigent defense program relies on block grants given to lawyers or law firms in exchange for their
legal services on a set number of cases involving poor defendants?
a. Contract system b. Assigned counsel systems
c. Prepaid legal services d. Public defender systems
41. Which of the following statements is false regarding public versus private attorneys?
a. Conviction rates for indigent defendants with public defenders were significantly higher than for defendants
with their own attorney.
b. Sentence lengths for defendants sent to jail or prison were shorter for those with publicly financed attorneys
than those who hired counsel.
c. Of those found guilty, those represented by publicly financed attorneys were incarcerated at a higher rate
than those defendants who paid for their own legal representation.
d. Research indicates that private counsel may have a slightly better track record in some areas than public
defenders.
42. The concept of attorney competence was defined by the U.S. Supreme Court in what case?
a. Gideon v. Wainwright b. Strickland v. Washington
c. Burger v. Kemp d. Argersinger v. Hamlin
43. The first state to establish a court administrative office was ____ in 1927.
a. North Dakota b. Iowa
c. Washington d. California
44. Approximately ____ courts across the United States have videoconferencing capability.
a. 325 b. 350
c. 375 d. 400
45. What is the name of the judiciary intranet?
a. FED Net b. Court Net
c. Court TV d. J-Net
A.J.is a minority who is walking his dog in a city that has an ordinance to make sure people clean up after their dogs.
OfcourseA.J.hasneverseenthisordinanceenforcedsohejustwalksonafterhisdogfinishes.Hedoesn’tknow
thatarookiepatrolmanhasbeenwatchinghimandjustsawhimNOTcleanuphisdog’swaste.A.J.walksaround
the corner to find a whole wall of freshly painted graffiti and spray paint cans on the ground. He picks one up to put
it in the trash just as the patrolman is walking around the corner to give A.J. an ordinance violation ticket.
46. A.J. has just been arrested for destruction of property, and a municipal ordinance violation. He pleads with the
patrolman and tries to tell him that he was just attempting to clean up the neighborhood. If his case was tried, where
would it be found?
a. civil court of general jurisdiction
b. state courts of general jurisdiction
c. state courts of limited jurisdiction
d. civil courts of limited jurisdiction
47. A.J. was sentenced to the fine of $500 for the dog waste and community service hours until he removes all of the
graffiti. He is going to appeal his sentence and will appeal his case to which court?
a. appellate courts of limited jurisdiction
b. civil courts of general jurisdiction
c. appellate courts of general jurisdiction
d. state courts of general jurisdiction
48. A.J. is suing the rookie patrolman for defamation of character and racial profiling. He thinks that the patrolman
assumed that he was the perpetrator of the graffiti because he is a minority. What can a state court judge do for
A.J. in his defamation case?
a. throw the case out of court
b. reduce the sentence
c. nothing, this is a civil matter
d. get the officer to apologize
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
The Jones family lives in Washington D.C. and has a booming methamphetamine business out of their house. One
night a tree falls on their home exposing their operation to the fire department who in turn calls the police.
49. Mr. Jones has requested that a jury be present to hear this case. Where will his case be heard?
a. D.C. courts of general jurisdiction
b. U.S. District court
c. Drug court
d. Federal Circuit court
50. In deciding whether to prosecute Mr. Jones for his meth lab, the prosecutor is concerned about how the evidence
was obtained. When discussing prosecutorial discretion, where would his/her concern fall within?
a. legal issues
b. victim issues
c. resource issues
d. extra legal issues
51. Atthetrial,Mr.Jones’sprivateattorneyfailstoshowup.Becausethejudgehasabusyschedule,hemoves
forward without the attorney present. What is wrong with what the judge has done?
a. put his schedule ahead of criminal defendants
b. violated Mr. Jones 6th amendment rights
c. shown bias toward the prosecution
d. shown bias toward the defense
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
52. Mr. Jones is angry at his private attorney. He keeps him on retainer for the very reason of potential criminal action
against him and his meth business. Mr. Jones has now been placed with a public defender. One major difference
between a public and private attorney is what?
a. conviction rates
b. sentence lengths
c. quality of representation
d. cost
53. Attrial,theprosecutorinMr.Jones’casereceivesanemailthatprovidesanindexofpreviouscasesof
prosecuting meth dealers where the evidence was obtained in non-traditional ways. What can the prosecutor do
with this information?
a. present these cases as evidence
b. use it in future cases but not this one
c. video conference other prosecutors who have tried these cases
d. communicate with the police department to prosecute these other cases
Because of the budget deficit, the United States government is looking for ways to cut costs. They have
announced a plan to dissemble all State Supreme Courts or courts of last resort and have all cases appealed from
state appellate courts go directly to the United States Supreme Court.
54. What does this decision mean for those people that are on either side of the gun control debate?
a. only one side will be able to have their day in court
b. the court will be clogged with minute issues of law and backlogs of criminal cases
c. the majority opinion will become the landmark decision
d. the state supreme court judges will be employed through the federal system
55. What will the decision to dissemble all state supreme courts mean for the juries that hear the cases on that level?
a. the state supreme court will have to lay off the jury members
b. juries are not used for U.S. Supreme Court proceedings
c. only the best jurors will be selected for the U.S. Supreme Court proceedings
d. adefendant’s6th amendment rights may be violated
56. The federal court system is organized around a ____________________ hierarchy of court jurisdiction.
57. ________________Prosecution Policies require prosecutors to bring charges against domestic abusers
regardless of whether the victim participates.
58. The ____________________ is used to select judges in more than 30 states.
59. The ____________________ are the trial courts of the federal system.
60. Theoffender’srace,genderandethnicbackgroundare_____________issues?
61. The Supreme Court issues a ____________________ indicating that it has decided to hear a case.
62. Providing for more judges, diversion programs, and bail reform are solutions for the problem of
____________________.
63. If the prosecutor decides to pursue a case, the charges may later be dropped if conditions are not favorable for a
conviction in a process called ____________________.
64. ____________________ describes the decision a prosecutor makes in whether or not to prosecute a case.
65. In the ____________________ system of indigent defense, a block grant is given to a lawyer or law firm to
handle indigent defense cases.
66. Under the _____________________, the burden is on the state to prove the charges beyond a reasonable
doubt.
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
67. __________________ is a listing of private bar members who accept cases on a judge by judge, court by court,
case by case basis.
68. No-drop prosecution policies are also called__________________ prosecution.
69. In the federal system prosecutors are known as ___________________ and are appointed by the president.
70. The ____________________ is a way of picking judges through non-partisan elections as a way to ensure that
judges adhere to the high standards of judicial performance.
71. Discuss the rationale behind specialty courts and how such courts fit into the larger structure of the state court
system.
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
72. Describe the U.S. Supreme Court and explain how a case becomes heard in this Court.
73. Discuss the legal basis for our right to counsel.
74. Explain the selection and functions of a trial judge.
75. Discuss, using examples, the major prosecutorial tasks of a prosecutor.
76. Using examples, elaborate on the types of factors which affect the prosecutor’s discretionary decision-making
process.
77. Discuss the major functions of a defense attorney in the justice process.
78. Detail the various forms of indigent defense systems used in the U.S.
79. Using examples, elaborate on the expanding role of technology in the court process.
80. Discuss how judicial attitudes may extend beyond the courtroom.
Chapter 07 : Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense