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.
What is it called when an offender is sentenced to a brief jail or prison sentence and
then release on probation?
a. intensive supervision probation
b. shock probation
c. probation
d. parole
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevents the prosecution from seeking to
have a “not guilty” verdict overturned on appeal?
a. the Fifth Amendment
b. the Fourth Amendment
c. the Eighth Amendment
d. the Sixth Amendment
What form of judicial selection requires judges to face a retention ballot after a short
time in office?
a. partisan election
b. gubernatorial appointment
c. merit selection
d. legislative appointment
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 one charge and dismisses
the rest this is called
a. charge bargaining.
b. count bargaining.
c. sentence bargaining
d. limit bargaining.
One of the principal activities of this organization is the education and training of
federal judicial personnel, including judges, probation officers, clerks of court, and
pretrial service officers.
a. Federal Judicial Center
b. Administrative Office of the Courts
c. FBI Judicial Academy at Quantico
d. Judicial Personnel and Training Section of the Judicial Conference
The most important factor in setting normal penalties is the
a. seriousness of the offense.
b. prior record of the offender.
c. persuasiveness of the prosecutor.
d. skill of the defense attorney.
Which of the following is one type of intermediate sanctions?
a. electronic monitoring
b. work release
c. prison
d. parole
What is the appellate standard for questions of law?
a. clear error
b. harmless error
c. deference
d. de novo
What percent of federal judges had prior government experience?
a. Less than 10
b. 33
c. 50
d. 80
Which of the following statements is true of many victims and witnesses?
a. they are eager to become involved in the criminal justice process
b. they are indifferent to becoming involved in the criminal justice process
c. they are reluctant to become involved in the criminal justice process
d. they are unnecessary in the criminal justice process
CASE 13.1
Throughout most of our nation’s history, the three broad constitutional provisions
dealing with trial by jury had little applicability in state courts. The U.S. Constitution
applied only to trials in federal courts. These practices changed dramatically, however,
when the Supreme Court decided Duncan v. Louisiana (1968), ruling that the jury
provisions of the Sixth Amendment were incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment to apply to state courts, as well. Subsequent decisions grappled
with the problem of defining the precise meaning of the right to trial by jury. The most
important issues concerned the scope of the right to a jury trial, the size of the jury, and
unanimous versus nonunanimous verdicts.
Calvin is arrested for breaking and entering and assault with a weapon. If convicted, he
faces a potential sentence total of five years in prison or 10 years on probation. His
attorney recommends he take a plea bargain offering him one year in prison. If he goes
to trial which of the following rights does he have?
a. jurors at his trial must reach a unanimous verdict
b. the jury at his trial must have at least 8 members
c. the media will not be allowed in the courtroom
d. the right to a jury trial
CASE 6.2
Ethical issues facing prosecutors are very different from those confronting defense
attorneys because prosecutors do not represent individual clients. Prosecutors often
define their jobs as representing victims of crime and the police, but these are not
typically considered to fit under the attorney”client relationship. Rather, the client of the
prosecutor is the government, and for this reason prosecutors are given special
responsibilities.
When prosecutors are not acting as the government’s advocate in some judicial phase of
the criminal justice process, what kind of immunity do they enjoy?
a. Absolute immunity.
b. Comprehensive immunity.
c. Partial immunity.
d. Qualified immunity.
What type of sentence offers some of the benefits of juvenile and adults courts but also
allows for rehabilitation and redemption?
a. reverse sentencing
b. minimum mandatory sentencing
c. automatic sentencing
d. blended sentencing
What happens with most complaints about attorney misconduct?
a. the complainant receives a settlement
b. the defendant loses in court
c. the attorney is disbarred
d. they are dismissed due to insufficient evidence
What is another name for a trial court of limited jurisdiction?
a. inferior court
b. district court
c. superior court
d. circuit court
Advocates of the due process model believe the death penalty is
a. immoral
b. moral
c. appropriate
d. effective
The nineteenth century British criminologist who popularized deterrence theory was
a. August Comte.
b. John Stuart Mill.
c. Isaac Newton.
d. Jeremy Bentham.
Which of the following types of punishment has figured prominently in studies of racial
discrimination in sentencing?
a. Parole
b. capital punishment
c. probation
d. fines
The concept of assembly-line justice stresses
a. the high volume of cases in courthouses.
b. the emphasis on moving the docket.
c. the low volume of cases in courthouses.
d. the high volume of cases in courthouses and the emphasis on moving the docket.
Although the role of federal government in the criminal justice system raises a lot of
debate at the national level, crime remains primarily the responsibility of what entity?
a. state government
b. local government
c. national government
d. state and local government
In contrast to federal judges, most state judges are:
a. appointed by the governor
b. appointed by the state legislature
c. appointed by the state supreme court
d. elected
The FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons are all part of
which entity?
a. Department of Justice
b. The U.S. Attorney General
c. The Federal Judiciary
d. Homeland Security
Which of the following courtroom actors works mostly behind the scenes?
a. law clerks
b. bailiffs
c. lawyers
d. court administrators
What is a legal yardstick measuring the sufficiency of evidence?
a. reasonable doubt.
b. totally sure.
c. absolute certainty.
d. insufficient evidence.
What is the name of automatic discovery for certain types of evidence, without the
necessity for motions and court orders?
a. reciprocal disclosure.
b. informal disclosure.
c. formal disclosure.
d. imperfect disclosure.
What percent of federal judges African-American?
a. approximately 11%
b. approximately 31%
c. approximately 21%
d. approximately 41%
Who is the most prestigious member of the courtroom workgroup?
a. the judge
b. the defense attorney
c. the prosecutor
d. the court clerk
CASE 11.1
Smith is sleeping when the police knock on his door to question him regarding a
kidnapping and rape. The police take him to the station because he doesn”t want to talk
in front of his wife. He is put in a lineup but the victim is unable to identify him. In the
interrogation room, Smith asked how he did, and the Detective replies, “You flunked.”
After two hours of questioning, he signed a written confession admitting guilt. At his
subsequent trial the only prosecution exhibit was the signed confession. The jury
quickly returned guilty verdicts for kidnapping and rape.
If Smith appealed his conviction, what Supreme Court case would most likely apply?
a. Weeks v. United States (1914).
b. Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
c. Mapp v. Ohio (1961).
d. Katz v. United States (1967)
CASE 17.2
The nature of the juvenile court process remained unchanged until the 1960s. When the
Warren Court began to scrutinize procedures in adult criminal courts, its attention
turned also to juvenile courts. In a groundbreaking decision, the Supreme Court held in
In re Gault (1967) that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applied to
juvenile court proceedings. The court emphasized that “under our Constitution the
condition of being a boy does not justify a kangaroo court.”
What Court was responsible for the Landmark decision In re Gault?
a. The Warren Court.
b. The Burger Court.
c. The Rehnquist Court.
d. The Robert’s Court.
CASE 1.1
The creation of “designer drugs” is outpacing the ability of society to enact laws to
prohibit them. Many of these substances have negative side effects, ranging from
violent behavior to death.
Which of the following responses to the problem would best fit the “due process”
philosophy?
a. Government takes steps to limit the availability of ingredients used in the
manufacture of designer drugs.
b. Pass legislation and increase enforcement efforts to send a message of “zero
tolerance” to those who manufacture, sell, and use designer drugs.
c. Dramatic increase in the use of drug courts to divert first-time offenders and defer
prosecution.
d. Design public awareness campaign to warn potential users of the serious legal
ramifications if they are caught with the drugs.
The three main components of the American Criminal Justice system are:
a. federal, state and local
b. judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys
c. police, courts, and corrections
d. probation, prison, and parole
CASE 4.2
At the second level of state courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction, usually
referred to as major trial courts. An estimated 3,200 major trial courts in the 50 states
and the District of Columbia are staffed by more than 11,000 judges (LaFountain et al.
2008). The term general jurisdiction means that these courts have the legal authority to
decide all matters not specifically delegated to lower courts.
Between 1997 and 2012, criminal cases filed in general jurisdiction courts (primarily
felonies) increased how much?
a. 25%
b. 45%
c. 35%
d. 55%
Adherents of both the due process and crime control models have called for
a. more emphasis on rehabilitation
b. more punishment for drug offenders
c. reductions in judicial discretion
d. reductions in the use of mandatory minimums
The case of Boykin v. Alabama requires a judge to determine what?
a. whether the plea is knowing and voluntary
b. whether the defendant is guilty
c. what the sentence should be
d. the statutory maximum for the crime before accepting a plea
Discuss the rationale for and give examples of community prosecution.
Discuss why legislatures have become the principal source of law beginning in the early
20th century to the present.
One of the problems facing lower courts is inadequate financing.
A decision made by a state’s intermediate appellate court is appealed to the U.S.
Supreme Court for most cases.
_____ appellate jurisdiction concerns the cases that an appeals court may elect to hear,
but is not required to adjudicate.
The second layer of the criminal justice wedding cake consists of less felonies.
The most obvious function of appellate courts is _____ correction.
The conference in juvenile court is roughly equivalent to a trial in an adult proceeding.
What are the additional ethical constraints imposed upon judges beyond those imposed
on lawyers? What is the purpose of these codes? What are some examples of judicial
conduct which has violated these constraints?
The doctrine of stare decisis (“let the decision stand”) precludes judges from
overturning previous decisions.
Pretrial release without monetary bail is release on _____.
The Wickersham Commission (1931) defined the _____ as “the inflicting of pain,
physical or mental, to extract confessions or statements.”
Define, compare, and contrast plain error, reversible error, and harmless error.
Law in _____ approaches to solving the problem of delay can prove effective because
they focus on coordinating the activities of the key actors in the courthouse.
The trend since the 1970s has been to reduce judicial discretion in sentencing.
The Judicial Conference of the United States sets national administrative policy for the
federal judiciary.
Lack of cooperation on the part of victims of crime is referred to by scholars as indigent
cynicism.
In felonies, bail is usually first set at the initial _____ stage of the judicial process.
During a hearing on _____ motions, the defense attorney usually bears the burden of
proving that the search was illegal or that the confession was coerced.
According to Bentham, punishment based on retribution was productive.