In what hearing, does the defendant, in open court, admit to the conduct central to the
criminality of crimes charged?
a. allocution
b. Boykin
c. disposition
d. sentencing
Over the past several decades, the composition of the bench has become
a. more diverse.
b. more white.
c. less diverse.
d. more male dominated.
How do death-qualified jurors differ from regular jurors?
a. Death-qualified jurors are more likely to be male, Caucasian, politically conservative,
and middle-class.
b. Death-qualified jurors are more likely to believe in the infallibility of the criminal
justice process.
c. Death-qualified jurors aremore likely to weigh aggravating circumstances (i.e.,
arguments for death) more heavily than mitigating circumstances.
d. All of these answers are correct.
The two primary functions of appeals include error correction and
a. policy formulation
b. sentence restructuring
c. legal maneuvering
d. correctional management
Which of the following is not one of the three reasons for case attrition?
a. legal judgments
b. policy priorities
c. personal standards of justice
d. heavy caseloads
A person cited for a misdemeanor would most likely appear before
a. a court of limited jurisdiction.
b. a court of general jurisdiction.
c. a circuit court.
d. a court of common pleas.
The return of a grand jury indictment is also referred to as
a. a true bill.
b. an information.
c. a complaint.
d. an injunction.
Which of the following is billed as the world’s largest law firm?
a. Federal Bureau of Investigation
b. U.S. Department of Justice
c. U.S. State Department
d. U.S. Attorney’s Office
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.
According to the chapter, which of the following best explains why few cases receive
individual treatment?
a. discretion
b. speedy-trial laws
c. assembly-line justice
d. the dynamics of the courtroom work group
Of the following, who is the only official who works closely with police officers?
a. prosecutor
b. defense attorney
c. Judge
d. victim advocate
The party who lost in the lower court and files the first appeal is called the
a. respondent.
b. appellee.
c. appellant.
d. complainant.
What does the term “burden of production” mean?
a. It means that a prosecutor in a criminal trial must prove a fact (or facts) beyond a
reasonable doubt.
b. It means that a prosecutor in a criminal case must produce evidence to persuade a
jury to find a defendant guilty.
c. It means that a prosecutor in a criminal case must produce some evidence to justify
moving a case forward.
d. It is a legal yardstick used to measure the sufficiency of the evidence produced.
What is the last of the six customary phases in the appeals process?
a. filing a notice of appeal.
b. briefing the cases.
c. designating the record on appeal.
d. writing the opinion.
Jury consultants use mock trials to
a. test which pieces of evidence might be effective.
b. test which witnesses might be effective.
c. test which arguments might be effective.
d. test their whole case.
The questioning of potential jurors is called
a. voir dire.
b. venire.
c. sequester.
d. inquiry.
U.S. attorneys are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, the President of the
United States,
a. and chosen in district elections.
b. with the advice and consent of the U.S. Attorney General.
c. with the advice and consent of the Senate.
d. with the advice and consent of the U.S. Solicitor General.
The U.S. Department of Justice is headed by the ____________________, who is a
member of the president’s cabinet.
a. Solicitor General
b. U.S. Attorney
c. Secretary of State
d. Attorney General
Plea bargaining is arguably contrary to the concept of a(n)
a. presumption of guilt.
b. defendant’s free will.
c. adversary system of justice
d. impartial judge.
According to research in the chapter when legislators appoint judges, a person from
which group is most likely to be selected?
a. former state governors
b. former district attorneys
c. former legislators
d. trial judges of limited jurisdiction
The recent upsurge of federal criminal cases is largely attributable to the increase in
a. diversity of jurisdiction cases.
b. prosecutions for weapons offenses.
c. anti-terrorism initiatives.
d. prosecutions for drug offenses.
Why do judges engage in plea bargaining?
a. to move cases.
b. to gain leniency for the defendants.
c. to gain convictions.
d. None of these answers is correct.
CASE 1.2
Politicians have expressed their outrage at the designer drug problem by enacting
legislation targeting manufacture, sale, and possession that require mandatory minimum
sentences. The police across the country start making arrests based on this new
legislation.
Which of the following aspects of the criminal justice process exemplify “law in
action”?
a. Police Mirandize a suspect and obtain a voluntary confession.
b. At initial appearance, the defendant is advised of his rights and bail is set according
to the bond schedule.
c. The prosecutor meets with the public defender to discuss the terms of a plea
agreement.
d. Upon pleading guilty, the defendant is dissatisfied with the sentence and appeals.
Merit selection is commonly referred to as the
a. California System.
b. New York Bar System.
c. Delaware Selection Method.
d. Missouri Bar Plan.
CASE 14.2
What types of sentences should be imposed upon the guilty? Today, answers center on
prison and probation, with a hot debate over the death penalty. One can approach the
question of which penalty should be imposed upon the guilty from either a micro or a
macro perspective.
What does the micro perspective focus on?
a. The micro perspective focuses on a specific defendant convicted of a crime.
b. The micro perspective focuses on overcrowding across the country.
c. The micro perspective focuses on a specific prison.
d. The micro perspective focuses on governmental policy.
The informal and formal exchange of information between the prosecutor and the
defense attorney prior to trial is called what?
a. reciprocity
b. prosecutorial disclosure
c. discovery
d. Brady exchange
The importance of the Supreme Court is measured in terms of:
a. the cases it does not hear.
b. the sheer volume of cases that they are required to hear each year.
c. the wide-ranging impact their decisions have on all stages of the process.
d. none of these answers is correct
According to the Breyer Commission what percent of “high-profile complaints filed by
attorneys, court personnel, or public officials” were mismanaged by the federal
judiciary?
a. fewer than 10 percent
b. about 25 percent
c. 35 percent
d. close to 50 percent
A trial before a judge without a jury is called a(n)
a. informal trial
b. justice trial
c. magistrate trial
d. bench trial
Under what legal doctrine can the government intervene to protect the child if the
parents are failing in their responsibilities?
a. res ipsa loquitir.
b. ipse dixit.
c. parens patriae.
d. patriae familiae.
This Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to counsel.
a. Fourth
b. Fifth
c. Sixth
d. Eighth
Which of the following is not a member of the courtroom work group?
a. prosecutor
b. defendant
c. Judge
d. defense attorney
Which of the following statements is not true about criminal defense attorneys?
a. Most have a regular clientele.
b. Some defense attorneys rely on police officers, bail agents, and court clerks to give
their names to defendants who need counsel.
c. The private attorney’s fee in a criminal case is generally a flat fee paid in advance.
d. Most earn a modest, middle-class living.
The institutions of criminal justice in America are a system in the sense that:
a. they communicate, cooperate, and coordinate very efficiently
b. what happens in one agency or component affects other agencies and components
c. there is centralized control of all agencies within a state or the federal system
d. the U.S. Supreme Court closely controls all agencies and components
Which of the following is a major weakness of the Uniform Crime Reports?
a. The data are only available for some states.
b. It is based only on crimes reported to the police.
c. It provides information only for serious, violent offenses.
d. It only reports federal crimes.
In general, defendants have a constitutional right to a jury trial.
To defense attorneys, winning a case rarely means an acquittal.
President Obama restored the traditional role of the and seeks its rankings prior to
making a public announcement of a candidate (Neubauer and Meinhold 2013).
Discuss the role of the judge within the courtroom work group.
Defense attorneys are the most powerful members of the courtroom work group.
After a person has been arrested, a law enforcement officer must take the arrested
person before a magistrate for an arraignment.
Trial consultants are hired most often by defense attorneys.
Reciprocal disclosure by the defense during discovery is limited because the
Constitution affords certain fundamental protections to the defendant.
Criminal trials start with two presumptions: the presumption of sanity and the
presumption of innocence.
Explain the difference between a count bargain, a charge bargain, and a sentence
bargain.
In the federal court system, judges are prohibited from being involved in plea
negotiations.
What are the possible tensions that may exist between lawyers and their clients?
Overall, states in the western region of the United States impose the harshest
punishments for crime.
________________ is independently verifiable factual information that supports the
conclusion that there is a “fair probability” that a crime occurred or that a particular
person was involved in a crime.
The federal Speedy Trial Act of 1974 (amended in 1979) sets out specific times within
which the prosecutor must indict and try the case.
When the executive or the legislature selects judges, fewer district attorneys become
judges.