The due process model of criminal justice believes the death penalty should be
abolished because
a. it is morally wrong for the state to take a life.
b. it is legally wrong for the state to take a life.
c. it is emotionally wrong for the state to take a life.
d. it is spiritually wrong for the state to take a life.
When government prosecutors file an in rem asset forfeiture proceeding, and the
property at issue is seized, what must the owner of the property do to get his property
back?
a. The burden of proof is on the government that the property is subject to
forfeiture–the owner does not need to do anything.
b. The owner must show that the property was not used illegally.
c. File a countersuit alleging a Fourth Amendment violation of the right against
unreasonable seizures
d. Nothing. These types of proceedings have been declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court.
A defendant’s guilty plea must be
a. intelligent and voluntary.
b. exculpatory and sensate.
c. inculpatory and cognitive.
d. volitional and exculpatory.
Which of the following is notone ofthe three major factors influencing bargaining and
discretion?
a. the presumption of factual guilt.
b. the costs and risks of trial to all parties.
c. the question of what sentence to impose upon the guilty.
d. the impact of the plea on the victim.
CASE 13.2
Before the first word of testimony, trials pass through the critical stage of jury selection.
Juries are chosen in a process that combines random selection with deliberate choice.
Jury selection occurs in three stages: compiling a master list, summoning the venire,
and conducting voir dire. Whether these processes actually produce fair and impartial
juries has been the subject of much concern.
Basing the master jury list on voter registration tends to exclude which of the
following?
a. the poor
b. the young
c. racial minorities
d. all of these answers are correct
Sentencing discrimination exists when
a. some illegitimate attribute is associated with the sentencing outcome after all legally
relevant variables have been considered.
b. judges focus their attention on the seriousness of the crime and the prior record of the
defendant.
c. offenders who commit dissimilar crimes receive different sentences.
d. offenders with more serious prior records end up in prison, while those with less
serious records end up on probation.
How did the U.S. Supreme Court overturn stare decisis in Roper v. Simmons (2005)?
a. The Court ruled it was unconstitutional to allow the execution of a person under the
age of 16 at the time of his/her crime.
b. The Court ruled that the Eight Amendment forbids the imposition of the death
penalty for offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crime was committed.
c. It mandated deinstitutionalization of status offenders.
d. The Court ruled that juveniles are entitled to all the due process guarantees provided
to adult offenders.
Which of the following was not a conclusion of the study conducted by the National
Center for State Courts on the effectiveness of public defenders?
a. Attorneys for indigent defendants resolved their cases more expeditiously than
private attorneys.
b. Attorneys for indigent defendants gained as many favorable outcomes as
privately-retained attorneys.
c. Attorneys for indigent defendants were as experienced as prosecuting attorneys.
d. Attorneys for indigent defendants gained more acquittals than privately- retained
attorneys.
Michael Nifong, an assistant district attorney in North Carolina, charged three members
of the Duke lacrosse team with sexually assaulting a woman. The charges against the
men were eventually dismissed. Nifrong, however, was disbarred after the North
Carolina Bar Association charged him with
a. lying to the judge.
b. withholding key DNA evidence from the defense.
c. making inflammatory statements to the public.
d. all of these answers are correct.
Executive branch influence on punishment is exercised through
a. mandatory minimum and determinate sentencing schemes.
b. restorative justice programs.
c. parole boards and pardons.
d. common law writs.
All members of the courtroom work group have a common interest in
a. collecting fees.
b. avoiding unnecessary trials.
c. appearing tough on crime.
d. reducing jail overcrowding.
The United States has a dual court system consisting of:
a. district and superior courts.
b. trial and appellate courts.
c. criminal and civil courts.
d. state and federal courts.
Federal judges may be removed from office
a. through impeachment procedures.
b. through a recall election.
c. by presidential decree.
d. by the judicial councils, an administrative arm of each U.S. Court of Appeals.
Which of the following is not an element of “law on the books”?
a. legal duties of the main actors
b. structure of the courts
c. careful use of discretion
d. steps in the criminal justice process
In this type of plea agreement the defendant pleads guilty to a charge in the indictment
in exchange for other charges in the indictment being dropped.
a. charge bargain
b. count bargain
c. reduction bargain
d. nolo contendere
Which of the following statements is true about fines?
a. The imposition of a fine is one of the oldest and also one of the most widely used
forms of punishment.
b. In the United States, fines are likely to be given to offenders convicted of felonies.
c. In the United States, the amount of the fine is based on both the gravity of the offense
and the offender’s income.
d. Violent offenders are unlikely to be fined in either the United States or in Western
Europe.
CASE 15.1
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, an unusual political coalition developed between
liberals and conservatives. Both sides found considerable fault in existing sentencing
practices. Although their reasons reflected fundamentally different concerns, liberals
and conservatives defined the problem in similar terms: The criminal laws permitted too
much latitude in sentencing, providing judges with little or no guidance on how to
determine the proper sentence for each individual case.
Which of the following is true for both liberals and conservatives regarding changes to
sentencing structures?
a. they sought greater predictability in sentencing.
b. they sought harsher sentencing.
c. they sought more lenient in sentencing.
d. they sought to take sentencing away from judges and give it to legislators.
Informal prosecutorial disclosure stems from
a. a long-held courthouse theory that an advance glimpse at the prosecutor’s case
encourages a plea of guilty.
b. sympathy for the defendant.
c. fear of lawsuits.
d. fear of losing a case.
Which is true of “the law in action”?
a. Most defendants have hired private defense counsel
b. Most defendants take their case to trial
c. Most defendants agree to a guilty plea
d. Judges make sentencing decisions with almost complete autonomy
Which of the following is not true regarding case processing for celebrated (i.e.,
high-profile) cases?
a. Celebrated cases are most likely to be broadcast on television, with some cable
stations offering instant analysis and critique.
b. Celebrated cases have a tremendous impact on perceptions of criminal justice.
c. Celebrated cases highlight the public’s worst fearsthe rich often get off scot-free
because they can afford an expensive attorney.
d. Celebrated cases, while unusual given those charged with law violation, reflect how
the courts operate on a day-to-day basis.
Juvenile courts frequently deal with
a. waived or certified children
b. transferred and indicted children
c. children in need of supervision
d. forfeited or mandated children
These motions contend that police conducted an illegal search/seizure or obtained a
confession in violation of the defendant’s constitutional rights.
a. motion to strike
b. motion to vacate
b. motion to suppress
d. motion to dismiss
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 can influence the decisions of defense attorneys and
a. defendants.
b. other attorneys.
c. public.
d. judges.
The traditional legal rule regarding confessions is that confessions
a. may be physically coerced.
b. must be free and voluntary.
c. may be psychologically coerced.
d. may be obtained by any means necessary.
Often, personal standards of justice are based on what kind of assessment on the part of
the prosecutor that the case is not as serious as the legal charge suggests?
a. critical
b. obnoxious
c. organizational
d. subjective
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).
Who is the most important member of the courtroom work group?
a. The prosecutor.
b. The judge.
c. The court clerk.
d. The stenographer.
Which U.S. Supreme Court case held that police must inform suspects of their rights
prior to custodial interrogation?
a. U.S. v. Miller
b. Texas v. Cobb
c. Miranda v. Arizona
d. Mapp v. Ohio
Appeals from criminal convictions in the U.S. District Courts constitute ______ of the
workload of the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
a. less than 10 percent
b. about 29 percent
c. 43 percent
d. over 50 percent
The United States Constitution specifies that all Article III federal judges are to be
chosen by which form of selection?
a. executive appointment
b. partisan elections
c. bipartisan elections
d. merit selection
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.
According to research in the chapter when in both elective and merit selection systems,
a person from which group is the most likely to be selected?
a. former legislators
b. former district attorneys
c. former public defenders
d. former private attorneys
A guilty plea where the defendant still maintains innocence is called a(n)
___________________ plea.
During trial, attorneys must make timely objections to the judge’s rulings on points of
law, or the objection will be deemed waived. This is called the
a. the contemporaneous objection rule
b. the off-the-record objection rule
c. the contemporary objection rule
d. the on-the-record objection rule
CASE 7.2
Is it enough to have a lawyer? Must the lawyer also be competent and effective? The
Supreme Court has recognized the effective assistance of counsel as essential to the
Sixth Amendment guarantee (McMann v. Richardson 1970).
What standard was applied in the Court’s most significant holding in 1984 as the proper
criterion to be applied in making a determination of the ineffectiveness of counsel?
a. an “objective standard of reasonableness.”
b. a ‘subjective standard of reasonableness.”
c. a “partial standard of reasonableness.”
d. a “qualified standard of reasonableness.”
CASE 5.2
Court jurisdiction structure are intangible concepts but courthouses are concrete. From
the outside, courthouses appear to be imposing government buildings, but on the inside
they are beehives of activity. Courthouses are places where you find lawyers arguing
before juries, talking to their clients, and conversing with one another. But courthouses
also employ numerous nonlawyers who perform vital roles; without clerks and
probation officers, bail agents and bailiffs, courthouses could not function.
Who controls the scheduling of cases and keeps the judge apprised of the relevant
details of the case?
a. The district attorney.
b. The bailiff.
c. The prosecutor.
d. The clerk of court.
Discuss, define, compare and contrast discovery rules for criminal and civil
proceedings. What makes discovery so important in criminal proceedings and why is
exculpatory evidence especially crucial?
How do arrests made by the police impact the criminal court process?
The single most important Supreme Court case with respect to juvenile justice is In re
Gault. Briefly describe the case and its impact on the juvenile justice system.
Judges are appointed by executives, elected by the voters, or appointed through a merit
selection process. The various selection systems produce judges with very similar
backgrounds, including local ties and past political involvement. No evidence exists
that one selection system systematically produces “better” or “worse” judges than
another, although research does reveal some differences in judicial approaches to
decision making. Describe the system you believe is best and provide support for your
argument.
Grand juries decide the guilt or innocence for defendants charged with felony offenses.
In Brown v. Mississippi, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that confessions obtained as a
result of physical torture were inadmissible in court as they violated the essential
elements of ________________.
__________ are agreements between two or more persons involving a promise
supported by mutual obligation.
The Sixth Amendment provides for the right to counsel in “all criminal prosecutions,”
so it is not limited to the trial itself.
Before a suspect in police custody is interrogated, the suspect must be informed of
his/her rights under the Amendment’s Self-Incrimination Clause.
A defendant is not required to prove him or herself innocent.
The hallmark of work groups is ____________________ of behavior. This is the
product of shared norms about how each member should behave and what decisions are
desirable.
The federal government and one-third of the states have abolished parole board
authority to release offenders.
The ____________________ is the national lawyers’ association.
An attorney’s objections to a judge’s rulings on points of law during a criminal trial
have no bearing on subsequent appeals.
Explain the three main methods of judicial selection.
Assistant prosecutors are often judged not on how many cases they win, but on how
few they ____________________.
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 turnover rate among assistant district attorneys is relatively low.