A person who has been ruled insane prior to trial can still be tried and convicted, but
cannot be executed prior to regaining sanity.
Under the PATRIOT Act of 2001, wiretaps must be tied to a specific phone number.
Government has an interest in protecting children under its parens patriae role.
Prosecutors only have to prove that the defendant does not own the property, not that it
belonged to a specific person
Under RICO, the government cannot be a corrupt organization.
Attorney-client privilege is a defense to contempt.
Contempt is conduct that brings the authority and administration of the law into
disrespect or that embarrasses or obstructs the court’s discharge of its duties.
Internet Service Providers must hold e-mail for 90 days once a law enforcement agency
informs them the e-mail may be part of an investigation.
Currently, the Right to Counsel is extended to anyone accused of a state or federal
misdemeanor.
Treason is not defined in the Constitution.
The rule that a death which occurs by accident or chance during the course of the
commission of a felony will be classified as first degree murder is called the
“Unintentional Murder Rule.”
A murder that is committed out of necessity or duty without any criminal intent is called
excusable homicide.
Child pornography is only illegal if it fails the Miller test.
In order for a person to be convicted of first-degree murder, the jury must find that
he/she had intended to kill the victim.
The crime of theft generally requires only the taking of someone else’s property.
In capital cases, attorneys can exclude jurors who are opposed to the death penalty.
Officers must quickly obtain a search warrant to obtain evanescent evidence.
Two or more people who agree to commit a crime constitute a criminal conspiracy.
Most homicides in the U.S. involve guns.
Arson as a political act is protected under the First Amendment.
A crime that punishes a person for mowing their lawn on Tuesdays, even on those
Tuesdays occurring before the law was passed, is an example of a Bill of Attainder.
A defendant has the Right to Counsel at the arraignment, at preliminary hearings,
during most police interrogations, during a lineup, at trial, and at sentencing.
Rape Shield laws prevent prosecutors from revealing the defendant’s sexual past.
An essential element of kidnapping is that the kidnapper demand a ransom.
Infanticide is the killing of a young or newborn child.
Consent is never a defense to incest.
If a person cuts you off on the highway and then makes an inappropriate hand gesture in
your direction, and you then follow him to his place of business and shoot him (causing
him to die), you can legally claim to have done so in the heat of passion.
Consent is always a defense to rape.
Impeachment is an indictment of a federal official charging him/her with “treason,
bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanors” with the purpose of removing the person
from office.
Defendants can have video surveillance evidence dismissed as an invasion of privacy.
The most commonly used method of execution today is the electric chair.
Because the law recognizes only husband-wife privilege, legally married same sex
couples do not enjoy the same privilege.
At Common Law, the sheriff was authorized to conscript jurors from those passing by.
The founding fathers never intended for us to use the death penalty as a form of
punishment for criminal behavior. We believe this because there is no mention of the
death penalty in the actual text of the Constitution.
Mentally ill defendants in the federal system who are only competent to stand trial
when they are taking their medication may:
A) legally evade prosecution forever by refusing to take their medication.
B) be forced to take their medication following a competency hearing.
C) have their trials continue despite their incapacity, but such incapacity could be the
basis of an appeal
D) have their trials continue despite their incapacity, but they may not use their
incapacity as the basis of an appeal.
E) both B and D
Which of the following statements is true concerning the difference between federal and
state juries?
A) Federal juries always consist of twelve members, while some state juries may be as
small as six.
B) Federal juries always require a unanimous verdict, while some state juries do not.
C) Federal juries hear cases concerning federal law violations, while state juries hear
cases of alleged state law violations.
D) All of the above are true.
E) None of the above are true.
Which of the following are necessary to prove a “heat of passion” defense?
A) There must be adequate provocation.
B) The defendant and victim must have been romantically involved.
C) There must have been no opportunity to cool off.
D) There must be a causal connection between the provocation, the rage, anger, and the
fatal act.
E) A, B, and D are correct.
In order for something to be law, it must:
A) make sense.
B) have the approval of the citizens.
C) be obeyed.
D) be created by a government.
E) all of the above
Which of the following is NOT true?
A) Only in cases that would create a manifest injustice if the defendant were allowed to
go free, does the federal government prosecute an individual who has already been tried
and convicted or acquitted of an act that is a state crime and also a federal crime.
B) Defendants can be compelled to provide some forms of physical evidence that can
be used against them at trial.
C) Police who have obtained a valid warrant may search property on tribal lands.
D) If a search warrant is obtained and used, and later shown to have been flawed in
some way, the police may not use the evidence obtained even though they took that
evidence in good faith.
E) To meet Constitutional standards, a search warrant must describe specifically “the
place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.”
Feminist-Critical Legal Theory:
A) argues that women should be given lighter prison sentences than men to reflect that
disproportionate amount of discrimination against women in society.
B) argues that laws made by women would lead to fewer incidences of violence, war,
and famine.
C) was founded by Gloria Steinem.
D) takes the perspectives of women into account when developing, interpreting, and
applying the law.
E) was illegal in the U.S. until the early 20th century.
Parents may be responsible for their children’s crimes if:
A) the parent allows the child to take the family car while knowing the child does not
have a license to operate the vehicle.
B) the parent owns a gun but does not lock it up and the child uses the weapon.
C) the parent leaves illegal drugs within easy reach and the child sells the drugs to a
classmate.
D) Parents are never responsible for their children’s criminal acts.
E) A, B and C are all correct.
To get a conviction on a hate crime, the prosecutor must:
a. prove the defendant committed the underlying crime and was motivated by bias by a
preponderance of the evidence.
b. prove the defendant committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt and that the
defendant was motivated by bias by a preponderance of the evidence.
c. prove that the defendant committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt to the jury
and prove bias motivation by a preponderance of evidence to the satisfaction of the
judge.
d. prove that the defendant committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt to the jury
and prove bias motivation beyond a reasonable doubt to the judge.
e. prove that the defendant committed crime and was motivated by bias beyond a
reasonable doubt to the jury.
When an elderly person comes to believe he or she has no choice but to accept the
abuse from a caregiver, that person suffers from:
A) post traumatic stress disorder
B) cowardice.
C) elder abuse syndrome.
D) battered wife syndrome.
E) battered geezer syndrome.
Which of the following is/are true about dying declarations?
A) Dying declarations are never admissible because the person making the statement
cannot be cross-examined
B) Dying declarations are never admissible because of the hearsay rule.
C) The person hearing the dying declaration can testify as to what was said, but not the
statement’s truthfulness.
D) Dying declarations are exceptions to the hearsay rule
E) Both C and D are true.
At a preliminary hearing:
A) the prosecution presents evidence.
B) the prosecution must show probable cause to hold the defendant for trial.
C) the defense may ask to have the charges dropped.
D) A, B, and C.
E) A and B only.
If the government fails to give a defendant a prompt arraignment:
A) the charges will be dropped, because receiving a prompt arraignment is part of each
citizen’s right to a speedy trial.
B) all statements made by the defendant in custody will be suppressed by the court.
C) the defendant gets free representation even if he can afford a lawyer.
D) the defendant has a private cause of action against the prosecutor.
E) None of the above statements are true.
Which one of the following options does NOT describe the Right to Privacy?
A) It was first discussed by Justice Brandeis in 1927 as “the right to be left alone.”
B) It is not explicitly given in the U.S. Constitution.
C) It is derived from the combination of other Constitutional Amendments and previous
case law.
D) It is provided for directly in the Fourteenth Amendment.
E) It has provided the legal basis for combating laws that discriminate against
homosexuals.
The twelve men and women chosen to determine a defendant’s guilt or innocence in a
trial are called a:
A) dicastery
B) grand jury
C) petit jury
D) soup du jury
E) none of the above
Defacing property is also known as:
A) criminal mischief.
B) malicious mischief.
C) arson.
D) theft.
E) A and B.
A plea agreement is between:
A) a prosecutor and a defense attorney.
B) a prosecutor and a judge.
C) a prosecutor and a defendant.
D) a judge and a defendant.
E) a defense attorney and a defendant.
Which items would be admitted into evidence for the defense under a rape shield law?
A) An orgy the victim participated in ten years before the alleged rape
B) An orgy the victim participated in the week before the alleged rape that the alleged
assailant knew nothing about
C) Nude photos of the victim she voluntarily sent to the alleged assailant’s cell phone
hours before the alleged rape
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Embezzlement differs from other types of theft because:
A) it does not involve entering the property of another.
B) it is not a crime in all states.
C) prosecutors do not have to prove the thief took and carried away the property.
D) the thief does not use force.
E) all of the above
Which of the following is NOT an example of cruel and unusual punishment by today’s
standards?
A) forcing multiple inmates to share a small prison cell by giving them bunked beds to
sleep in
B) execution of a criminal who has been assessed as being mentally retarded
C) forcing a defendant to take medication that was never prescribed by a doctor for any
documented illness so that the defendant will be more lucid during trial
D) executing a prisoner by lethal injection after a jury of her peers determined she was
guilty of capital murder in one trial that included the trial and sentencing phases at the
same time
E) feeding only bread and water in prison inmates
Euthanasia refers to:
A) young Chinese people.
B) assisted suicide.
C) mercy killing of the terminally ill.
D) verdicts handed down by death panels.
E) B and C only.
The intoxication defense:
A) implies voluntary intoxication may be used to reduce first degree murder to second
degree murder.
B) has been entirely abolished.
C) applies only to involuntary intoxication.
D) applies to all forms of intoxication and is absolute.
E) both A and B
Beyond a reasonable doubt is:
A) the burden of proof stating that it is more likely than not that the defendant
committed the crime for which he/she is accused.
B) the burden of the defendant to prove that the charges are untrue.
C) the burden of proof used by a petit jury.
D) the burden of proof used by a grand jury.
E) the burden of proof allowing for a ruling against a defendant in a civil trial.
The three levels of the federal judiciary are:
A) tax court, bankruptcy court, and criminal court.
B) the Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and U. S. District Courts
C) federal courts, state courts and local courts
D) patent courts, admiralty court, and bankruptcy court
E) admiralty court, criminal court and civil court.
Which of the following is/are actions that constitute adherence to the enemy in a
treason prosecution?
A) Selling goods to an agent of an enemy of the United States of America.
B) Statements praising the enemy.
C) Residing in an enemy country.
D) Delivery of prisoners to the enemy, unless under a death threat that was likely to be
carried out.
E) All of the above.
State-run lotteries are not illegal gambling because:
A) the odds against winning are so high, players are not gambling, they voluntarily
paying taxes.
B) state legislatures authorize the lotteries and ensure the proceeds are used for
appropriate public expenditures.
C) they are games of skill, not chance.
D) state governments are tax exempt and therefore exempt from the federal ban on
games of chance.
E) they provide a legal outlet for incurable chronic gamblers.
To be an attorney, a person must:
A) earn a Juris Doctor degree from a law school.
B) pass a state-sponsored bar examination.
C) meet the moral and fitness for practice standards set by the state.
D) pass an oral examination from a judge.
E) A, B, and C.
The duress defense requires:
A) the actor was wrongfully threatened by another to perform an act that he/she
otherwise would not have performed.
B) the harm threatened was greater than the harm from the crime committed.
C) the threat was immediate and there was no way for the threatened person to escape
or avoid the threatened action.
D) the threat was of serious bodily harm or death to the person or an immediate family
member.
E) all of the above
How many witnesses to a treasonous act does the Constitution require for proof?
A) None. This may be proven by circumstantial evidence.
B) One
C) Two
D) Three
E) The Constitution does not specify a number.
The consent defense to charges of rape is most likely to work in which situation?
A) The victim was intoxicated, having imbibed a fifth of vodka over an evening on the
town.
B) The victim is a relative aged 15.
C) The victim was a woman of the cloth over age 75.
D) The victim is a female aged 21.
E) None of the above
Common law was developed so:
A) commoners in England would have laws for themselves.
B) the law would be common to all persons.
C) the law would be common to all areas of the English Empire.
D) B and C.
E) None of the above.
What type of homicide occurs when a soldier kills an enemy combatant in the heat of
battle?
A) criminal homicide
B) justifiable homicide
C) excusable homicide
D) conscientious objector
E) unpunished manslaughter
Which of the following are examples of trafficking in persons?
a. Sex trafficking
b. Labor trafficking
c. Drug trafficking
d. A and B only.
e. all of the above
In medieval England, the winner in a ___________________ won the lawsuit.
The Senate chooses federal judges.
The federal law regulating the government’s actions when collecting intelligence from
foreign governments and their agents is ___________________.
A motion for a new trial must be based upon ______________.
Should states be allowed to regulate sexual conduct between individuals?
The level of force intended to cause death or is likely to cause death is
________________.
What methods and procedures should be in place in a law firm to protect the
confidentiality of information obtained from persons who have an attorney-client
relationship with attorneys in the firm?
The act of removing oneself from a conflict is _______________.
Identify some crimes that could be considered “victimless” crimes and justify why they
are or are not.
When a defendant injures someone other than who he intended to injure it is called
_________ intent.
State laws cover interstate crimes.
An __________________ is the written accusation claiming that a specific person
committed a specific crime or crimes..
Explain the Right to Remain Silent and the reasoning for it.
Only guilty people confess to crimes
Conduct that diminishes the dignity, effectiveness and efficiency of the judicial process
is ___________________.
A young girl is disabled, blind and unable to walk. She lives with her father and his
paramour and is entirely dependent on their care to live and eat. The paramour runs the
child’s bath and submerges her, and then realizes the water is too hot when the child
cries. She dries the child and puts her to bed after she explains what happened to the
father. The child has burns on her body from the water, which the two treat with
over-the-counter salves. The father waits eight days before calling an ambulance, but by
then she is too ill to survive. Can the father be charged with murder?