Juveniles were denied the right to a jury trial by the Supreme Court in 1971 in what
case?
a. McKeiver v. Pennsylvania
b. O”Connor v. Pennsylvania
c. Pittman v. Pennsylvania
d. Solis v. Pennsylvania
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.
What is the primary benefit of a plea for a defendant?
a. going home
b. no jail time
c. a guaranteed lighter sentence
d. the possibility of a lenient sentence
In what decision did the Supreme Court rule that a defendant in a nonfelony case is
guaranteed the right to legal counsel, paid by the state if necessary, only in cases that
actually lead to imprisonment, not in all cases in which imprisonment is a potential
penalty?
a. Faretta v. California
b. Strickland v. Washington
c. Scott v. Illinois
d. Gideon v. Wainwright
According to the Breyer Commission approximately what percent of “high-profile
complaints filed by attorneys, court personnel, or public officials” were mismanaged by
the federal judiciary?
a. 10 percent
b. 25 percent
c. 35 percent
d. 50 percent
Women make up what percent of judges in the U.S. (approximately)?
a. 10%
b. 20%
c. 40%
d. 30%
What happens during oral arguments?
a. face-to-face contact between appellate judges and lawyers
b. face-to-face contact between appellate judges and defendants
c. face-to-face contact between appellate judges and prosecutors
d. face-to-face contact between appellate judges and witnesses
Executions in what region of the United States clearly show major racial differences?
a. North.
b. South.
c. East.
d. West.
CASE 16.2
Criminal appeals are generally routine because they seldom raise meritorious issues
(Primus, 2007; Wold & Caldeira, 1980). Current standards of effective assistance of
counsel often force lawyers to appeal, no matter how slight the odds of appellate court
reversal. As a result, a significant number of criminal appeals lack substantial merit. For
example, of the roughly 5,125 written dispositions in criminal appeals filed by
defendants in the California Court of Appeals in 2010, the court reversed only 226 (4%)
convictions (Judicial Council of California, 2011). Why do criminal appeals rarely
succeed? First, the appellate standards of review applicable to most decision-making
during criminal trials are highly deferential to trial court outcomes (Primus, 2007).
Second, appellate courts often find that no reversible error was committed during the
trial court proceedings.
Why do appellate courts often find no reversible error was committed during the trial
court proceedings?
a. in large part because of the harmless error doctrine.
b. in large part because of the plain error doctrine.
c. in large part because of the reversible error doctrine.
d. in large part because of the deferential error doctrine.
Based on research, which of the following is true regarding pretrial motions to suppress
evidence?
a. they rarely filed
b. they are often filed but rarely successful
c. they are often filed and generally succeed
d. they have a major impact on case attrition
What is the legal doctrine whereby the Supreme Court ruled that the due process clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment made some provisions of the Bill of Rights applicable to
the states?
a. selective incorporation
b. stare decisis
c. precedent
d. remedy
CASE 14.1
No consensus exists on how the courts should punish the guilty, perhaps due to the fact
that five different philosophical principles guide sentencing in the United States:
retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation, and restoration. These sentencing
philosophies differ in important ways. Some focus on past behavior, whereas others are
future-oriented. Some stress that the punishment should fit the crime, whereas others
emphasize that punishment should fit the criminal. These issues influence contemporary
thinking about sentencing.
Prevention of crime through the physical restraint of offenders is an idea incorporated
in which of the following sentencing philosophies?
a. Retribution.
b. Incapacitation.
c. Deterrence.
d. Rehabilitation.
Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys may use peremptory challenges to eliminate
potential jurors on the basis of
a. race or sex.
b. attitude or appearance.
c. unwillingness to follow the law.
d. refusal to answer questions.
How many systems are there for providing indigents with court-appointed attorneys?
a. one
b. two
c. four
d. three
After arrest, arrestees are brought before a judge and advised of their rights, the charges
against them, and given a chance to make bail at the:
a. pretrial hearing
b. initial appearance
c. arraignment
d. preliminary hearing
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
What Amendment guarantees that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury?”
a. 4th
b. 5th
c. 6th
d. 7th
Conditions of confinement lawsuits primarily involve which Amendment to the
Constitution?
a. the Fifth Amendment
b. The First Amendment
c. The Second Amendment
d. The Eighth Amendment
Which of the following is true of ‘straight up” pleas?
a. they occur frequently
b. they never occur
c. there is no such thing
d. they occur rarely
A trial by a judge without a jury is called a:
a. summary trial
b. bar trial
c. bench trial
d. trial de novo
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
The “Rule of Four” refers to:
a. the number of justices required to vote in favor of granting certiorari to review a case.
b. the number of justices required to uphold or overturn a lower court ruling.
c. the maximum number of presenters allowed during oral arguments.
d. the minimum number of justices required to publish a dissenting opinion.
The law on the books approach to delay focuses on
a. courthouse dynamics.
b. the courtroom work group.
c. plea bargaining.
d. resources and procedures.
CASE 7.1
Like many other provisions of the Constitution, the Sixth Amendment has a different
meaning today than it did when it was first ratified. In a landmark decision, the U.S.
Supreme Court held that, based on the Sixth Amendment’s provision of right to counsel,
indigent defendants charged with a felony are entitled to the services of a lawyer paid
for by the government (Gideon v. Wainwright 1963). Later, the Sixth Amendment right
to counsel was extended to juvenile court proceedings as well (In re Gault 1967). But as
so often happens, answering one question raised several new ones.
Which of the following issues did the court wrestle with following the Gideon decision?
a. nonfelony criminal prosecutions
b. stages of the criminal process.
c. self-representation.
d. The court wrestled with all of these issues following the Gideon decision.
CASE 11.2
A search warrant is a written document, signed by a judge or magistrate, authorizing a
law enforcement officer to conduct a search. The Fourth Amendment specifies that “no
Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and
particularly describing the place to be searched and the Persons or things to be seized.”
In light of the plain language of the Fourth Amendment, search warrants issued by a
neutral judicial officer are the preferred mechanism for authorizing and conducting
searches and seizures in the United States.
The particularity requirement means that
a. warrants should be as detailed as possible.
b. applications for warrants should be as detailed as possible.
c. arrest warrants should be as detailed as possible.
d. search warrants should be as detailed as possible.
CASE 9.3
In some ways, victims of crimes are a diverse lot including the rich and the poor, the
young and the old, and men as well as women. This diversity aside, however, crime
victims are more likely to be young, nonwhite, male, divorced or never married, low
income, and unemployed (Truman, 2011; Elias, 1986). Thus in many ways the profile
of victims matches that of defendants.
What crime, in particular, are offenders strangers only 14% of the time?
a. rape
b. burglary
c. theft
d. homicide
The operation of two separate and distinct court systems in the United States is referred
to as:
a. a dual court system
b. checks and balances
c. separate but equal
d. judicial federalism
The three major ways of providing indigents with court appointed attorneys are: (1)
assigned counsel, (2) contract systems, and (3) public defender. Which of the following
is true about these differing ways of providing indigents with court appointed attorneys?
a. Studies find no major differences between these three systems in results achieved.
b. Studies find assigned counsel is better in results achieved.
c. Studies find contract systems are better in results achieved.
d. Studies find public defenders are better in results achieved.
The Prison Litigation Reform Act severely limited the federal courts’ supervisory
powers over what?
a. state probation programs
b. city prisons
c. city probation programs
d. state prisons
Prosecutor’s spend most of their time working with members of what group?
a. the community prosecution work group
b. the prosecutors work group
c. the courtroom work group
d. the President’s prosecutors work group
Case attrition results from general prosecutorial policies about _____ of cases.
When the U.S. Supreme Court fails to grant certiorari, they are stating that they
unilaterally affirm the decision of the lower court.
Programs aimed at improving police-prosecutor relationships are an example of the
_____ domain of the prosecutor.
The _____ is the most important member of the courtroom work group.
Most assistant district attorneys have worked in private practice for years before being
hired by the prosecutor’s office.
Discuss the function and importance of the grand jury.
Most felony crimes are for nonviolent offenses.
In _____ v. N.Y., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors must keep their side of
the plea bargain.
Identify the rewards and benefits that may result from cooperation or a lack of
cooperation for defense attorneys working with a courtroom work group. How does this
affect the way that defense attorneys perform their duties?
The courtroom work group refers to the _____ participants.
The major problem facing the federal courts is _____ caseloads.
Selective incorporation refers to the application of certain provisions of the Bill of
Rights to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Supporters of the exclusionary rule argue that the rule is the only effective _____
against police misconduct.
Other than criminal prosecutions as a result of a grand jury investigation arrests are the
overwhelming source of work for the criminal courts.
Explain the difference between the Solicitor General and a U.S. Attorney.