Which of the following are negative consequences of delay in the courts?
a. Delay works to the disadvantage of the prosecutor.
b. Delay works to the advantage of the judge.
c. Delay jeopardizes the rights of defendants.
d. All of these are negative consequences of delay in the courts.
Of the following, which is nota benefitof being a judge?
a. prestige and respect.
b. life terms for some.
c. patronage powers.
d. extravagant salaries.
In what case, in 1976, did the U.S. Supreme Court upheld guided discretion death
penalty laws.
a. Thurman v. Georgia
b. Granger v. Georgia
c. Tinsley v. Georgia
d. Gregg v. Georgia
Criminal trials start with two presumptions: the presumption of innocence and the
presumption of
a. sanity
b. Fairness
c. reasonable doubt
d. justice
Which of the following is true of postconviction reviews?
a. The grounds for postconviction reviews are usually much narrower than the grounds
that can form the basis of a direct appeal.
b. The grounds for postconviction reviews are usually much broader than the grounds
that can form the basis of a direct appeal.
c. The grounds for postconviction reviews are usually the same as the grounds that can
form the basis of a direct appeal.
d. None of these answers is correct.
CASE 12.1
Some people within the court system are concerned that plea bargaining reduces the
courthouse to a place where guilt or innocence is negotiated like prices in a flea market.
Primarily, though, opposition to plea bargaining reflects different ideological
preferences. What is particularly interesting is that civil libertarians as well as
spokespersons for law and order see plea bargaining as a danger, but often for different
reasons.
What do due process adherents advocate regarding plea bargaining?
a. abolishing bargaining and increasing the number of trials.
b. abolishing bargaining.
c. increasing the number of trials.
d. none of these answers is correct.
After confessing to racketeering, Nicky Cheeks’ (through his high-priced mob attorney)
is now saying that his confession was coerced and that his waiver of Miranda rights
was not valid, therefore his confession should not be admissible in court. By what
standard of proof is the prosecution now required to prove the validity of Nicky’s
waiver of rights?
a. No standard, it is the responsibility of the defense to prove the waiver was not valid.
b. Probable cause
c. Preponderance of the evidence
d. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt
All federal agencies must receive permission from who to appeal an adverse lower
court decision to the U.S. Supreme Court?
a. the U.S. Solicitor General
b. the U.S. Attorney General
c. a U.S. Attorney
d. the Senate Judiciary Committee
What types of evidence must always be turned over by the prosecutor to the defense in
virtually all jurisdictions?
a. all open files of any type
b. all exculpatory evidence and all impeachment evidence
c. all witness statements
d. all statements made by the defendant
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 2,000 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.
Which of the following is not one of the most common names for trial courts of general
jurisdiction?
a. district court
b. superior court
c. circuit court
d. supreme court
In Mistretta v. U.S. (1989) the U.S. Supreme Court held these to be constitutional and
did not violate separation of powers.
a. sex offender registration laws
b. the federal sentencing commission and guidelines
c. determinate sentences
d. the abolition of federal parole
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.
Which of the following defendants do not have a right to a jury trial?
a. homicide defendants facing a life sentence
b. shoplifting defendants facing 90 days in jail
c. burglary defendants facing 6 six years in jail
d. all of these defendants have a right to a jury trial
Severe defects in trial proceedings that require reversal of a conviction and remand for
a new trial in order to avoid a miscarriage of justice are called
a. plain error
c. reversible error
b. harmless error
c. critical error
d. none of these answers is correct
The Federal Judicial Center (2012) reports that of the 1,208 sitting federal judges, 336
are
a. women.
b. African-American.
c. openly gay.
d. Hispanic.
Which of the following is not one of the three common types of plea bargaining?
a. charge
c. sentence
b. count
d. dismissal
In 2010, the incarceration rate in the United States did what for the first time in 40
years?
a. decreased.
b. increased.
c. remained the same.
d. included women.
The Criminal Division of the Justice Department handles which types of cases?
a. fraud, organized crime, public corruption, and terrorism
b. major and minor drug conspiracies
c. only terrorism cases, especially those involving enemy combatants
d. only cases involving government employees
What is the most common explanation for plea bargaining?
a. too many cases.
b. poor police practices.
c. lack of evidence.
d. difficult defense attorneys.
Included among those who are not covered by statutory exemption from serving on a
jury panel are
a. police officers.
b. firefighters.
c. emergency medical personnel.
d. small business owners and caregivers.
Most members of the courtroom work group are essentially part of what class?
a. the urban underclass
b. the lower class
c. the middle class
d. the upper class
Researchers find that in serious cases, the sentence imposed on a defendant who is
found guilty after trial will often be more than five times more severe than the expected
sentence for the same offense after a guilty plea.
The jury trial ______________________ is a theory that defendants who demand a jury
trial will receive extra punishment if convicted because they did not agree to enter a
guilty pea.
Around ninety percent of felony convictions result from:
a. a plea bargain
b. a trial by jury
c. a bench trial
d. a preliminary hearing
When agreeing in open court to a plea deal, a defendant agrees to waive which three
fundamental, Constitutional rights?
a. the right to remain silent, the right to a lawyer for an appeal, and the right to a jury
trial.
b. the right to remain silent, the right to confront witnesses, and the right to a jury trial.
c. the right to confront witnesses, the right to an appeal, and the right against excessive
punishment.
d. the right to a trial, the right to an attorney, and the right to an interest in liberty.
Challenges to jurors that require a justification are called challenges
a. per se.
b. for cause.
c. by reason.d. at law.
In grand jury proceedings, the burden of proof for the prosecutor is:
a. reasonable suspicion
b. proof beyond a reasonable doubt
c. probable cause
d. clear and convincing evidence
CASE 9.1
Dharun Ravi, a freshman at Rutgers University, used a web cam to spy on his gay
roommate’s dorm-room sexual encounters and streamed the video (Shallwani 2012). A
few days later his roommate Tyler Clemnti, a talented young musician, committed
suicide. These events quickly became the subject of intense national interest and Ravi
was charged under New Jersey law with hate crime, invasion of privacy, witness
intimidation, and bias intimidation (but not murder).
The jury in the Ravi case decided that the evidence
a. elevated the crime.
b. reduced the crime.
c. incorporated the crime.
d. waived the crime.
What was the charge against Gerald Gault?
a. making a lewd phone call
b. murder
c. stealing a car
d. armed robbery
CASE 8.1
In evaluating which judicial selection system is best it is important to determine if one
system produces better judges than another. Judicial folklore has long held that
particular systems may produce superior judges. Several studies have systematically
analyzed this folklore. Researchers use measurable judicial credentials, such as
education and prior legal experience, as indicators of judicial quality.
Which of the following statements is true?
a. Some methods of judicial selection produce much better judges than others.
b. Methods of judicial selection make a difference, but not much.
c. Methods of judicial selection make no difference.
d. None of these statements is true.
Capital punishment research on the offender-victim dyad established that which of the
following cases were more likely to result in the death penalty as compared to other
dyads?
a. black offenders and white victims
b. white offenders and white victims
c. black offenders and black victims
d. white offenders and black victims
Civil asset forfeiture is termed a(n) ____________________ proceeding because the
action is against the thing, not the person who owns the thing.
Defense must zealously represent clients within the bounds of the law.
All Western democracies including the United States have abolished capital
punishment.
The courtroom workgroup refers to witnesses and defendants in the courtroom.
Merit selection is commonly referred to as the ____________________ Plan.
Generally speaking, juvenile courts do not utilize jury trials.
Mandatory-minimum sentencing laws may be nullified or offset by the exercise of
________________________ by criminal justice officials.
Exculpatory evidence is any evidence that may be favorable to the defendant.
Advocates of the due process model believe that the death penalty is unfairly
administered.
The dominant profile of judges as white males is changing in both federal and state
courts. Discuss how the bench has become more diverse, including whether or not the
research shows that female judges are more liberal than their male counterparts. Also
explain what type of judicial selection method places more women and minorities on
the bench.
Federal judicial are initially heard by judicial councils, which are the administrative arm
of each U.S. Court of Appeals.
In discussing court reform, reformers generally envision a _____________-tier system.
Explain the difference between absolute immunity and qualified immunity for
prosecutors.
A potential juror who shows unalterable bias or prejudice can be removed from the jury
pool by a challenge for _____________________.
The ______________ is the name for the first ten Amendments of the U. S.
Constitution.