CASE 6.1
The U.S. Attorneys serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the
attorney general. One U.S. Attorney is assigned to each of the judicial districts, with the
exception of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, where one serves both districts.
Each U.S. Attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer of the United States
within his or her particular jurisdiction.
How many U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands?
a. Eighty-three.
b. Seventy-three.
c. Sixty-three.
d. Ninety-three.
Which of the following alternatives to incarceration is rarely used with felonies?
a. probation
b. restitution
c. intermediate sanctions
d. fines
CASE 15.3
Executions in the South clearly show major racial differences. Racial imbalances in
outcomes do not necessarily prove discrimination. Interestingly, many studies found
that the most obvious factorrace of the defendantwas not as important as the race of the
offender in combination with the race of the victim. This is the offender-victim dyad.
Which offender-victim dyad has research show is most likely to result in execution?
a. black offender, white victim
b. black offender, black victim
c. white offender, white victim
d. white offender, black victim
What kind of offender is more likely to have experienced neglect, abuse, or violence in
his/her families?
a. white-collar offenders
b. purse snatchers
c. property offenders
d. violent offenders
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.
CASE 2.3
Roberta picks her toddler up at the daycare after she gets off work. The child is asleep
in her car seat and Roberta decides to stop off at the local pool hall for a beer and to talk
to some friends for a little while. She leaves the child in the car while she goes inside.
She winds up staying for a second beer and a couple of line dances. The temperature in
the car reaches 120 degrees and the child dies of hyperthermia. Roberta, though not
very bright, would never intentionally harm her child.
Which of the followings statements regarding Roberta’s criminal liability is true?
a. Roberta is not guilty because this tragedy was an accident.
b. Roberta is not guilty because although she was negligent, she had no criminal intent
to harm
her child.
c. Roberta is guilty because she intentionally left her child in the car and the same intent
applies to any harm that results.
d. Roberta is guilty because she had a legal duty to keep her child safeher negligent
omission resulted in the child’s death.
What is the minimum size of a jury in noncapital criminal cases?
a. 9 persons
b. 6 persons
c. 3 persons
d. 12 persons
Which of the following court members dominates the grand jury?
a. Judge
b. defense attorney
c. prosecutor
d. court clerk
Efforts have been made to improve police-prosecutor relationships with special
programs. Which of the following statements is true regarding research on the
effectiveness of such programs?
a. Police and prosecutors have different perspectives on the law.
b. Prosecutors complain that police reports are inadequate; names and addresses of
victims and witnesses are lacking, full details about how the crime was committed are
missing, and vital lab reports are not forwarded on time.
c. These programs are highly effective.
d. No research to date has systematically evaluated the effectiveness of these programs.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brady v. Maryland prevents the suppression of what
type of evidence?
a. Incriminating
b. Exclamatory
c. Exculpatory
d. Confessions
What process is designed to give both parties to a legal dispute a good idea about the
evidence that will be presented at trial?
a. exclusion
b. Miranda
c. plain view
d. discovery
Drug prosecutions account for approximately what percentage of all federal criminal
cases?
a. 11
b. 21
c. 41
d. 31
CASE 11.3
Pursuant to the mandates of the plain text of the Constitution, the Supreme Court held
in Katz v. United States (1967, p. 357), that warrantless searches “are per se
unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment subject only to a few specifically
established and well-delineated exceptions.” Accordingly, warrants play a very
important role in criminal procedure. It might therefore come as a surprise to many
people that the majority of searches are conducted without a warrant under one of the
recognized exceptions to the warrant requirement.
One of the exceptions to the warrant requirement involves “exigent circumstances.”
What is the meaning of “exigent circumstances?”
a. Police may conduct warrantless searches when granted consent to search by someone
with actual or apparent authority to grant such consent.
b. Police may conduct warrantless searches when incident to a lawful arrest.
c. Police may conduct warrantless searches when probable cause exists to search a
motor vehicle.
d. Police may conduct warrantless searches when emergency situations make it
impracticable for police to seek and obtain a warrant first.
What courts were created as a response to a significant growth in appellate cases that
threatened to overwhelm the state supreme court?
a. lower courts
b. intermediate courts of appeals
c. justice of the peace courts
d. problem-solving courts
Defects seriously affecting substantial rights that are so prejudicial to a jury’s
deliberations “as to undermine the fundamental fairness of the trial and bring about a
miscarriage of justice” are called
a. consequential error
b. plain error
c. critical error
d. primary error
What judges typically authorize search warrants?
a. lower court judges
b. major trial court judges
c. appellate court judges
d. supreme court judges
In what case did the Court declare that most U.S. death penalty laws were
unconstitutional due to their arbitrary nature?
a. Furman v. Georgia (1972)
b. Roper v. Simmons (2005)
c. Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
d. Atkins v. Virginia (2002)
Which of the following is not a problem confronting lower courts?
a. inadequate financing
b. unbalanced caseloads
c. inadequate facilities
d. strict court procedures
High courts of last resort help to set justice policy through their exercise of their
a. discretionary appellate jurisdiction.
b. mandatory appellate jurisdiction.
c. concurrent appellate jurisdiction.
d. recurrent appellate jurisdiction.
In less-populous states, which do not have intermediate appellate bodies, the initial
appeal is filed with the
a. court of last resort
b. judge advocate general
c. U.S. Supreme Court
d. prosecutor
The error-correction function of appellate review protects against arbitrary, capricious,
or mistaken legal decisions by a
a. trial court judge.
b. trial court prosecutor.
c. trial court defense attorney.
d. trial court work group.
CASE 3.1
The founding fathers engaged in a vigorous debate over whether there should be a
federal court system separate from the state systems. Those who supported a strong
federal judiciary ultimately prevailed. Subsequent expansion of the federal courts has
created a contemporary controversy over how to alleviate the problem of rising
caseloads within the federal court system.
Which of the following proposals would due process advocates least likely support?
a. Abolish federal diversity jurisdiction except in certain cases.
b. Abolish concurrent jurisdiction on crimes punishable by both state and federal law.
c. Creation of several new Article I legislative courts.
d. Limit ability of prisoners to file civil rights lawsuits.
What court system provides a safety valve for checking the most flagrant abuses of
local justice?
a. dual
b. appellate
c. unified
d. problem-solving
Which of the following is not an element of a crime?
a. Mens rea
b. Actus reus
c. Attendant circumstances
d. Guilty conscience
Truancy and curfew violations are examples of
a. delinquent acts.
b. status offenses.
c. minor infractions.
d. violations.
Ideological differences in the death penalty debate focus on three central issues. What
are those issues?
a. morality, deterrence, and fairness
b. morality, incapacitation, and fairness
c. ethics, deterrence, and fairness
d. morality, deterrence, and economics
Which Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and
seizures?
a. 1st Amendment
b. 4th Amendment
c. 5th Amendment
d. 6th Amendment
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.
In what percent of all felony arrests in New York did the victim have a prior
relationship with the offender?
a. fifty percent
b. forty percent
c. sixty percent
d. seventy percent
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 what way(s) are defendants likely to volunteer information that might hurt them in
court?
a. all forms of social media
b. Twitter
c. Facebook
d. e-mail
In Ewing v. California (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court what State of California law?
a. capital punishment
b. civil commitment for sex offenders
c. legalized medical marijuana
d. three strikes
Which of the following is not one of the three major ways of providing indigents with
court appointed attorneys?
a. assigned counsel system c. public defender system
b. contract system d. pro-bono system
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.
Which of the following are requirements of jurors in virtually all states?
a. residents of the locality
b. minimum age
c. understand English
d. All of these answers are correct
Juveniles courts today blend what two types of law?
a. criminal and family law
b. civil and family law
c. criminal and civil law
d. child and family law
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.
A(n) _____ is the charging document most commonly used for misdemeanor and
ordinance violations.
The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine always bars derivative evidence found as a
result the violation of a defendant’s constitutional right.
Most criminal defendants hire a private lawyer for their defense.
The decisions of trial courts may be reviewed by appellate courts.
Unified court systems and specialized courts are two different types of court reform that
have emerged. Compare and contrast these two types of reform. In which direction have
contemporary court reformers gone?
The Federal _____ Center provides orientation and continuing education judges and
personnel of courts.
Discuss the varying explanations for plea bargaining and explain which theory you
believe provides the best explanation.
Most criminal cases are affirmed on appeal because of the _____ error rule and the
standards of review applied by appellate courts.
Pursuant to Boykin v. Alabama, when a defendant enters a guilty plea, it must be
intelligent and _____.
There are five layers to the criminal justice wedding cake.
Potential _____ of interest is a key ethical issue facing lawyers. Attorneys are
prohibited from engaging in representation that would compromise their loyalty to their
clients.
How has the U.S. Supreme Court limited sentencing guidelines?
The _____ of courts in the United States impacts the processing of cases in several
ways.
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.
_____ 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.
Juveniles are entitled to many of the same _____ rights as adults.
Collateral attacks on criminal convictions are civil proceedings.