Which of the following is not one of the justice professionals in the courthouse?
a. social services personnel
b. prosecutors
c. judges
d. police
The principal weakness of the excessive caseload hypothesis, in plea bargaining, is
what assumption?
a. a purely mechanical process
b. a stagnant process
c. a dynamic process
d. a courtroom work group process
CASE 10.3
Deciding whom to release and whom to detain pending trial poses critical problems for
American courts. The realities of the bail system in the United States reflect an attempt
to strike a balance between the legally recognized purpose of setting bail to ensure
reappearance for trial and the working perception that some defendants should not be
allowed out of jail until their trial.
Which of the following is true regarding bail?
a. Trial-court judges have a great deal of discretion in fixing bail.
b. Statutory law provides few specifics about how much money should be required.
c. Appellate courts have spent little time deciding what criteria should be used.
d. All of these are true regarding bail.
The United States has a _____ court system, which means that it has one national court
system plus separate court systems in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Which of the following is one of the three major reasons for case attrition?
a. jail overcrowding
b. overabundance of evidence
c. personal standards of justice
d. poorly written laws
CASE 2.1
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
CASE 12.3
Brown was indicted on two felony charges. He agrees to plead to a lesser included
offense and the prosecutor agrees to make no recommendation regarding the sentence.
Months pass before sentencing. Before sentencing, a new prosecutor and judge take
over the case. The prosecutor recommends the maximum one-year sentence and the
judge imposed the sentence.
What case addresses the problem that Brown faces?
a. Santobello v. New York
b. Lafler v. Cooper
c. Boykin v. Alabama
d. Alabama v. Smith
What act mandated deinstitutionalization of juvenile offenders?
a. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
b. The Juvenile Justice Care and Protection
c. The Parens Patriae Act
d. The Juvenile Assistance Act
Less serious juvenile cases are handled
a. informally
b. through family court
c. formally
d. through probationary court
U.S. attorneys serve
a. life terms.
b. four-year terms.
c. ten-year terms.
d. at the discretion of the president.
CASE 16.3
One might think that the appeals and postconviction review processes would routinely
correct situations in which a defendant was wrongfully convicted, but that is clearly not
the case. Up until the mid-1990s, public perception was that criminal defendants had
gained too many rights during the Warren era, and, as a result, far too many criminal
defendants escaped criminal punishment on technicalities (Uphoff, 2006). Such
perceptions led manyincluding judges and several Supreme Court justicesto deny that
wrongful convictions were a major problem (see Herrera v. Collins, 1993). Since 1989,
though, over 329 inmates have been exonerated by DNA evidence, largely due to the
efforts of the Innocence Project, the Death Penalty Information Center, and similar
organizations (Innocence Project, 2015a; see also Zalman, Smith & Kiger, 2008). As a
result of these exonerationsand media portrayals of themnearly 40 states have changed
their laws to allow for appellate or postconviction review on the grounds of actual
innocence and the federal government enacted the Innocence Protection Act of 2004.
All of the following are known to contribute to false confession, except
a. duress
b. intoxication
c. coercion
d. gender
What is one of the most important tasks of defense attorneys?
a. relating to their client
b. knowing the whole story
c. making sure they get paid
d. counseling
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 3,200 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
The guilty act, guilty intent, relationship between guilty act and guilty intent, attendant
circumstances, and results combined make up what is known as
a. elements of juvenile delinquency
b. elements of administrative law
c. elements of civil law
d. elements of a crime
When they first begin working as prosecutors, rookie assistant attorneys learn important
unwritten rules, legal practices, and appropriate penalties
a. primarily through personal experience with informal awards and sanctions.
b. at law school.
c. under direct, close supervision of the district attorney.
d. by asking questions of experienced prosecutors, court clerks, and police officers.
What are courts collectively called in most rural areas?
a. lower courts
b. supreme courts
c. justice of the peace courts
d. problem-solving courts
Law in action approaches to solving the problem of delay can prove effective because
a. They focus on coordinating the activities of the key actors in the courthouse.
b. They ignore activities of the key actors in the courthouse.
c. They override the activities of juries in the courthouse.
d. They assist the activities of the key actors in the courthouse.
Which of the following courts make greater use of probation and shorter prison terms?
a. urban courts
b. municipal courts
c. rural courts
d. county courts
Who is the presiding office of the U.S. Supreme Court?
a. the President
b. the Attorney General
c. the Senate Majority Leader
d. The Chief Justice
The three most important entities in federal prosecution are the U.S. Solicitor General,
the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and
a. the offices of 94 U.S. State Attorneys.
b. the offices of 94 U.S. General Attorneys.
c. the offices of 94 U.S. Statutory Attorneys.
d. the offices of 94 U.S. Attorneys.
The Solicitor General’s Office generally requests Supreme Court review only in cases
with a high degree of significance and
a. in which the government is a party.
b. in which the government has a reasonable legal argument.
c. in which a violation of the U.S. Constitution is believed to have occurred.
d. in which a federal employee is involved.
The U.S. Constitution specifies that the President of the United States has the power to
nominate judges with the advice and consent of the
a. Judicial Conduct Commission
b. U.S. Senate
c. U.S. Supreme Court
d. U.S. Department of Justice
What type of discovery concerns the exchange of mandated by rules of procedure or
applicable law?
a. informal discovery
b. constitutional discovery
c. all types of discovery
d. formal discovery
What branch of government has the authority to choose among sentencing options?
a. the judicial branch of government
b. the executive branch of government
c. the judicial and the legislative branches of government
d. the legislative branch of government
When legislatures increase the harshness of criminal penalties, how do courts often
respond?
a. the courts mitigate that harshness
b. the courts support that harshness
c. the courts implement that harshness
d. the courts apply that harshness
What agency developed the Model Canon of Judicial Ethics?
a. The Supreme Court
b. The Breyer Commission
c. The Judicial Committee
d. The American Bar Association
Most victim compensation programs
a. reimburse victims for lost or damaged property.
b. provide for the recovery of medical expenses and some lost wages.
c. ensure that defendants pay restitution.
d. All of these answers are correct.
Lower courts handle what stages of felony cases?
a. the final stages
b. the intermediate stages
c. the appeal stages
d. the preliminary stages
What is one example of the contemporary expansion of the domain of the prosecutor?
a. problem-solving courts
b. community prosecution
c. courtroom prosecution
d. courtroom work groups
What does the offender-victim dyad refer to?
a. age of the defendant and age of the victim
b. race of the defendant and race of the victim
c. gender of the defendant and gender of the victim
d. relationship of the defendant the victim
A court system includes lower courts, major trial courts, _____ appellate courts, and a
court of last resort.
Prosecutions of adults are based on criminal law. By contrast, juvenile court
proceedings are based on _____ law.
The Fourth Amendment guarantees freedom from search and seizure.
Merit plans are _____ systems, incorporating elements from other judicial selection
methods.
Only the judge has the legal authority to send a guilty person to prison or to grant
probation.
Information derived from hypnosis may not be used at trial.
Release on recognizance is one way to secure pretrial release.
Lack of trust in governmental authorities is one reason Latinos often do not report
crimes to the police.
_____ jurisdiction means that a court has the authority to try a case and decide it.
Using arguments identified in the chapter, evaluate whether the exclusionary rule
should be abolished.
Attorneys in criminal trials have an unlimited number of peremptory challenges.
Describe the three major types of cases that may be heard in juvenile court. Provide
examples of each type of case.
Judges are never elected.
Testimony that involves a witness stating that some else told them something is usually
not admissible at trial because such testimony is _____.
The modern agenda of court reform includes topics such as reducing _____ court delay.
When legislators appoint _____, it is quite clear that former legislators are more likely
to be selected than in other systems.