What are important because they provide necessary boundaries on conflict represented
by the adversary system?
a. courtroom workgroups
b. defense attorneys
c. bail bondsmen
d. legal ethics
During trials, attorneys must make timely objections to judge’s rulings on points of law,
or the objection will be deemed waived. What is the name of the rule?
a. the contemporaneous objection rule
b. the on-the-record objection rule
c. the relinquished objection rule
d. the concurrent objection rule
The ____________________ Amendment provides for the right to a speedy and public
trial.
a. Fourth
b. Fifth
c. Sixth
d. Seventh
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
Delinquency cases begin with a referral. Most referrals come from
a. parents unable to control their children.
b. teachers and other school officials (e.g., guidance counselors and principals).
c. arrests made by law enforcement personnel.
d. health and human services personnel.
Congress created the Courts of Appeals in
a. 1776.
b. 1787.
c. 1891.
d. 1929.
A discretionary decision based on decision makers’ values and attitudes reflects
a. legal judgments.
b. policy priorities.
c. personal philosophies.
d. judicial restraints.
This principle distributes government power between national and state governments,
creating decentralization that compounds the fragmentation of the criminal justice
system.
a. federalism
b. utilitarianism
b. deconstructionism
d. nationalism
In the U.S. today, there are around _____ million people under some form of
correctional confinement or supervision.
a. 2.8
b. 6.2
c. 7.3
d. 15
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.
What sentencing guidelines require a judge to provide an explanation for any deviation?
a. presumptive sentencing guidelines
b. indeterminate sentencing guidelines
c. prescriptive sentencing guidelines
d. voluntary sentencing guidelines
A trial by a judge without a jury is called a:
a. summary trial
b. bar trial
c. bench trial
d. trial de novo
Which court decision held that once a suspect has invoked his right to an attorney,
police may not continue interrogation without his/her attorney present?
a. Minnick v. Mississippi
b. Miranda v. Arizona
c. Mapp v. Ohip
d. Burns v. Reed
To gain a potential advantage in plea bargaining, prosecutors sometimes
a. deliberately overcharge.
c. demand a preliminary hearing.
b. waive grand jury review.
d. refuse to take Alford pleas.
Which of the following statements is not true about DNA evidence?
a. DNA is considered to be the gold standard of forensic science.
b. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that prisoners have a Constitutional right to
post-conviction DNA testing that might prove their innocence.
c. Biological evidence that may be subjected to DNA testing is available in only 10
percent of criminal cases.
d. Jurors often do not understand that mistakes by police or crime lab personnel may
render DNA test results inadmissible at trial.
With regard to judicial elections, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that
a. race is a permissible consideration in drawing congressional voting districts.
b. judges cannot be elected in ways that place minority candidates at an unfair
disadvantage.
c. it is legal to elect judges from an entire judicial district, which may, unfortunately
“dilute black voting strength.”
d. those who draw election districts must consider whether white voters are likely to
vote for minority candidates.
Obtaining clients is only half of the problem facing private attorneys who represent
criminal clients. The second half is
a. winning the case.
b. getting clients to cooperate.
c. collecting evidence.
d. getting paid.
The three most prominent defendant characteristics used in the discussion of crime and
crime policy are
a. age, race, and marital status.
b. race, education, and income.
c. family background, sex, and age.
d. sex, poverty, and race.
CASE 8.3
For most Americans, the judge is the symbol of justice. Of all the actors in the criminal
justice process, the public holds the judge most responsible for ensuring that the system
operates fairly and impartially. And most certainly the trappings of officethe flowing
black robes, the gavel, and the command “All rise!” when the judge enters the
courtroomreinforce this mystique. As important as these symbols are, they sometimes
raise obstacles to understanding what judges actually do and how they influence the
criminal justice process.
The vast array of legal powers possessed by judges often leads people to
a. overestimate the actual influence of the judge.
b. underestimate the actual influence of the judge.
c. understand the actual influence of the judge.
d. None of these answers is correct.
Public defenders in large urban jurisdictions are usually assigned to
a. various courtrooms and/or responsibilities (e.g., initial appearance, preliminary
hearing, trial).
b. specific defendants whom they follow through the court process.
c. a specific court team.
d. desk work in the beginning and courtroom work as they gain experience.
CASE 5.1
Sixteen times Willie Barker’s murder case was set for trial, and sixteen times it was
continued. At first the defense readily agreed, gambling that Barker’s codefendant
would be found not guilty. Thus, some of the continuances were caused by the six
separate trials before the codefendant was finally convicted. Other continuances were
granted because of the illness of the police investigator. It was not until five years after
arrest that Barker was convicted of murder.
What right did Barker’s lawyer argue was violated?
a. the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.
b. the Seventh Amendment right to a speedy trial.
c. the Eighth Amendment right to a speedy trial.
d. the Fourth Amendment right to a speedy trial.
This type of prisoner petition seeks a court order to compel a public entity or official to
do something that is owed to the plaintiff as a matter of constitutional or statutory right.
a. mandamus
b. habeas corpus
c. motion to compel
d. Section 1983 action
Privileged communications protect confidential discussions in certain relationships in
which we want to foster open, honest communication. Which of the following would
not be considered a privileged communication?
a. a conversation between attorney and client
b. a conversation between physician and patient
c. a conversation between husband and wife
d. a conversation between teacher and student
The organization of courts in the United States impacts the processing of cases in which
of the following ways?
a. decentralization of justice
b. appeals
c. unification
d. problem-solving
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.
The required size of a jury is
a. determined by the U.S. Constitution.
b. the same for state and federal courts.
c. always changing based on the needs of the court.
d. six or more.
The Miranda warnings do not have to be given before law enforcement obtains
a. breath or blood samples.
b. handwriting samples.
c. fingerprints.
d. Miranda warnings are not required for any of these.
Federal sentencing guidelines are
a. popular with taxpayers because they have reduced federal prison populations.
b. popular among federal judges because it makes difficult decisions easier.
c. criticized for allowing too much discretion and too much leniency.
d. criticized as too harsh, unfair, rigid, and complex.
In 1973, slightly more than one percent of state judges were African American. In 2009,
that figure stands at roughly
a. six percent.
b. twelve percent.
c. eighteen percent.
d. twenty-four percent.
The due process model starts with the premise that crime is a reflection of
a. social problems
b. family problems
c. moral problems
d. religious problems
Unlike all the other states, this state derives its civil law from the Napoleonic Code.
a. Alabama
b. Wisconsin
c. Louisiana
d. Florida
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.
Which sentencing philosophy encompasses the idea that offenders deserve punishment?
a. Retribution.
b. Incapacitation.
c. Deterrence.
d. Rehabilitation.
In crimes of violence such as assaults, robberies, and rapes, Hispanic women report the
crime to the authorities what percent of the time?
a. 10
b. 25
c. 35
d. 50
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 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.
What kind of crimes do state courts primarily decide?
a. major drug distribution
b. terrorist crimes
c. white-collar crimes
d. street crimes
The key characteristics of common law include all of the following, except:
a. predominately judge-made
b. based on justice
c. found in multiple sources
d. applies rules of law found in previous cases
Conviction of a parent is not correlated with the likelihood of a child offending and
being convicted.
The concept of burden of proof encompasses only the burden of production.
The Burger Court outlawed plea bargaining.
Drug crimes are categorized as Type I offenses in the Uniform Crime Reports.
An appellate court’s written decision and explanation is called a(n) ______________.
In Europe it is rare for a defendant to be sentenced to serve more than five years in
prison.
What are the responsibilities of the three different branches of government (legislative,
judicial, and executive) regarding sentencing?
Public defenders find that defendants more readily accept their advice than the advice
of private attorneys.
Grand juries are used extensively in jurisdictions where the constitution requires a
grand jury indictment in all felonies.
At times members of the courtroom work group perceive that the victim’s demands for
public justice actually mask a desire for private ____________________.
Discuss how the courtroom work group approaches trials and pleas. Explain this in the
context of a defendant who insists on going to trial and a defense lawyer who knows
that there is a strong possibility of conviction.
Define, discuss, compare, and contrast probation, parole, and pardon.
____________________ does not mean conviction, but rather allegations of
wrongdoingroughly the equivalent of a grand jury indictment.
In domestic violence courts a single judge handles multiple criminal, family court, and
divorce cases involving the same defendant.
Define, compare, and contrast plain error, reversible error, and harmless error.