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.
What defendants did Neubauer (1991) find were most likely to win on appeal?
a. defendants convicted of nonviolent offenses and who received a relatively lenient
sentence.
b. defendants convicted of violent offenses and who received a relatively lenient
sentence.
c. defendants convicted of nonviolent offenses and who received a relatively harsh
sentence.
d. defendants convicted of violent offenses and who received a relatively harsh
sentence.
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.
What reason for wrongful convictions plays a role in 72% of the DNA exonerations to
date?
a. mistaken eyewitness identifications
b. false confessions
c. improper forensic evidence
d. unreliable informants
The first victim compensation program in the United States began in what state?
a. California
b. Michigan
c. New York
d. Wisconsin
According to the text, a good deal of the political rhetoric about crime focuses on
a. prosecutors
b. police
c. the criminal courts
d. judges
The role of the prosecutor involves broad discretion and
a. decentralization
b. Streamlining
c. centralization
d. guidelining
The role of the prosecutor involves two major characteristics: decentralization and what
else?
a. deference
b. commitment
c. broad discretion
d. willingness to compromise
What concept stresses the importance of the patterned interactions of judges,
prosecutors, and defense attorneys?
a. The courthouse dynamics concept.
b. The courtroom workgroup concept.
c. The plea bargaining concept.
d. The assembly-line justice concept.
Which of the following courts embody the concept of therapeutic jurisprudence?
a. drug courts
b. domestic violence courts
c. mental health courts
d. drug, domestic violence, and mental health courts
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.
Which of the following is true based on decades of research?
a. offenders and victims often possess the same characteristics
b. offenders and victims often engage in many of the same behaviors
c. offenders and victims often possess the same characteristics and engage in many of
the same behaviors
d. offenders and victims rarely possess the same characteristics
Victims and witnesses face frustrations in coping with the court process
a. but overall exhibit surprising support for the system
b. and almost never show up for court
c. and overall resent the system as a result
d. none of these answers is correct
From the case citation Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), the reader knows
which of the following?
a. The decision is in favor of the defendant.
b. The case was a criminal case.
c. The case is in volume 384 of the Supreme Court Reports.
d. The case is found on page 1966.
CASE 15.2
Since 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court has raised serious doubts about the
constitutionality of many state sentencing guidelines, holding that other than a prior
conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the statutory
maximum must be tried before a jury (Apprendi v. New Jersey, 2000). Based on this
reasoning, in 2004 the Court struck down sentencing guidelines in the State of
Washington, holding that the Sixth Amendment gives juries (and not judges) the power
to make a finding of fact beyond a reasonable doubt (Blakely v. Washington, 2004). The
dissenters argued that the decision will serve only to increase judicial discretion and
lead to less uniformity in sentencing, perhaps leading to increasing racial
discrimination.
Failure to submit a sentencing factor to a jury is subject to what kind of review?
a. harmless error review.
b. harmful error review.
c. strict scrutiny review.
d. harmless scrutiny review.
The Court has narrowed the list of death-eligible offenders by striking down death
penalty provisions for most crimes. Which of the following crimes remains an open
question?
a. rape.
b. child rape.
c. homicide.
d. treason.
What is it called when an appellate court upholds a lower court’s decision?
a. affirmed
b. reversed
c. remanded
d. recused
A court order directing a specific action or lack of action is known as an:
a. interrogatory
b. indictment
c. injunction
d. interdiction
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
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.
If a person is indicted, s/he is
a. convicted of a crime.
b. found guilty of contempt of court.
c. exonerated.
d. charged with a crime.
Which of the following statements is not true about criminal defense attorneys?
a. Most have a regular clientele.
b. Some defense attorneys rely on police officers, bail agents, and court clerks to give
their names to defendants who need counsel.
c. The private attorney’s fee in a criminal case is generally a flat fee paid in advance.
d. Most earn a modest, middle-class living.
Misdemeanors are handled by which courts?
a. lower courts
b. supreme courts
c. justice of the peace courts
d. problem-solving courts
A recent study of judicial voting in thousands of cases showed that in most areas of law
the decisions of female and male judges
a. are always different
b. are never different
c. are often different
d. are rarely different
The administrative policymaking organization of the federal judicial system, comprised
of 26 federal judges, is the:
a. Judicial Conference of the U.S.
b. Administrative Office of the Courts
c. Federal Judicial Center
d. U.S. Sentencing Commission
What do bail agents provide?
a. a specialized form of insurance
b. case to the courts
c. loans to defendants
d. collateral to the courts
The chivalry/paternalism hypothesis emphasizes that women are
a. mature
b. innocent
c. competent
d. childlike
As prosecutorial dominance increased, what else also happened?
a. the power of the victim declined
b. the power of the victim increased
c. the power of the victim remained the same
d. the authority of the judge was undermined
CASE 7.2
Is it enough to have a lawyer? Must the lawyer also be competent and effective? The
Supreme Court has recognized the effective assistance of counsel as essential to the
Sixth Amendment guarantee (McMann v. Richardson 1970).
What standard was applied in the Court’s most significant holding in 1984 as the proper
criterion to be applied in making a determination of the ineffectiveness of counsel?
a. an “objective standard of reasonableness.”
b. a ‘subjective standard of reasonableness.”
c. a “partial standard of reasonableness.”
d. a “qualified standard of reasonableness.”
CASE 15.1
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, an unusual political coalition developed between
liberals and conservatives. Both sides found considerable fault in existing sentencing
practices. Although their reasons reflected fundamentally different concerns, liberals
and conservatives defined the problem in similar terms: The criminal laws permitted too
much latitude in sentencing, providing judges with little or no guidance on how to
determine the proper sentence for each individual case.
Which of the following is true for both liberals and conservatives regarding changes to
sentencing structures?
a. they sought greater predictability in sentencing.
b. they sought harsher sentencing.
c. they sought more lenient in sentencing.
d. they sought to take sentencing away from judges and give it to legislators.
The second layer of the criminal justice wedding cake consists of
a. a few celebrated cases.
b. serious felonies.
c. less serious felonies.
d. misdemeanors.
What 13th Century document attempted to address the problem of delay in justice?
a. Declaration of the Rights of Man
b. Magna Carta
c. English Constitution
d. Code of Wales
What agency’s original purpose was to develop the federal sentencing guidelines?
a. The Federal Judicial Center
b. The U.S. Sentencing Commission
c. The Judicial Council
d. Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
What is stressed in the law on the books perspective on mandatory minimum sentences?
a. certainty of punishment
b. certainty of discretion
c. certainty of nullification
d. certainty of sentence
Overall, community prosecution stresses a proactive approach. Rather than reacting to
crime through prosecution, these programs stress crime prevention.
Defendants may view their public defender as similar to the prosecutor.
Pardons are a common method of prisoner release.
The bulk of trial court filing are never appealed because the case is settled without a
trial.
Once bail has been set, a defendant can gain pretrial release in _____ basic ways.
Defending unpopular clients is the basis for a great deal of _____ of lawyers.
In every criminal case the prosecution must prove what is known as _____, a Latin
phrase meaning “body of the crime.”
Article II of the U.S. Constitution established the U.S. Supreme Court.
Speedy-trial laws are not based on an analysis of why _____ occurs.
Trials are a _____ and time-consuming means of establishing guilt.
Discuss the role of the judge within the courtroom work group.
Impeachment does not mean conviction, but rather allegations of wrongdoing.
The exclusionary rule bars evidence from being used in the prosecution’s case-in-chief
if it was obtained in violation of a defendant’s constitutional rights.
The victims’ movement is seen as providing much needed support for victims of crime
by some but as manipulating victims by providing symbols but no substance by others.
Explain the arguments on each side of this issue. Which side do you support? Why?
The Miranda decision created new rights for defendants and suspects.
The President and state governors have the authority to issue _____ to convicted
offenders.
Grand juries indict in only a small percentage of the cases brought to them by the
prosecutor.
Getting along with clients is one of the easiest parts of being a public defender.