Q&A Hero

Q: Explain how efforts to control quality of life offenses highlight the tension between order and liberty in constitutional democracies.

Q: Discuss the origins and development of disorderly conduct and how it expanded to include "quality of life" offenses aimed at "bad manners" in public.

Q: Discuss the issues surrounding panhandling legislation. Be sure to discuss the tension between order and liberty in creating laws regarding behavior such as panhandling.

Q: What are victimless crimes, and why are they controversial? Be sure to provide examples.

Q: Discuss the controversy surrounding the laws regulating the behavior of homeless and other street people. What is the argument in support of these laws and what is the argument against these laws?

Q: Discuss the broken windows theory and provide examples. What has the research shown about the validity of the theory?

Q: What types of criminal and civil laws have been used to try to deal with gang problems?

Q: In addition to criminal penalties, cities have also turned to ____________ remedies to control gang activity.

Q: Prostitution involves at least ____________ people.

Q: Under the First Amendment, for a regulation to be considered valid, time, place, and manner restrictions must serve ____________ government interests.

Q: The "broken-windows" theory claims "quality of life" crimes are ____________to serious crime.

Q: The term victimless crimes applies only to ____________.

Q: Civil gang ____________ (CGI) are a growing gang suppression strategy.

Q: ____________ can beg honestly on streets and in parks.

Q: In ____________forumsairports, bus stations, railroad stations, subways, and shopping mallsthe government has broad power to restrict and even prohibit solicitation.

Q: Loitering and vagrancy laws were frequently found unconstitutional under the void-for-____________ doctrine.

Q: Quality of life crimes underscore the tension between ____________ and order in a constitutional democracy.

Q: The term "victimless crime" applies only to juveniles.

Q: Civil gang injunctions (CGIs) have been an unqualified success in controlling gang behavior.

Q: All state and city governments have passed criminal laws to regulate gang behavior.

Q: States can control the time, content, and manner of panhandling, but cannot control the place of panhandling.

Q: Vagrancy is a relatively new crime.

Q: Serious crime is a greater concern for most people than bad public manners.

Q: There's wide consensus among high- and low-crime neighborhoods in major cities that drug dealing tops the worries among all classes, races, and ethnic groups, among both men and women.

Q: The empirical findings regarding a link between minor quality of life offenses and more serious crimes are positive.

Q: In group form, disorderly conduct can be categorized as unlawful assembly, rout, or gangbanging.

Q: "Quality of life" crimes refer to the laws that are meant to control "bad manners" in public places.

Q: The list of quality of life offenses includes public drinking and drunkenness.

Q: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that "ordered liberty" is a fundamental requirement of the Constitution.

Q: The U.S. Supreme Court has never struck down a vagrancy or loitering law.

Q: Most people are more worried about bad public manners than they are about serious crimes.

Q: Under the Model Penal Code, fighting in public qualifies as actus reus for disorderly conduct.

Q: A preliminary injunction is a final or permanent court order designed to freeze the status quo.

Q: Disorderly conduct crimes are offenses against public order and morals.

Q: Order and liberty are goals that can be inconsistent.

Q: To be constitutional, time, place and manner regulations must be based on the content of the speech.

Q: The "broken windows" theory claims "quality of life" crimes are linked to serious crime.

Q: Although it's a crime to buy and sell sex, it is not a crime to solicit prostitution.

Q: Commercial speech is protected by the First Amendment.

Q: Expressive conduct is protected by the First Amendment.

Q: Historically, group disorderly conduct consisted of four misdemeanors at the common law.

Q: The term "panhandling" means "begging."

Q: Crimes against public order and morals affect fewer people than the crimes against persons and their property.

Q: In the past, states had traditional laws prohibiting loitering and vagrancy.

Q: Vagrancy means to remain in one place with no apparent purpose.

Q: Throughout most of our history, "bad manners" crimes have been called crimes against public order.

Q: The broken windows theory was originally proposed by Wilson and Mill.

Q: Tiffany lives in the red-light district in Los Angeles. She is walking home one night when a car pulls up and asks her if she would like to participate in a sexual act for money. Tiffany says yes and states a price. A police officer pulls up and tells Tiffany she is under arrest and tells the man in the car to go home. What is the historical reason why Tiffany is arrested while Tito is sent home? a. Tito is seen as reformable. b. Tito can"t control his sex drive. c. Tito is seen as reformable and he can"t control his sex drive. d. none of these answers is correct.

Q: Tiffany lives in the red-light district in Los Angeles. She is walking home one night when a car pulls up and asks her if she would like to participate in a sexual act for money. Tiffany says yes and states a price. A police officer pulls up and tells Tiffany she is under arrest and tells the man in the car to go home. What is most likely that the officer assumed the man in the car was? a. a john. b. a vagrant. c. a loiterer. d. a husband.

Q: Tiffany lives in the red-light district in Los Angeles. She is walking home one night when a car pulls up and asks her if she would like to participate in a sexual act for money. Tiffany says yes and states a price. A police officer pulls up and tells Tiffany she is under arrest and tells the man in the car to go home. Of the following, what is the ticket most likely written for? a. loitering. b. disorderly conduct. c. vagrancy. d. prostitution.

Q: Andre, Tiny, Macho, and Julio are all members of a gang called the Vatos Locos. They spend a great deal of time in the neighborhood park hanging out. The local neighbors complain to the city and the city writes an injunction making it illegal for any of the four boys to spend any time together in public. This type of injunction addresses what kind of behavior by gang members? a. vagrancy. b. loitering. c. recklessness. d. public intoxication.

Q: Andre, Tiny, Macho, and Julio are all members of a gang called the Vatos Locos. They spend a great deal of time in the neighborhood park hanging out. The local neighbors complain to the city and the city writes an injunction making it illegal for any of the four boys to spend any time together in public. If the injunction on Andre, Tiny, Macho, and Julio is written too broadly it may be declared a. void for vagueness. b. in violation of the First Amendment. c. obstructionist. d. in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Q: Andre, Tiny, Macho, and Julio are all members of a gang called the Vatos Locos. They spend a great deal of time in the neighborhood park hanging out. The local neighbors complain to the city and the city writes an injunction making it illegal for any of the four boys to spend any time together in public. What is the name of the injunction written by the city? a. a civil gang injunction. b. a criminal gang injunction. c. a preliminary gang injunction. d. a preliminary criminal injunction.

Q: James has been having a difficult year. He lost his job, has been kicked out of his apartment and currently has no place to live. He spends his days on a corner downtown, soliciting money from strangers. He eats at the mission and sleeps under a bridge near the local park. Based on his situation, James might be considered a a. pimp. b. vagrant. c. prostitute. d. gang member.

Q: James has been having a difficult year. He lost his job, has been kicked out of his apartment and currently has no place to live. He spends his days on a corner downtown, soliciting money from strangers. He eats at the mission and sleeps under a bridge near the local park. Of the following ordinances, which is most likely to be of concern to James? a. disorderly conduct. b. prostitution. c. panhandling. d. gang.

Q: Stephan and Tito are playing basketball in the park with some friends. They are taking a break when they begin discussing politics. Stephan is a democrat and Tito is a Republican. They begin arguing loudly and pushing each other. A police officer cruising by the park hears the commotion and stops to talk to the two men. Based on the information provided, what crime could the officer charge Stephan and Tito with? a. disorderly conduct. b. loitering. c. vagrancy. d. public intoxication.

Q: Stephan and Tito are playing basketball in the park with some friends. They are taking a break when they begin discussing politics. Stephan is a democrat and Tito is a Republican. They begin arguing loudly and pushing each other. A police officer cruising by the park hears the commotion and stops to talk to the two men. What type of activity is the officer engaging in when he stops to talk to the two men? a. protecting public order. b. enforcing gang laws. c. enforcing drunk in public statutes. d. protecting the neighborhood from drug sales.

Q: Historically, who has been punished the harshest for prostitution? a. women. b. men. c. johns. d. pimps.

Q: Noncriminal lawsuits brought by cities seeking restraining orders to bar gang members from gang activities are called a. civil gang injunctions. b. criminal gang injunctions. c. preliminary gang injunctions. d. preliminary criminal injunctions.

Q: Which of the following is true of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of civil gang injunctions in controlling gang behavior? a. such evidence supports the effectiveness of civil gang injunctions in controlling gang behavior. b. such evidence does not support the effectiveness of civil gang injunctions in controlling gang behavior. c. such evidence is mixed regarding the effectiveness of civil gang injunctions in controlling gang behavior. d. none of these answers is correct.

Q: The Court has established a number of tests to determine whether ordinances violate the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. Which of the following is one of those tests? a. to look at the place where the speech takes place. b. to look at who is speaking. c. to look at what is being said. d. to look at why the speech takes place.

Q: In what case did the U.S. Supreme Court tightened the constitutional restrictions on loitering statutes? a. Papichristou v. City of Jacksonville. b. Kolender v. Lawson. c. Joyce v. City and County of San Francisco. d. R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul.

Q: In 1941, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a vagrancy statute that prohibited the importation of a. paupers into California. b. minorities into California. c. gangs into California. d. people into California.

Q: In practice, what is the most common use of disorderly conduct statutes? a. the ban on fighting in public. b. the ban on using "abusive language." c. the ban on creating a "hazardous or physically offensive condition." d. the ban on streetwalking.

Q: The MPC limits conduct that qualifies as disorderly conduct actus reus to three actions. Which of the following is not one of those actions? a. fighting in public. b. making "unreasonable noise" or using "abusive language." c. creating a "hazardous or physically offensive condition." d. panhandling.

Q: Disorderly conduct offenses are an important part of the criminal justice system for three reasons. Which of the following is not one of those reasons? a. they "affect large numbers of defendants. b. they involve a great proportion of public activity. c. they powerfully influence the view of public justice held by millions of people. d. all of these answers are correct.

Q: In a constitutional democracy "quality of life" crimes underscore the tension between liberty and a. order. b. freedom. c. peace. d. policing.

Q: In most states, prostitution and promoting prostitution are a. felonies. b. misdemeanors. c. not considered crimes. d. crimes that are not generally enforced by authorities.

Q: Which of the following would be guilty of the crime of promoting or soliciting prostitution? a. pimp b. libertine c. nymphomaniac d. Luddite

Q: What are disorderly conduct crimes meant to control? a. sexual intercourse b. serious crime c. sex crime d. bad manners

Q: What type of crimes are a hot-button issue between those who believe that criminal law should enforce morality and those who believe the nonviolent behavior of competent adults is none of the law's business? a. "victimless" crimes against public decency b. sex crimes c. aggravated assault crimes d. homicides

Q: Some people believe just as strongly that making bad manners a crime denies individuals their liberty based on what amendments to the U.S. Constitution? a. Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. b. Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. c. Fifth and Fifteenth Amendments. d. Fifth and Sixth Amendments.

Q: The debate between Mill and Stephen concerns the relationship between a. society and government. b. morality and law. c. the haves and have-nots. d. civil and criminal law.

Q: States can control the time, place and manner, but cannot control the content of a. panhandling. b. prostitution. c. loitering. d. solicitation.

Q: Which of the following is notan example of a "victimless crime"? a. loitering b. substance abuse c. embezzlement d. assisted suicide

Q: The term "victimless crime" usually only applies to the conduct of a. minors. b. adults. c. gang members. d. minorities.

Q: In medieval times, who had the power to try and punish crimes against morals? a. government b. king c. ecclesiastical courts d. monarch

Q: In City of Chicago v. Morales, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the city's anti-gang ordinance was unconstitutional because it a. violated equal protection. b. discriminated against blacks. c. unreasonably interfered with First Amendment rights. d. was void for vagueness.

Q: In addition to criminal penalties, cities have also turned to what other remedies to control gang activity? a. interlocutory order b. mandate to cease c. warrant to stop d. civil remedies

Q: To deal with gang problems, many cities have utilized the civil remedy of an injunction to abate a. public nuisances. b. public order crimes. c. quality of life crimes. d. breaches of the peace.