Accounting
Anthropology
Archaeology
Art History
Banking
Biology & Life Science
Business
Business Communication
Business Development
Business Ethics
Business Law
Chemistry
Communication
Computer Science
Counseling
Criminal Law
Curriculum & Instruction
Design
Earth Science
Economic
Education
Engineering
Finance
History & Theory
Humanities
Human Resource
International Business
Investments & Securities
Journalism
Law
Management
Marketing
Medicine
Medicine & Health Science
Nursing
Philosophy
Physic
Psychology
Real Estate
Science
Social Science
Sociology
Special Education
Speech
Visual Arts
Criminal Law
Q:
Criminal liability is defined as criminal conduct that qualifies for criminal:
a. punishment
b. mens rea
c. conspiracy
d. murder
Q:
Those crimes requiring a criminal act triggered by criminal intent are
a. result crimes.
b. conduct crimes.
c. intentional crimes.
d. felonies.
Q:
Criminal conduct that qualifies for criminal punishment is the definition of
a. result liability.
b. civil liability.
c. criminal liability.
d. conduct liability.
Q:
The majority of minor crimes against public order and morals do not include
a. mens rea.
b. the voluntary requirement.
c. actus reus.
d. a legal duty to obey.
Q:
Criminal conduct consists of how many elements?
a. two
b. one
c. six
d. eight
Q:
The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Discuss the opinions in the following cases regarding the courts application of the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment to the death penalty. Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008), Atkins v. Virginia (2002), Roper v. Simmons (2005).
Q:
Vague laws violate the due process protections of the Fifth and Fourteen Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Explain how these laws violate due process protections.
Q:
Discuss the importance of the right to a trial by jury as it relates to the process of sentencing convicted offenders. Several recent cases have impacted this right. What are the impacts of: Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000); Blakely v. Washington (2004); and U.S. v. Booker (2005)?
Q:
What does an ex post facto law do? What are the two major purposes of banning ex post facto laws?
Q:
Explain the principle of legality. Why is it important to criminal law and punishment?
Q:
Explain the principle of proportionality. Describe how the principle relates to the death penalty and imprisonment.
Q:
Explain how the Constitution protects our right to privacy. Discuss Griswold v.
Connecticut (1965), Stanley v. Georgia (1969), and Lawrence v. Texas (2003).
Q:
What does it mean that the First Amendment protects expressive speech? Discuss Supreme Court cases that have dealt with expressive speech and criminal statutes.
Q:
What two concerns are raised by laws that are vague? Provide an example of each concern. Why is some vagueness inevitable in any law?
Q:
The U.S. Supreme Court says that all racial classifications are subject to "strict scrutiny." What does this mean in practice? Why is racial classification held to this high standard?
Q:
The principle of legality establishes: "No crime without______ , no punishment withou_______ ."
Q:
Cruel and________ punishment is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.
Q:
Under the Equal Protection Clause, most criminal statutes are subject to only the minimal scrutiny of the _______________ basis test.
Q:
The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that the federal government shall not deny any individual life, liberty, or property without_________ of law.
Q:
Government classifications based on race are subject to _______________ scrutiny by the courts.
Q:
_________-_________ sentencing laws require judges to impose a nondiscretionary minimum amount of prison time that all offenders have to serve.
Q:
Offensive, sexually explicit material not protected by the First Amendment is called ______________.
Q:
Because they are likely to incite violence, _______________ words are not protected by the First Amendment.
Q:
In a _________democracy, the majority can"t make a crime out of conduct protected by the fundamental rights in the U.S. Constitution.
Q:
Under the Eighth Amendment, punishments must be _______________ to the offense.
Q:
Other than the fact of prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Q:
According to the U.S. Supreme Court, there are two kinds of cruel and unusual punishments.
Q:
In addition to speech, the First Amendment also includes expressive conduct.
Q:
Equal protection of the law requires all people to be treated exactly alike.
Q:
Fair notice means that the defendant is aware that there is a law against a particular act.
Q:
Vague laws violate the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the constitution.
Q:
Article III of the U.S. Constitution bans ex post facto laws.
Q:
The principle of legality is also called "the first principle of criminal law."
Q:
In a pure democracy, the majority can have whatever it wants.
Q:
Constitutional democracy is a pure democracy.
Q:
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that vague laws do not violate the guarantees of the U.S. Constitution.
Q:
Three-strikes laws have been ruled unconstitutional.
Q:
Until 2000, the guidelines and mandatory forms of fixed sentencing created only possible cruel and unusual punishment problems.
Q:
Thirty-five mentally retarded persons were executed between 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated and 2001.
Q:
The Supreme Court has ruled that the death sentence is unconstitutional for the crime of the rape of a child.
Q:
In Coker v. Georgia (1977), the Supreme Court allowed the death sentence for the crime of rape of an adult.
Q:
Most state constitutions include a ban on retroactive statutes.
Q:
The death penalty is always a violation of the Eighth Amendment.
Q:
The Eighth Amendment requires that punishments be proportional to the crime.
Q:
The ban on retroactive criminal lawmaking prevents officials from punishing conduct they think is wrong but which no existing criminal law prohibits.
Q:
Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) struck down a New Jersey statute authorizing judges to increase a maximum sentence based on facts that the judge found to be true by a preponderance of the evidence, but not proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Q:
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) is the first successful Second Amendment challenge in the Court's history.
Q:
The right to privacy is specifically mentioned by name in the U.S. Constitution.
Q:
Laws that are overly broad in their reach might have a chilling effect on the exercise of freedom of expression.
Q:
Fighting words are not protected by the First Amendment.
Q:
The First Amendment protects only written or spoken words.
Q:
Racial classifications by the government are subjected to the rational basis test under the Equal Protection Clause.
Q:
Retroactive criminal laws undermine the "central values" of free societies.
Q:
Ex post facto laws are forbidden by the Constitution.
Q:
The constitution balances the power of government with the liberty of individuals.
Q:
Tory was fifteen years old when he intentionally pushed another high school student in front of a car, killing him. Tory stated in court that he wanted to kill someone and picked his victim at random. Tory has an extensive record of antisocial behavior and was sentenced to life-without possibility of parole. Tory appealed the sentence but the appeal was unsuccessful.
Tory's failed appeal is most like what U.S. Supreme Court case?
a. State v. Ninham (2011)
b. Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
c. Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000)
d. Gall v. U.S. (2007)
Q:
Tory was fifteen years old when he intentionally pushed another high school student in front of a car, killing him. Tory stated in court that he wanted to kill someone and picked his victim at random. Tory has an extensive record of antisocial behavior and was sentenced to life-without possibility of parole. Tory appealed the sentence but the appeal was unsuccessful.
In his appeal, Tory likely argued that his sentence was
a. retroactive
b. ex post facto
c. disproportionate
d. void-for-vagueness
Q:
Tory was fifteen years old when he intentionally pushed another high school student in front of a car, killing him. Tory stated in court that he wanted to kill someone and picked his victim at random. Tory has an extensive record of antisocial behavior and was sentenced to life-without possibility of parole. Tory appealed the sentence but the appeal was unsuccessful.
Tory's appeal would most likely be based on a violation of what constitutional amendment?
a. the Fourth Amendment.
b. the Fifth Amendment.
c. the Seventh Amendment.
d. the Eighth Amendment.
Q:
Tammy is an unemployed probationer. Her probation officer has noted several times that she has been seen in the company of three girlfriends at a local park. She has a long record of convictions for various misdemeanor and felony crimes. Tammy is sentenced to 3 years in prison based on the following statute: "Any person not engaged in any lawful occupation, known to be a member of any gang consisting of two or more persons, who has been convicted at least three times of being a disorderly person, or who has been convicted of any crime, in this or in any other State, is declared to be a gangster"¦."
Laws such as the one under which Tammy was sentenced violate what constitutional guarantee?
a. due process
b. right to remain silent
c. freedom from unreasonable search and seizure
d. right free speech
Q:
Tammy is an unemployed probationer. Her probation officer has noted several times that she has been seen in the company of three girlfriends at a local park. She has a long record of convictions for various misdemeanor and felony crimes. Tammy is sentenced to 3 years in prison based on the following statute: "Any person not engaged in any lawful occupation, known to be a member of any gang consisting of two or more persons, who has been convicted at least three times of being a disorderly person, or who has been convicted of any crime, in this or in any other State, is declared to be a gangster"¦."
One of the issues with Tammy's conviction involves
a. fair warning
b. cruel punishment
c. unusual punishment
d. right privacy
Q:
Tammy is an unemployed probationer. Her probation officer has noted several times that she has been seen in the company of three girlfriends at a local park. She has a long record of convictions for various misdemeanor and felony crimes. Tammy is sentenced to 3 years in prison based on the following statute: "Any person not engaged in any lawful occupation, known to be a member of any gang consisting of two or more persons, who has been convicted at least three times of being a disorderly person, or who has been convicted of any crime, in this or in any other State, is declared to be a gangster"¦."
Tammy's conviction is overturned based on the
a. ex-post facto doctrine
b. void-for-vagueness doctrine
c. habeas doctrine
d. felony failure doctrine
Q:
Steve fired a gun into a Mexican family's home in his neighborhood. Steve was later arrested and admitted to the shooting. Following his conviction, the judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison based on facts not determined to be true beyond a reasonable doubt. The sentence exceeded the statutory maximum by two years.
The increase in sentence by two years based on facts not determined beyond a reasonable doubt violates what Amendment to the Constitution?
a. the Fourth Amendment.
b. the Fifth Amendment.
c. the Sixth Amendment.
d. the Eighth Amendment.
Q:
Steve fired a gun into a Mexican family's home in his neighborhood. Steve was later arrested and admitted to the shooting. Following his conviction, the judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison based on facts not determined to be true beyond a reasonable doubt. The sentence exceeded the statutory maximum by two years.
The sentence imposed on Steve violates
a. the Apprendi rule.
b. the Eighth Amendment.
c. the Fourth Amendment.
d. the ban on ex-post facto laws.
Q:
Julie has been drinking at a bar for several hours. As she is driving home she runs off the road and hits a pregnant woman, killing the fetus but not the woman. The homicide law where Julie lives does not include the unborn in its homicide statute.
If Julie was convicted the court would have violated the ban on
a. ex post facto laws
b. habeas corpus laws
c. void-for-vagueness laws
d. equal protection laws
Q:
Julie has been drinking at a bar for several hours. As she is driving home she runs off the road and hits a pregnant woman, killing the fetus but not the woman. The homicide law where Julie lives does not include the unborn in its homicide statute.
Julie is not convicted because to convict her would violate
a. the principle of legality.
b. the principle of fairness.
c. the principle of due process.
d. the principle of proactive lawmaking.
Q:
What rule ensures criminality is not subject to the passions of rulers, democratic or otherwise?
a. the rule of law
b. the rule of comity
c. the rule of Apprendi
d. the rule of censure
Q:
What is the name of "an appellate court's standard for reviewing a decision that is asserted to be grossly unsound, unreasonable, illegal, or unsupported by the evidence?"
a. abuse-of-discretion standard.
b. clear and present danger standard.
c. Apprendi standard.
d. void-for-vagueness standard.
Q:
The Apprendi rule addresses
a. any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum.
b. any fact that decreases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum.
c. any fact that involves the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum.
d. any fact that prioritizes the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum.
Q:
Most of the debate regarding three-strikes law centers on
a. deterrence
b. incapacitation
c. rehabilitation
d. none of these answers is correct
Q:
Laws that require judges to impose a nondiscretionary minimum amount of prison time that all offenders have to serve are called
a. mandatory minimum sentencing laws
b. three strikes laws
c. capital laws
d. final sentencing laws
Q:
The American Association on Mental Retardation includes three elements in its definition of mental retardation. Which one of the following is not one of those elements?
a. the person has substantial intellectual impairment.
b. the impairment of the person impacts their everyday life of the mental retarded individual.
c. retardation is present at birth or during childhood.
d. the person has an IQ below 80.
Q:
There are numerous capital crimes where no one is killed. Which of the following is not one of those crimes?
a. rape
b. treason
c. espionage
d. kidnapping
Q:
What two evils does the void-for-vagueness doctrine address?
a. lack of fair warning and arbitrary and discriminatory law enforcement.
b. cruel and unusual punishment.
c. retroactive and arbitrary punishment.
d. 2005
Q:
A ban on ex post facto laws seeks to accomplish two major purposes. These purposes include which of the following?
a. protection and prevention
b. prohibition and promiscuity
c. proportion and legality
d. specificity and proportion
Q:
An ex post facto law does one of three things. Which of the following is not one of those things?
a. punish an offender disproportionately after the crime was committed.
b. criminalize an act that was not a crime when it was committed.
c. increase the punishment for a crime after the crime was committed.
d. take away a defense after the crime was committed.
Q:
According to the U.S. Supreme Court, California's three-strikes law
a. does not violate the Eighth Amendment.
b. violates the Eighth Amendment.
c. is constitutional only if applied to defendants who commit very serious felonies.
d. is unconstitutional because it is disproportionate.
Q:
What article of the U.S. Constitution bans ex post facto laws?
a. Article One
b. Article Two
c. Article Three
d. The U.S. Constitution does not ban ex post facto laws
Q:
In Roper v. Simmons (2005), the Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment forbids the execution of
a. rapists.
b. the mentally ill.
c. offenders who committed their crimes when they were under the age of 18.
d. drug dealers.
Q:
When U.S. Courts of Appeal review sentences, they have to consider whether a sentence is "unreasonable" in light of the Guidelines and
a. the general purposes of sentencing under federal law.
b. the Eighth Amendment.
c. the special purposes of sentencing under federal law.
d. public opinion.
Q:
In which case did the Supreme Court rule that it violates the Constitution to execute a mentally retarded criminal defendant?
a. Penry v. Lynaugh. (1989)
b. Coker v. Georgia. (1977)
c. Roper v. Simmons. (2005)
d. Atkins v. Virginia. (2002)