Q&A Hero

Q: The general principle of actus reus includes a voluntary act. a. true b. false

Q: Offenses that don"t require a mens rea do include an attendant circumstances element. a. true b. false

Q: In Robinson v. California, the Supreme Court stated that it would be cruel and unusual punishment to punish someone for a disease or illness. a. true b. false

Q: All crimes have to include a criminal act. That's why it's the first principle of criminal liability. a. true b. false

Q: The term actus reus refers to the act element of a crime. a. true b. false

Q: If there's no criminal conduct, there's no criminal liability. a. true a. false

Q: Which of the following are the two kinds of criminal omission? a. failure to observe and failure to intervene b. failure to report and failure to observe c. failure to move and failure to intervene d. failure to report and failure to intervene

Q: In the plurality opinion in Powell v. Texas (1967), the conviction for public drunkenness was a. affirmed because Powell was not punished for being an alcoholic but for the act of being drunk in a public place. b. affirmed because Powell was being punished for being afflicted with alcoholism. c. reversed because Powell was being punished for being a chronic alcoholic. d. reversed because Powell committed no actus reus.

Q: Which of the following is a voluntary act? a. being addicted to the use of narcotics b. knowing possession c. attacking someone while sleepwalking d. assaulting someone while suffering from automatism

Q: What modern phrase comes from the ancient idea of manifest criminality? a. a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush b. between a rock and a hard place c. stuck in a rut d. caught red-handed

Q: Which of the following cannot be a criminal act? a. fantasizing b. speech c. possession d. omission to act

Q: For an omission to act to be a crime, what must exist? a. a compulsion to act b. a legal duty to act c. a moral duty to act d. a necessity to act

Q: Some serious crimes include five elements. Which of the following is not one of those elements? a. a voluntary act b. the mental element c. causation d. omission

Q: Serious crimes that include (1) a voluntary act, (2) the mental element, and (3) circumstantial elements, (4) causation and (5) criminal harm are also called a. harm crimes. b. mens rea crimes. c. causation crimes. d. bad result crimes.

Q: The concurrence element means that a criminal intent has to a. trigger the criminal act. b. lead directly to the harm. c. be the legal cause of the result. d. flow from the act.

Q: What type of possession is required by most states before an act can be criminalized? a. knowing b. mere c. constructive d. perfunctory

Q: A friend of yours puts illegal drugs into your backpack without your knowledge. This is known as a. constructive possession of the drugs. b. knowing possession of the drugs. c. mere possession of the drugs. d. real possession of illegal drugs.

Q: If there is no criminal conduct, there's no criminal a. possession. b. liability. c. omission. d. conduct.

Q: Legal duties can arise from a. statutes, contracts, and omissions. b. statutes, contracts, and special relationships. c. moral obligations that are generally recognized. d. laws that require certain events to be reported.

Q: A legal fiction turns what into an act, although it is really a passive state? a. legal duty b. omission c. possession d. convolutionism

Q: The criminal law refers to a failure to act as a. an omission. b. a commission. c. a breach of contract. d. a refusal.

Q: What failures to perform legal duties are punishable as criminal omissions? a. premeditated b. planned c. justified d. unreasonable

Q: The existence of a legal duty is what element of a crime? a. attendant circumstance b. adjunct c. concurrent d. permissive

Q: In Robinson v. California (1962), the Supreme Court held that Robinson's conviction must be a. upheld because his addiction resulted from a voluntary act. b. upheld because people addicted to narcotics are a danger to themselves and others. c. reversed because a person cannot be punished for a status or condition. d. reversed because there was no showing that Robinson was dangerous.

Q: Which of the following refers to what we do? a. action b. status c. possession d. duty

Q: Which of the following refers to who we are? a. action b. status c. possession d. duty

Q: When you possess something you don"t know you possess, it is called a. constructive possession. b. actual possession. c. knowing possession. d. mere possession.

Q: Which type of possession is it where one has physical control of banned stuff? a. constructive possession b. actual possession c. knowing possession d. mere possession

Q: Which of the following are the two kinds of criminal possession? a. actual possession and constructive possession b. real possession and constructive possession c. actual possession and fictional possession d. actual possession and factual possession

Q: Most states follow which of the following? a. "Family Member" doctrine b. health care professionals rule c. the American Bystander rule d. the "Good Samaritan" doctrine

Q: Which doctrine imposes a legal duty to help or call for help for imperiled strangers? a. "Family Member" doctrine b. health care professionals rule c. the American Bystander rule d. the "Good Samaritan" doctrine

Q: Drivers with dangerously high blood pressure who suffer strokes while they"re driving and kill someone while the stroke has incapacitated them is an example of which of the following? a. involuntarily induced involuntary acts b. voluntarily induced involuntary acts c. voluntarily induced voluntary acts d. involuntarily induced voluntary acts

Q: Most offenses that don"t require a mens rea do include which of the following? a. a moral but not legal transgression b. a lapse of good judgment but not criminal c. a criminal omission d. an attendant circumstances element

Q: In the English case King v. Cogdon (1951), Mrs. Cogdon was acquitted of murder because a. her acts were done while asleep and thus were not voluntary. b. she was insane at the time of the crime. c. she did not cause the death. d there was no concurrence between the acts and the result.

Q: Only voluntary acts qualify as criminal a. pro se. b. mens rea. c. actus reus. d. caveat emptor.

Q: The requirement that attitudes have to turn into deeds is called a. manifest criminality. b. a voluntary act. c. mens rea. d. attendant circumstance.

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. three c. four d. five

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: What are the three levels of scrutiny under the Equal Protection clause, and to what types of classifications does each apply? Explain each test.

Q: The rule of law is also known as the principle of _______________.

Q: Cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited by the _______________ 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: In v. Washington (2004), the Court struck down a Washington state statute that allowed judges to increase the length of prison time beyond the "standard range" prescribed in the Washington Sentencing Guidelines based on facts not proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 pure democracy, the can have whatever it wants.

Q: Under the Eighth Amendment, punishments must be _______________ to the offense.

Q: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that vague laws do not violate the guarantees of the U.S. Constitution. a. true b. false

Q: Three-strikes laws have been ruled unconstitutional. a. true b. false

Q: Until 2000, the guidelines and mandatory forms of fixed sentencing created only possible cruel and unusual punishment problems. a. true b. false

Q: Thirty-five mentally retarded persons were executed between 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated and 2001. a. true b. false

Q: The Supreme Court has ruled that the death sentence is unconstitutional for the crime of the rape of a child. a. true b. false

Q: In Coker v. Georgia (1977), the Supreme Court allowed the death sentence for the crime of rape of an adult. a. true b. false

Q: Most state constitutions include a ban on retroactive statutes. a. true b. false

Q: The death penalty is always a violation of the Eighth Amendment. a. true b. false

Q: The Eighth Amendment requires that punishments be proportional to the crime. a. true b. false

Q: The ban on retroactive criminal lawmaking prevents officials from punishing conduct they think is wrong but which no existing criminal law prohibits. a. true b. false

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. a. true b. false

Q: District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) is the first successful Second Amendment challenge in the Court's history. a. true b. false

Q: The right to privacy is specifically mentioned by name in the U.S. Constitution. a. true b. false

Q: Laws that are overly broad in their reach might have a chilling effect on the exercise of freedom of expression. a. true b. false

Q: Fighting words are not protected by the First Amendment. a. true b. false

Q: The First Amendment protects only written or spoken words. a. true b. false

Q: Racial classifications by the government are subjected to the rational basis test under the Equal Protection Clause. a. true b. false

Q: Retroactive criminal laws undermine the "central values" of free societies. a. true b. false

Q: Ex post facto laws are forbidden by the Constitution. a. true b. false

Q: In our constitutional democracy, the Constitution limits the power of the majority. a. true b. false

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: To what cases do opinions in cases such as Apprendi rule, Blakely and Booker apply? a. death penalty cases only b. judge increased sentencing cases only c. misdemeanor cases only d. less serious felony cases only

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.