Q&A Hero

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)

Q: After U.S. v. Booker (2005) sentencing guidelines became a. advisory. b. mandatory. c. unconstitutional. d. applicable.

Q: For what crime did the Supreme Court ban the use of the death penalty in Coker v. Georgia (1977)? a. espionage b. treason c. rape of an adult female d. murder

Q: In Robinson v. California (1962), the Supreme Court ruled that a 90-day sentence for drug addiction was a. realistic. b. unreasonable. c. proportionate. d. disproportionate.

Q: The idea that the punishment must fit the crime is the Eighth Amendment principle of a. aggregation. b. proportionality. c. equivocality. d. equal protection.

Q: In what case did the Supreme Court rule that death by electrocution did not violate the cruel and unusual punishment clause? a. In re Kemmler (1890) b. Chambers v. Florida (1940) c. Furman v. Georgia (1972) d. Robinson v. California (1961)

Q: Which Amendment contains the ban on cruel and unusual punishment? a. The Fifth Amendment b. The Sixth Amendment c. The Eighth Amendment d. The Fourteenth Amendment

Q: Which of the following kind of punishments are prohibited by the Eighth Amendment? a. contumacious b. presumptuous c. barbaric d. sumptuous

Q: In what case did the Court apply the Apprendi rule to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines? a. Penry v. Lynaugh (1989) b. U.S. v. Booker (2005) c. Roper v. Simmons (2005) d. Atkins v. Virginia (2002)

Q: Until what year did the guidelines and mandatory forms of fixed sentencing create only possible cruel and unusual punishment problems? a. 1990 b. 1995 c. 2000 d. 2005

Q: In Stanley v. Georgia (1969), the Supreme Court struck down a statute which made it a crime for an adult to possess what in their own home? a. marijuana b. illegal weapons c. obscene materials d. drug paraphernalia

Q: According to Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), which of the following describes the constitutional right to privacy? a. a part of the liberty protected by due process b. a fundamental right c. required by equal protection d. protected by the Eight and Fourteenth Amendments

Q: Which of the following is protected by the First Amendment? a. obscenity b. flag burning as a political protest c. fighting words d. expression that creates a clear and present danger to compelling government interests

Q: In Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc., et al. (1991), the Supreme Court ruled that a state law banning totally nude dancing in public was a. constitutional because it banned only totally nude dancing. b. unconstitutional because nude dancing is expressive conduct. c. unconstitutional because it infringes on free speech. d. constitutional because it furthers a substantial government interest in protecting order and morality.

Q: The void-for-overbreadth doctrine invalidates laws that have what effect on protected expression? a. an unacceptable chilling effect b. an unacceptable retracting effect c. an unacceptable facilitating effect d. an unacceptable excoriating effect

Q: A trial without a jury is called: a. a bench trial b. a jury trial c. a verdict trial d. an unconstitutional trial

Q: What name is given to offensive, sexually explicit material that is not protected by the First Amendment? a. obscenity b. profanity c. libel d. pornography

Q: The U.S. Supreme Court took a "hands off" approach to sentencing procedures until what case? a. Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) b. Blakely v. Washington (2004) c. U.S. v. Booker (2005) d. Gall v. U.S. (2007)

Q: Which of the following rights is guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment? a. the right to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure b. the right to bear arms c. the right to freedom from cruel and unusual punishment d. the right to free speech

Q: What level of scrutiny are gender classifications subject to under equal protection? a. strict b. heightened c. rational basis d. compelling interest

Q: What is the level of scrutiny that most government classifications (excluding those involving fundamental rights, race, ethnicity, religion, or gender) are subject to under equal protection? a. heightened scrutiny b. strict scrutiny c. the compelling government interest test d. the rational basis test

Q: Equal protection does not require that a. racial classifications be subjected to strict scrutiny. b. everyone, or even all criminals, be treated exactly alike. c. punishments be proportional. d. classifications regarding fundamental rights be subject to strict scrutiny.

Q: Which Amendment to the Constitution contains the Equal Protection clause? a. The First Amendment b. The Fourth Amendment c. The Eighth Amendment d. The Fourteenth Amendment

Q: Because sentencing guidelines are now advisory, appellate review of sentencing decisions is limited to determining whether they are: a. arbitrary b. confused c. reasonable d. collusive

Q: Which Amendment to the Constitution requires that states provide equal protection of the law? a. The Ninth Amendment b. The Tenth Amendment c. The Thirteenth Amendment d. The Fourteenth Amendment

Q: Which amendments to the Constitution resulted in the void-for-vagueness doctrine? a. The Fourth and Fifth Amendments b. The Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments c. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments d. The Fifth and Fifteenth Amendments

Q: The doctrine is concerned with giving individuals fair notice of what is criminal and preventing arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement of laws. a. proportionality b. void-for-vagueness c. obscenity d. equal protection

Q: What is the name of a law that criminalizes an act that was innocent when it was committed? a. bill of attainder law b. forfeiture law c. ex post facto law d. bill of particulars

Q: According to the principle of there must be a specific law defining a crime and setting out the punishment before a person can be punished for that crime? a. legality b. comity c. proportionality d. reciprocity

Q: What is the standard used by courts of appeal to determine if a sentence is "inside, just outside, or significantly outside the Guidelines range?" a. the constitutional standard b. the abuse-of-discretion standard c. the upward departure standard d. the downward departure standard

Q: The authors of the U.S. Constitution were suspicious of a. the rights of individuals. b. the rights of large groups of voters. c. the power of influential leaders. d. power in the hands of government officials.

Q: It would be inappropriate to refer to "criminal law," as if it were a singular entity. Why is this?Discuss all that "criminal law" really includes in the U.S.

Q: Define, describe, compare, and contrast common-law crimes and statutory crimes. Be sure to provide examples.

Q: Explain the text-case method including the reason for its name. Also explain the two reasons for applying criminal principles and definitions to specific cases.

Q: Explain the relationship between the general and special parts of criminal law.

Q: Explain the purposes or rationales for punishment and the arguments in favor of each rationale. Include a discussion about current trends in punishment.

Q: Crime that is inherently wrong or evil, like murder and rape, is called crime of moral .

Q: Assuming there is no majority opinion, the opinion joined in by more judges than any other opinion is called the ______________ opinion.

Q: Crimes are acts deserving of the strongest and stigma of a society.

Q: In case citations, the number always comes before the title of a reporter and the page always comes immediately after the title.

Q: The text case method stimulates you to think about legal principles and their application.

Q: The police decision to investigate or not is an example of informal .

Q: Affirmative defenses such as justification and excuse, place the burden of production or of on the defendant.

Q: Criminal law is established by elected representatives, administrative agencies, and .

Q: ___________ principles of criminal law apply to many or all crimes.

Q: Retributionists contend that punishment benefits not only but also criminals.

Q: Case citations are summaries of a court's majority opinion. a. true b. false

Q: The majority opinion lays out the established law of the case. a. true b. false

Q: Most criminal law is found in the federal penal code. a. true b. false

Q: The American Law Institute's Model Penal Code has been very influential in shaping modern criminal law in America. a. true b. false

Q: Most states have abolished common-law crimes. a. true b. false

Q: Incapacitation restrains convicted offenders from committing further crimes. a. true b. false

Q: Discretionary decision making is decision making that is in plain view. a. true b. false

Q: To qualify as criminal punishment, penalties have to meet four criteria. a. true b. false

Q: City, town, and village governments do not enjoy broad powers to create criminal laws. a. true b. false

Q: After the adoption of the Model Penal Code in 1962, more than forty states changed their criminal codes. a. true b. false

Q: The special part of criminal law consists of principles that apply to more than one crime. a. true b. false

Q: Crimes and torts are similar in that both are sets of rules telling us what we can"t do. a. true b. false

Q: The principle of utility permits only the minimum amount of pain necessary in order to prevent crime. a. true b. false

Q: Classical deterrence theory states that rational human beings won"t commit crimes if they know that the pain of punishment outweighs the pleasure gained from committing crimes. a. true b. false

Q: Determinists reject the free-will assumption that underlies retribution. a. true b. false

Q: Criminal law is only one kind of social control. a. true b. false

Q: The elements of the crime of embezzlement would be found in the general part of the criminal law. a. true b. false

Q: Crimes punishable by more than a year of imprisonment are called felonies. a. true b. false

Q: Crimes and torts are essentially the same, but with different names. a. true b. false

Q: The criminal law is the only form of social control in our society and the only way to hold a person responsible for deviating from social norms. a. true b. false

Q: In the citation 319 N.W. 2d 459, the number 459 represents the a. volume number. b. page where the opinion begins in a volume. c. date the decision was handed down. d. date the case was argued.

Q: When an appellate court overturns the decision of a trial court and sends the case back for further proceedings in accord with its decision, the appeals court has a. reversed the trial court's decision. b. affirmed the trial court decision. c. reversed and remanded the trial court decision. d. declined the trial court decision.

Q: If an appellate court affirms the decision of the court immediately below, this means that the lower court's decision is a. upheld. b. overturned. c. questioned. d. not considered.

Q: The legal rule the court has decided to apply to the facts of the cases is called the a. issue. b. holding. c. result. d. reasoning.

Q: The appellant is the party who a. is appealing to ensure their victory in the court below. b. is appealing to overturn an unfavorable decision. c. has had an appeal filed against them. d. has not filed the charges against the appellee.

Q: According to the text, which is the most common category of crimes? a. misdemeanor crimes b. felony crimes c. violent crimes d. property crimes

Q: Administrative crimes a. do not exist because agencies do not have the power to enact rules. b. can only be enacted by federal agencies. c. are no longer a significant source of criminal law. d. are a rapidly growing source of law.

Q: Which of the following is not true of a felony crime? a. a felony is more serious than a misdemeanor b. a felony is punishable by death or an imprisonment of more than one year c. a felony is never punished by imprisonment d. felony defendants have to be in court for their trials

Q: Crimes and torts are similar in which of the following ways? a. The standard of proof for both is beyond a reasonable doubt. b. They both apply only to economic wrongs. c. They both apply only to criminals. d. They both tell us what we can and can"t do.

Q: Criminal law reformers called for the abolition of common-law crimes because they a. contended that law created by judges was not only disorderly and incomplete, it was antidemocratic. b. believed that common-law crimes were unconstitutional. c. did not trust judges to make good decisions. d. thought law was too important to be known as common.

Q: Even in states that have codified their criminal codes, the common-law is important today because a. most misdemeanors are still common-law crimes. b. it helps explain previous court decisions. c. it is used by judges to help them interpret current criminal statutes. d. it is historically interesting.

Q: Sentencing laws that make prison release dependent on rehabilitation are called a. dependent sentencing laws. b. indeterminate sentencing laws. c. determinate sentencing laws. d. independent sentencing laws.

Q: When professionals make judgments based on their training, their experience, and unwritten rules this is called a. discretionary decision making. b. biased decision making. c. affirmative decision making. d. productive decision making.

Q: Which of the following is the highest standard of proof known to the law? a. absolute certainty b. preponderance of the evidence c. probable cause d. beyond a reasonable doubt