Question 1 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
Most judicial codes of ethics require that a judge "__________" himself if, among other things, he has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceeding. recuse
Answer Key: recuse
Question 2 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
More than __________ percent of state appellate court judges and nearly __________ percent of state trial court judges are elected to their posts.
A. 40/50
B. 80/90
C. 20/30
D. 60/70
Answer Key: B
Question 3 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
Roy Fleming identified three main political styles for prosecutors. The __________ are those who change internal practices, but do so in a way that minimizes opposition.
A. office radical
B. office conservator
C. policy reformer
D. courthouse insurgent
Answer Key: C
Question 4 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
In __________, the Supreme Court agreed with the defendant's argument that the prosecutor in the case acted vindictively and threatened the defendant's due process rights.
A. The North Carolina State Bar v. Michael B. Nifong
B. Gideon v. Wainwright
C. Blackledge v. Perry
D. Argersinger v. Hamlin
Answer Key: C
Question 5 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
Attorneys in criminal cases often require their clients to pay a __________, or fees paid in advance for their services.
A. Retainer
B. bond
C. bail fee
D. deposit
Answer Key: A
Question 6 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
Spangenberg and Schwartz point out that only __________ percent of justice expenditures are devoted to the representation of indigent defendants. (Use a number, don't spell it) 3
Answer Key: 3
Question 7 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
In __________ the Court considered whether the identity of juveniles who testify at criminal trials can be disguised.
A. Ake v. Oklahoma
B. Davis v. Alaska
C. Smith v. Illinois
D. Maryland v. Craig
Answer Key: B
Question 8 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
In __________ the defense attorney acknowledged his client's guilt in open court and focused his defense on reasons why the defendant's life should be spared. The evidence was so clearly indicative of the defendant's guilt, the Supreme Court did not feel the defense attorney's strategy was ineffective.
A. Bell v. Cone
B. Florida v. Nixon
C. Strickland v. Washington
D. Rompilla v. Beard
Answer Key: B
Question 9 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
Without a proper __________ __________ __________ the defense can allege that the evidence was tampered with or "tainted" in such a way that it cannot prove the defendant's involvement in a crime. chain of custody
Answer Key: chain of custody
Question 10 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
The key requirement for an arrest is that it be based on reasonable suspicion.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 11 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
For a plea bargain to be valid, the plea must result from conduct that has a basis in __________. fact
Answer Key: fact
Question 12 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
An example of the pressure for innocent defendants to plead guilty was seen in __________.
A. Napue v. Illinois
B. North Carolina v. Alford
C. Santobello v. New York
D. Edwards v. People
Answer Key: B
Question 13 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
_____ _____ are judges' orders "to control the release of leads, information and gossip to the press by police officers, witnesses and counsel for both sides." gag orders
Answer Key: Gag orders
Question 14 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
In __________, a black defendant was convicted of a violent crime committed against a white security guard. The trial judge denied the defendant's motion that specific questions about racial prejudice be asked of potential jurors.
A. Ristiano v. Ross
B. Swain v. Alabama
C. Baldwin v. New York
D. Batson v. Kentucky
Answer Key: A
Question 15 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
__________ __________ are those defenses that go beyond simply denying that a crime took place or that the defendant committed it. Examples include alibi defenses and self-defense. Affirmative Defenses
Answer Key: Affirmative defenses
Question 16 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
Jury nullification has been defined as juries returning verdicts that reflect prejudiced or bigoted community standards and convict when the evidence does not warrant a conviction.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 17 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
__________ circumstances are those that reduce the seriousness or outrageousness of a given crime.
A. Auxillary
B. Aggravated
C. Mitigating
D. Modifying
Answer Key: C
Question 18 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
The _____ _____ _____ was arguably America's first real run-in with terrorism. Oklahoma City bombing
Answer Key: Oklahoma City Bombing
Question 19 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
__________ penalties occur when a criminal's conviction is made visible to several people with the goal of lowering the offender's social status through the performance of humiliating acts.
A. Apology
B. forfeiture
C. debasement
D. public-exposure
Answer Key: C
Question 20 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
A(n) __________ __________ is an appeal that the appellate courts can decide on (whether to grant a hearing or not). discretionary appeal
Answer Key: discretionary appeal
Question 21 of 30 0.0/ 2.5 Points
The __________ __________ is "an affiliation of organizations dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted and working to redress the causes of wrongful convictions." innocence work
Answer Key: Innocence Network
Question 22 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
According to one study, __________ __________ is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions nationwide, playing a role in more than 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing. eyewitness misidentification
Answer Key: eyewitness misidentification
Question 23 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
Brian Forst used the term __________ to describe the many types of mistakes the criminal justice system can make.
A. Harmless error
B. false justice
C. rush to judgment
D. error of justice
Answer Key: D
Question 24 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
Gender effects are most pronounced in the decision whether to imprison (as opposed to decisions on conviction and sentence length).
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 25 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
A method of alternative dispute resolution in which the parties make informal presentations to a neutral party who then examines the strengths and weakness of each side's case and then informs the parties of them.
A. Neutral evaluation
B. mediation
C. deposition
D. arbitration
Answer Key: A
Question 26 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
The term used to describe the refusal or failure to those responsible to provide food, shelter, health care, or protection for a vulnerable elder is __________. neglect
Answer Key: neglect
Question 27 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
In Frye v. Unitede States it was decided that expert opinion based on a scientific technique is inadmissible unless the technique is "generally accepted" as reliable in the relevant scientific community.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 28 of 30 2.5/ 2.5 Points
Blogs decrease public access to the on-goings of the court.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 29 of 30 0.0/ 15.0 Points
List and discuss the three main steps to the voir dire process. Please give me several paragraphs on your essay questions.
Voire Dire process is defined as "The jury selection process whereby the prosecutor and the defense attorney question members of the jury panel in an effort to seat a jury that achieves the Sixth Amendment goal of Impartiality." (Siegal, Schmalleger, & Worrall, 2011).
There are three main steps to the voire dire process and they are questioning by the judge, challenges for cause, and peremptory challenge.
Questioning by the judge starts out the voir dire process. The judge questions jurors about their knowledge of the case, attitudes towards one another in the case, and more. But, there are certain questions that cannot be asked like racism. An example would be Ristaino v. Ross. The defendant motioned to have the judge ask potential jurors about their racial prejudice. Motion was denied.
The next process is challenges for cause. That is defined as "Prosecutor's of defense attorney's call for removal of a potential juror from service on a jury based on bias or other similar reason demonstrated by the potential juror." (Siegal, Schmalleger, & Worrall 2011). An example of this would be if a jury member is related to the defendent then that would be cause enough to get them removed from the jury. Both the defendant and prosecutors side have many causes for challenges. They determine whether to dismiss the jurors based on the answers and whether they remain fairly and impartially.
The last step in the voir dire process is Peremptory challenge is the right to dismiss a juror from the case without giving an argument and stating why. If the potential juror fails the challenge for cause then they will be dismissed.
Larry Siegel, Frank Schmalleger, & John Worrall 2011. Courts and Criminal Justice in America. Pearson Education Inc. Found at
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/pls_1256321966/013174576X/siegel_ch13.pdf Question 30 of 30 0.0/ 15.0 Points
Discuss the problem of wrongful convictions. Explain the significance of the problem and the causes. Give an example of a wrongfully convicted person cleared through one of the Project Innocence programs.
Wrongful convictions are when a person is convicted of a crime they did not commit. Exoneration is when a wrongfully convicted person is found innocent of their charge. The problems with wrongful convictions ranges from eyewitness misidentification to contaminated evidence.
"Eyewitness misidentification is the single most greatest cause for wrongful convictions nationwide playing a role in more than 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing" (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worrall 2011).
There are several reasons for wrongful convictions and they are duress, intoxication, ignorance of the law, mental impairments, and more. Exonerations have increased in numbers averaging about 42 per year since 2000. It is ruining peoples lives when the system makes a mistake with the cases and people wind up spending years in prison for error of justice.
Various innocent projects have been created to help with the wrongful convictions. The innocent projects is an organization that helps exonerate wrongfully convicted personnel through DNA testing. This project was created by Barry Scheck and Paul Neufeld in 1992.
An example of an exonerated case from the Project Innocence program is Joseph Abbitt. He was convicted of two counts first degree rape. One count first degree burglary, and two counts of first degree kidnapping. He was senteced to two life sentences plus 110 years. He wrote the innocence program in 2005. The innocence program conducted DNA checks on the rape kits and found that Abbitt was innocent of the charge and he was exonerated in 2009.
Innocent Projects. Affiliated with Benjamin Cardoza School of Law at Yeshiva University. Found at
http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Joseph_Abbitt.php.Larry Siegel, Frank Schmalleger, & John Worrall 2011. Courts and Criminal Justice in America. Pearson Education Inc. Found at
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/pcp/pls_1256321966/013174576X/siegel_ch15.pdf
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