Deck 12: Power, Violence, and Crime

Question 1

A public trial prevents secret proceedings, and impartial means that each juror must be able to judge the case objectively.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The victimization rate is less than the official crime rate.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

It is very difficult to estimate the total size of the drug market, but $30 to $40 billion per year is a commonly used figure.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Crimes punishable by more than one year in prison are categorized as misdemeanors.

Question 5

In a trial, the burden of proof rests with the defense.

Question 6

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution promises that no person can be tried for the same crime twice.

Question 7

The official FBI crime rate rose sharply in the United States between 1960 and 1990.

Question 8

In recent times, protection against violence related to terrorism has shaped domestic and foreign policy.

Question 9

The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

Question 10

Most people who are convicted and incarcerated for a felony are sent to city or county jails.

Question 11

As a nation, the United States is both wealthy and free, two conditions that make it a perfect market for illicit drugs.

Question 12

About 90 percent of criminal cases brought to trial end in a guilty plea in front of a judge, not in trial by jury.

Question 13

With criminal activity, criminals victimize individuals by legally exerting power over others in the form of bodily harm or theft or destruction of property.

Question 14

Today thirty-four states, the U.S. military, and the federal government have authorized the use of the death penalty.

Question 15

The 1963 Gideon v. Wainwright ruling held that equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment requires that free legal counsel be appointed for all indigent defendants in all criminal cases.

Question 16

The most common reason interviewees give for not reporting crime to the police is the feeling that police cannot be effective in dealing with the crime.

Question 17

The U.S. Constitution says that everyone has the right to an attorney.

Question 18

An ex post facto law is a retroactive criminal law that works to the benefit of the accused.

Question 19

Each year the volume of drugs entering the United States seems to decrease.

Question 20

Thomas Hobbes argued that governments are formed for the protection of the individual.

Question 21

Making an act criminal after it is committed or retroactively increasing punishment is called

A) habeas corpus.
B) a bill of attainder.
C) an ex post facto law.
D) double jeopardy.

Question 22

The Supreme Court's decision in which of the following cases requires that free legal counsel be appointed for indigent defendants in all criminal cases.

A) Miranda v. Arizona
B) Escobedo v. Illinois
C) Mapp v. Ohio
D) Gideon v. Wainwright

Question 23

Concerns about the possibility of executing innocent persons have led to moratoriums on executions in some states. Which of the following nonprofit legal clinics has taken on death penalty cases in which post-conviction DNA can prove the convict's innocence?

A) American Civil Liberties Union
B) Innocence Project
C) Civil Liberties Defense Center
D) National Right to Life Committee

Question 24

The burden of proof rests with the prosecution. It is up to the prosecution to prove that the accused is guilty beyond

A) reasonable suspicion.
B) reasonable doubt.
C) a shadow of a doubt.
D) any question.

Question 25

The FBI has established a uniform classification of the number of serious crimes committed and reported to police per one hundred thousand people. Which of the following is not one of the FBI's classifications of serious crimes?

A) Murder and non-negligent manslaughter
B) Forcible rape
C) Robbery
D) Marijuana possession

Question 26

The 2006 Supreme Court decision in Kansas v. Marsh determined that a state court may require juries to sentence a defendant to death, even when there is an equal weight of mitigating circumstances and

A) just cause.
B) heat of passion.
C) aggravating evidence.
D) self defense.

Question 27

Which of the following Amendments to the U.S. Constitution protects the rights of defendants?

A) Fourteenth Amendment
B) Tenth Amendment
C) Twentieth Amendment
D) Eighth Amendment

Question 28

Arrested persons are entitled to go free prior to trial unless their freedom would unreasonably endanger society or unless there is a reason to believe they would

A) not appear for trial.
B) commit further crimes.
C) not pay bail.
D) rather be in jail.

Question 29

Despite pious pronouncements against it, Americans have frequently employed violence even in their most idealistic endeavors. All of the following are major instances of violence associated with important movements in American history EXCEPT

A) revolutionary violence.
B) urban violence.
C) racial violence.
D) religious violence.

Question 30

Once a person has been tried for a particular crime and the trial has ended in a decision of not guilty, that person cannot be tried again for the same crime. This concept is known as protection against

A) unfair incrimination.
B) procedural error.
C) double entendre.
D) double jeopardy.

Question 31

Which of the following were considered so fundamental to individual freedom that protection against them was included in the original text of the Constitution?

A) Bills of attainder and ex post facto laws
B) Ex post facto laws and the right to vote
C) Habeas corpus and the right to bear arms
D) None of the above.

Question 32

We should be cautious in interpreting official crime rates. They are really a function of several factors. Which of the following is not one of those factors?

A) Willingness of the victims to report crime
B) Adequacy of the system for reporting and tabulating crime
C) The amount of crime itself
D) All of the above are factors that affect crime rates.

Question 33

Controversy over the death penalty stems from protections found in the Eighth Amendment against

A) unfair jury selection.
B) double jeopardy.
C) cruel and unusual punishment.
D) ex post facto laws.

Question 34

There is a close connection between rising incarceration rates and declining rates of violent crimes.

Question 35

In Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the United States Supreme Court strengthened which of the following?

A) Eighth Amendment prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishments"
B) Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardy
C) Sixth Amendment's guarantees of the right to counsel
D) Fifth Amendment's guarantees of freedom from self-incrimination

Question 36

The exclusionary rule prevents illegally obtained evidence from being used in a criminal case. Although illegally seized evidence may prove the guilt of the accused, it

A) is still admissible in court.
B) cannot be used in court.
C) may be kept in a file for the next time the defendant is in court.
D) may be used to convict a different defendant.

Question 37

The antisocial personality is rarely associated with criminal behavior.

Question 38

All EXCEPT which of the following are given as reasons for the decline in crime rates in the 1990s.

A) Longer prison sentences for repeat offenders
B) More aggressive community policing
C) A booming economy with low unemployment
D) The rise in numbers of immigrants entering America

Question 39

Some critics of plea bargaining view it as another form of leniency in the criminal justice system that reduces the system's deterrent effects. Other critics view it as which of the following?

A) A violation of the protection against self-incrimination
B) The guarantee of a fair jury trial
C) The assurance of a speedy trial
D) Both Options A and B are true.

Question 40

Police are successful in clearing more than 50 percent of crimes by arresting the offender.

Question 41

About 90 percent of the criminal cases brought to trial are disposed of by guilty pleas before a judge through a process known as plea bargaining. In exchange for this plea, which of the following are possible outcomes of the bargain?

A) Reduced charges
B) Dropped charges
C) Lighter penalties
D) All of the above are true.

Question 42

A great deal of crime is irrational; that is, criminals

A) are mostly psychopaths.
B) do not stop to weigh benefits and costs before committing a crime.
C) know the consequences and don't care.
D) are not able to understand the consequences of their actions.

Question 43

Describe the history of labor violence in the United States.

Question 44

The federal antidrug policy can be divided into three categories. Which of the following is NOT one of those categories?

A) Interdiction
B) Enforcement
C) Education
D) Rehabilitation

Question 45

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), together with the FBI and state and local law enforcement agencies, already devote great effort to combating drugs. Which of the following represents the estimate of drug related arrests in the United States?

A) 75 percent
B) 40 percent
C) 10 percent
D) 25 percent

Question 46

Which of the following is not true of individuals with antisocial personality disorder?

A) They have a great sense of responsibility for their action.
B) They have little concern for others.
C) They have little or no sense of morals.
D) They make impulsive decisions.

Question 47

Deviance is the failure to conform to social norms. Which of the following social sciences uses this concept to explain crime?

A) Sociology
B) Ecology
C) Psychology
D) Anthropology

Question 48

Explain the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures..

Question 49

Crime rates are based on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's __________.

Question 50

A __________ is a legislative act that inflicts punishment without a judicial trial.

Question 51

The burden of proof by the prosecution is to prove guilt __________.

Question 52

What is an ex post facto law?

Question 53

________ is a failure to conform to social norms.

Question 54

A genetic cause of antisocial personality disorder is revealed in studies of criminal behavior

A) across generations.
B) across social classes.
C) among adopted siblings.
D) among close personal friends.

Question 55

The idea that law is required to protect individual freedom and governments are formed for collective self-protection was asserted by _________.

Question 56

Some crimes are committed by persons with personality disorders who exhibit long-standing patterns of maladaptive behavior that include inappropriate ways of

A) coping with stress, problem solving, and relating to others.
B) attaining life goals.
C) dress and grooming.
D) none of these.

Question 57

A black male is almost how many times more likely to be murdered than a white male?

A) Ten
B) Eight
C) Three
D) Five

Question 58

Genetic and environmental factors often combine to cause antisocial personality disorder. Which of the following is not one of either of these categories of factors?

A) Low birth weight
B) Low self esteem
C) Drug use by the mother
D) Maternal exposure to toxic agents

Question 59

A __________ is a court order directing police who are holding a person in custody to bring the prisoner into court to explain the reasons for confinement.

Question 60

Drug testing in government and private employment is increasing, but unless it is random, it is not very useful, and some courts have prevented random testing of

A) known drug addicts.
B) females.
C) individuals without their consent.
D) individuals without compensation.

Question 61

Explain the premise behind the concept of bail.

Question 62

What is the purpose of a writ of habeas corpus and how is it executed?

Question 63

Explain the criteria for effective deterrence. Apply the sociological perspective on crime to explain why many people are not deterred even when all criteria are in place.

Question 64

Explain the pros and cons of the incarceration and education approaches to sentencing convicts. Does one approach appear to be more promising over the other at reducing crime?

Question 65

Explain the effect of the ruling in Apodaca v. Oregon on the Sixth Amendment requirement for a twelve-person unanimous jury.

Question 66

How does the prosecution carry out the duty to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt?

Question 67

Explain how the 1960s Supreme Court strengthened the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of the right to counsel.

Question 68

Explain how the exclusionary rule that was adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Mapp v. Ohio in 1961 fits into the U.S. history of procedural safeguards.

Question 69

Explain the constitutional issues associated with the death penalty. How do concerns about execution of innocents and minors figure among these issues?

Question 70

What are the characteristics of the antisocial personality?

Question 71

Explain the relationship between age and crime. What are the factors that influence this relationship?

Question 72

Compare and contrast the sociological and psychological perspectives on crime.