CHAPTER 3
Sentencing and Criminal Sanctions
TEST BANK
Multiple Choice Questions
1) The punishment of criminal offenders in the United States has developed in two directions. One of which is that:
a: there has been a movement to make sentences more severe for both adults and juveniles who commit minor offenses
b: there has been a move to focus more on rehabilitation vs. punishment for habitual offenders
c: sanctions have become more severe for adults and juveniles who commit more serious crimes
d: all of the above
2) While in prison, prisoners spend their time:
a: attempting to smuggle in contraband and carry on criminal activities
b: using the prison’s legal resources to challenge their convictions
c: using the time to read and watch TV
d: a & b
3) Laws intended to sanction habitual offenders more severely, have had several unintended consequences including:
a: the increase of violence within the prison
b: the overall cost
c: the overcrowding of prisons
d: none of the above
4) Factors reflected in sentencing are obtained from:
a: judges
b: legislators
c: the public
d: all of the above
5) States can differentiate degrees of seriousness within the misdemeanor and felony categories. For instance, some jurisdictions have a classification for infractions or violationscalled:
a: petty misdemeanors
b: infraction
c: minor offense
d: violation
6) The area that has seen an increase in the use of fines in the recent years is:
a: cybercrime
b: drug and human trafficking
c: racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations
d: None of the above
7) The most common intermediate sanction is:
a: day fines
b: community service
c: county workhouse
d: penal farms
8) Which of the following was not a conclusion of the Staten Island Day Fine Project:
a: day fines could be implemented in most misdemeanor courts in the United States
b: the amount of day fines increased by 25 percent under the day fine program
c: day fines were implemented mainly in the North East of the United States
d: fines increased, but collection rates were higher when day fines were imposed
9) An element of criminal law is mensrea which is:
a: the perpetrator means to hurt the victim
b: the intent of the perpetrator has been proven
c: the intent to carry out a criminal act
d: none of the above
10) In the use of the insanity defense the issue is:
a: the defendant’s mental capacity at the time the offense was committed
b: whether the defendant had understanding to control his or her behavior
c: to determine the defendant’s understanding of the difference between right and wrong
d: whether the defendant would have committed the crime if the police were not present
11) A technique that is not a form of affirmative defense is:
a: insanity defense
b: alibi
c: entrapment
d: wrongful act
12) Lawmakers are responsible for:
a: defining substantive law
b: defining criminal conduct
c: defining the procedural rules that govern the criminal trial process.
d: all of the above
13) In civil cases in the United States juries are instructed to base their verdicts on the preponderance of the evidence, which means:
a: that the verdict should be based on the amount of evidence necessary to decide the case in favor of one party or the other
b: the strength of the evidence
c: the process in which the evidence was gathered
d: none of the above
14) In criminal law the term corpus delictidoes not mean a dead body but rather:
a: the act that has been done to the body
b: the elements that must be proved to establish that a crime has been committed
c: that it has been established that harm has been done
d: a & c
15) The system of justice that is found in most of Europe is an:
a: adversarial system
b: inquisitorial system
c: defensive system
d: evidence based system
16) Which factor is not reflected in sentencing:
a: proportionality
b: equity
c: social debt
d: mentality
17) The difference between substantive law and procedural law is:
a: procedural law defines the behaviors that constitute crime in their jurisdiction
b: substantive law governs the arrest, prosecution, and trial of criminal offenders
c: substantive law defines criminal behavior and procedural law governs the arrest, prosecution, and trial of criminal offenders
d: substantive law defines the legal process and procedural law defines the behaviors that constitute crime
18) The M’Naughton rule, which was first applied in England in 1843, addresses:
a: the defendant’s understanding of the difference between right and wrong
b: a mental defect that would prevent the defendant from using that understanding to control his or her behavior
c: the defendant’s mental capacity at the time the offense was committed
d: mitigating factors
19) Which of these is not a truth about the insanity defense?
a: It is something that is made much of by the media
b: It is successful in 15 to 25 percent of the cases in which it is used.
c: 15 states have substantially altered or eliminated the insanity defense
d: over half of the states have eliminated the insanity defense
20) In regards to judges the following which of the following is not true:
a: judges decide what sentences can be imposed
b: the judge is the “trier of the law”
c: the judge rules on trial procedures and evidence and decides what instructions will be given to the jury
d: In most criminal cases, once a verdict is reached, the judge requests a presentence investigation report and sets a date for sentencing
21) One of the problems created when probationers are forced to make monetary payments to their victims is:
a: those who are advocates of probation feel that it is a good way to care for the victims and provide a probation add-on
b: a restitution order presumes some ability to pay
c: it forces a relationship between the offender and the victim
d: none of the above
22) Which of the following is true of day fines:
a: they are means-based penalties, monetary sanctions that account for each offender’s ability to pay
b: day fines are more difficult for judges to impose
c: day fines are a strong deterrence for crime
d: day fines were not considered “fair”
23) Which of the following distinguishes felonies from misdemeanors?
a: Convicted felons rarely face the possibility of imprisonment.
b: The length of the potential sentence and the place of incarceration.
c: The rate of conviction for a felon is twice that of those who commit a misdemeanor
d: The length of incarceration is always less for a misdemeanor than it is for a felon
24) The following statement is true regarding the death penalty:
a: The United States was one of the first countries to abandon the use of capital punishment
b:The death penalty increased in the decades following World War II
c: The British have abandoned capital punishment, but the United States remains one of a small group of nations that still employ it
d: The death penalty is still widely accepted in most countries
25) Proponents of execution argue that:
a: executions are much less costly
b: appeals take care of virtually every correctable error and that few undeserving people are executed
c: it is important for punishment to be “swift”
d: a & b
26) Which provision has been at the core of many appeals regarding the death penalty in the Supreme Court?
a: a provision in the eighth amendment prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment
b: a provision in the fifth amendment prohibiting search and seizure
c: a provision in the fourth amendment prohibiting the right to counsel
d: a provision in the fourth amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment
27) What punishment is not realistic in the future for the United States?
a: being subjected to caning
b: the use of public stocks
c: the amputation of limbs
d: the use of mood and behavior altering chemicals to cure criminal offenders
28) In regards to appeals which of the following is true:
a: appeals are in proportion to the number of federal and state courts tried each year
b: of the convictions appealed 25 percent of them succeed
c: the basis for an appeal is an error in law
d: none of the above
29) The Supreme Court has defined in very broad terms what constitutes a speedy trial; today all states and the federal government have laws defining the time within which a suspect must be brought to trial,. These range from:
a: three months to nine months
b: 60 to 360 days
c: must be less than six months
d: three months to two years
30) Under a writ of habeas corpus, prisoners assert that:
a: they are being held and denied their rights as a prisoner
b: they are being held unjustly and ask the court to require the state to justify the prisoner’s conviction and incarceration
c: they are being discriminated against
d: b & c
True/False Statements
Decide whether the following are true or false.
1) The punishment of criminal offenders in the United States has developed in two directions. One of those has been a movement to make sentences more severe for both adults and juveniles who commit minor offenses.
2) One of the most common bases of appeal is the judge’s failure to instruct the jury properly, by saying too much or too little.
3) The three strikes and you’re-out legislation was intended to sanction habitual offenders more severely.
4) Sentencing guidelines are based on indeterminate sentences; they take indeterminate sentences to the next level of specification.
5) The “discount rate” for good-time credits is consistent from state to state.
6) The nature of plea bargaining can lead prosecutors to bring more serious charges against the defendant.
7) Substantive law governs the arrest, prosecution, and trial of criminal offenders.
8) Under English common law a distinction was made between principals and accessories.
9) In regards to the insanity defense, it is successful in 40–50 percent of the cases in which it is used.
10) If police officers concoct the idea for a crime and then orchestrate the event so the alleged offender could commit the act, they are guilty of entrapment.
11) Probation offers offenders a chance to remain in the community instead of serving a sentence behind bars.
12) Retribution is the court-ordered payment of money or services to the victim and can be paid as a part of the probated sentence.
13) In the US legal system, the state does not bear the burden of proving the elements of the offense: wrongful act and guilty mind.
14) One of the conclusions based on the Staten Island experience was that the amount of fines decreased under the day fine program.
15) Examples of intermediate sanctions would be day fines, house arrest, and electronic monitoring.
16) The length of the potential sentence and the place of incarceration distinguish felonies from misdemeanors.
17) Supporters argue that the death penalty in our society is not just because it is imposed disproportionately on those who are poor or who are minorities.
18) The basis for an appeal is an error in law. The judge must have made a mistake of some sort before or during the trial.
19) Inaccessibility to the courts is really a catchall phrase for lack of counsel or ineffective representation by counsel.
20) Most inmates who are successful in their habeas corpus claims are retried rather than released.
Fill in the Blanks
1) A ______sentences is a sentence that is calculated using a method defined in the statutes.
2) The time deducted from a prison sentence for good behavior is known as ______.
3) ______is charging a suspect with more serious charges than can be proved in court, to gain tactical advantage in negotiations with the defense.
4) When two or more sentences are imposed at the same time but served in sequence it is called ______.
5) In the case, ______the Court upheld the revised death penalty laws of Georgia and several other states.
6) ______are more likely to be sentenced to prison if they are repeat property offenders or if they have committed one very serious personal offense.
7) Day fines are ______monetary sanctions that account for each offender's ability to pay.
8) The ______organization is a component of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970. The law was designed to deal with organized crime.
9) Probation is ______, which means that the probationer’s continued freedom depends on his or her meeting the terms of probation.
10) As the ______, the jury is responsible for deciding who is telling the truth, what evidence means, and, eventually, whether the defendant is guilty.
11) When a defendant states, “I could not have committed this crime because I was somewhere else at the time it was committed”, they are using the ______defense.
12) The rule first applied in England in 1843, which addressed the defendant’s understanding of the difference between right and wrong was known as the ______rule.
13) Offenses classified as infractions or violations are often labeled______.
14) ______is when an act is criminal only if it was committed overtly and resulted in harm.
15) In criminal cases, a verdict must be based on evidence sufficient to prove the defendant’s ______.
16) The notion that a sentence should incorporate some recognition of the offender's criminal history, is called______.
17) ______can be specific (the perpetrator intends the harm caused the victim) or general (the perpetrator understood that harm was possible).
18) The defense of ______alleges that the police induced the criminal behavior and the defendant would not have committed the crime in the absence of police intervention.
19) A provision in the ______prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and has been at the core of many appeals to the Supreme Court.
20) In 2005 in the case, ______the court established 18 as the minimum age for death sentence.
Matching
Match the following list of words with the statements below:
A) Intermediate sanctions; B) Stanford v. Kentucky; C) Habitual offender; D) Horizontal overcharging; E) Proportionality; F) Infancy defense; G) Writ of habeas corpus; H) Plea bargaining; I) Inchoate offenses; J) Furman v. Georgia
______1) The negotiation that goes on between the defense attorney and the prosecutor regarding sentences, counts, and charges.
______2) The practice of charging a defendant with every possible criminal charge related to an offense and then using the lesser charges as bargaining chips.
______3) The defense that argues that the defendant was too young at the time the crime was committed to distinguish between right and wrong.
______4) Electronic monitoring, day fines, intermittent confinement, and shock incarceration are all examples of this.
______5) This case led the court to apply some consistency to the death penalty administered in more than 30 states.
______6) This classification can increase the term of incarceration and eliminate the possibility of parole.
______7) Under this, prisoners assert that they are being held unjustly and ask the court to require the state to justify the prisoner’s conviction and incarceration.
______8) In this case, the US Supreme Court established 16 as the minimum age for imposing the death penalty.
______9) Punishment should be as severe as the crime was serious.
______10) Attempted crimes, conspiracies to commit crimes, and other efforts that fall short of completed acts.