Deck 1: Fundamentals of Criminal Law

Question 1

In the American legal system, there can be no crime, and no punishment, except as provided by law.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The framers of the Constitution invested Congress with "police power" so that it would have unlimited authority to enact criminal laws.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

In certain instances, a person may be held criminally responsible regardless of intent.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Appellate courts perform an error correction function, but they do not perform a lawmaking function.

Question 5

The presumption of innocence in a criminal case flows from the broader principle of strict liability.

Question 6

A defendant in a criminal case is presumed innocent and to obtain a conviction the prosecution must establish the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Question 7

Community service can never be imposed as a condition of pretrial diversion.

Question 8

Our legal system regards crimes as offenses not just against individual victims, but against society as a whole.

Question 9

All criminal sanctions must be consistent with the 8th Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments.

Question 10

American criminal law is derived largely from the English common law.

Question 11

In Brandenburg v.Ohio (1969), the U.S.Supreme Court struck down a state law prohibiting "criminal syndicalism."

Question 12

The most important constitutional principle relative to criminal procedure is "due process of law."

Question 13

Retribution refers to an order that an offender compensate his or her victim financially.

Question 14

A "tort" is a very serious crime for which one may be incarcerated in a prison for more than one year.

Question 15

The Supreme Court has struck down the practice of plea bargaining because it violates due process of law.

Question 16

"Decisional law" is the body of law developed by appellate courts.

Question 17

The federal government has adopted the common law of crimes.

Question 18

Congress created the Model Penal Code to replace the common law.

Question 19

A misdemeanor is considered more serious than a felony.

Question 20

The Bill of Rights was adopted by Congress prior to the ratification of the Constitution.

Question 21

An overview of the American system of criminal justice suggests fundamental constitutional principles, which include all of the following except ________________.

A)constitutional supremacy
B)administrative preemption
C)federalism
D)separation of powers

Question 22

The __________ Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures.

A)First
B)Second
C)Third
D)Fourth

Question 23

The ______ Amendment to the United States Constitution protects individuals from compulsory self-incrimination.

A)Second
B)Fourth
C)Fifth
D)Sixth

Question 24

The procedural criminal law is promulgated both by legislative bodies, through enactment of statutes, and by the courts, both through judicial decisions and the development of __________.

A)regulations
B)consent decrees
C)extraordinary writs
D)rules of court procedure

Question 25

When authorized by state constitutions or acts of state legislatures, cities and many counties may adopt _________ that define certain criminal violations.

A)charters
B)statutes
C)regulations
D)ordinances

Question 26

In early days of the American republic, ___________ became something of a "legal bible."

A)Magna Charta
B)the Napoleonic Code
C)Blackstone's Commentaries
D)the Twelve Tables

Question 27

In rendering interpretations of the law, appellate courts generally follow precedent, in keeping with the common-law doctrine of ______________.

A)stare decisis
B)caveat emptor
C)amicus curiae
D)lex talionis

Question 28

As most new states came into the Union, generally their legislatures adopted _________ incorporating the common law to the extent that it did not conflict with the federal or their respective state constitutions.

A)reception statutes
B)writs of mandamus
C)bills of attainder
D)precedents

Question 29

Article III, Section 3 of the U.S.Constitution defines the crime of ____________.

A)counterfeiting
B)piracy
C)sedition
D)treason

Question 30

The Model Penal Code was published by the ________, an organization of distinguished judges, lawyers, and academics.

A)Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
B)National Center for State Courts
C)American Law Institute
D)Federal Judicial Center

Question 31

Mala in se offenses include __________.

A)rape
B)arson
C)murder
D)All of these

Question 32

Which of the following offenses is an example of a strict liability crime?

A)robbery
B)forgery
C)selling alcoholic beverages to a minor
D)grand theft

Question 33

The reasonable doubt standard that applies to criminal prosecutions differs markedly from the ______________ standard that applies to civil cases.

A)preponderance of evidence
B)clear and convincing evidence
C)totality of circumstances
D)compelling interest

Question 34

Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

A)Virtually all provisions of the Bill of Rights have been held to apply with equal force to the states and to the national government.
B)Unlike the state legislatures, Congress does not possess police power, which is the broad authority to enact prohibitions to protect public order, safety, decency, and welfare.
C)Congress has used its broad power to regulate interstate commerce to criminalize a wide range of offenses.
D)The U.S.Constitution grants Congress unlimited power to define federal crimes.

Question 35

By 1600, the English common-law judges had defined as felonies the crimes of murder, manslaughter, mayhem, robbery, burglary, arson, larceny, rape, suicide, and ____________.

A)stalking
B)abortion
C)assault
D)sodomy

Question 36

States are the primary locus of ____________, which is the power to make laws in furtherance of the public health, safety, welfare and morality.

A)the police power
B)sovereignty
C)eminent domain
D)parens patriae

Question 37

Article I, Sections 9 and 10 of the United States Constitution prohibit Congress and the state legislatures, respectively, from enacting ____________.

A)laws infringing on the right to keep and bear arms
B)laws respecting an establishment of religion
C)ex post facto laws
D)cruel and unusual punishments

Question 38

In contrast to Roman law systems, which are based on legal codes, the English common law developed primarily through _____________.

A)judicial decisions
B)statutes
C)administrative orders
D)royal edicts

Question 39

Today the principal actors in defining crimes and punishments are _________________.

A)the state courts
B)county and municipal governments
C)state legislatures
D)the federal appellate courts

Question 40

Which of the following crimes is a misdemeanor?

A)grand theft
B)sexual battery
C)disorderly conduct
D)burglary

Question 41

Our legal system regards crimes as offenses against ____.

Question 42

Of the fifty states, ____________ is the only one whose legal system is not based essentially on the common law.Rather, it is based primarily on the Napoleonic Code.

Question 43

Most civil wrongs are classified as breaches of contracts or _________.

Question 44

As society becomes more cognizant of the rights of crime victims, courts are increasingly likely to require that persons convicted of crimes ____________.

A)make restitution
B)confront their accusers
C)be held in custody while their cases are appealed
D)receive more lenient punishments

Question 45

Most fundamentally, due process requires fair notice and _____________.

A)appeal
B)fair hearing
C)swift and certain punishment
D)just compensation

Question 46

The common-law doctrine of following precedent, known as ___________, remains an important component of both the English and American legal systems.

Question 47

In many states, community service is required as part of a (an) ____________ in which first-time nonviolent offenders are offered the opportunity to avoid prosecution.

A)plea bargain
B)grant of clemency
C)pretrial diversion program
D)alternative dispute resolution

Question 48

A good example of a ______________ offense is selling alcoholic beverages to a minor.

Question 49

The Napoleonic Code, promulgated in 1804 as a codification of all the civil and criminal laws of France, was based in large part on the ______________.

Question 50

Criminal law distinguishes between serious crimes, known as felonies, and less serious offenses, called ____________.

Question 51

The basic principles of the American constitutional system are constitutional supremacy, federalism and _____________________.

Question 52

Acts such as murder, rape, robbery, and arson are considered ______ offenses, or inherent wrongs.

Question 53

___________ does not refer to a person's motive or reason for acting, but merely to his or her having formed a mental purpose to commit a criminal act.

Question 54

One method of distinguishing among types of crimes is by reference to the underlying __________ interests that give rise to criminal prohibitions.

Question 55

Before approving a plea bargain, it is the trial judge's responsibility to determine ________.

A)that the defendant's plea is voluntary
B)that the defendant's plea has been made knowingly
C)that there is a factual basis for the offense charged by the prosecution
D)all of these

Question 56

To convict a person of a crime, a court must find that person is guilty __________.

A)by a preponderance of the evidence
B)beyond a reasonable doubt
C)with absolute certainty
D)None of these

Question 57

In the sixth century A.D., the Code of _____ was promulgated throughout the Roman Empire.

Question 58

The Model Penal Code was developed by the __________________.

Question 59

The authority of state legislatures to enact criminal prohibitions to protect the public health, safety, order and welfare is known as the ________________.

Question 60

The __________ criminal law prohibits certain forms of conduct by defining crimes and establishing the parameters of penalties.

Question 61

Which constitutional principle is involved in this hypothetical case?

A)federalism
B)separation of powers
C)due process of law
D)strict liability

Question 62

Federal courts have the authority to rule on the __________ of federal criminal prohibitions.

A)meaning
B)constitutionality
C)both meaning and constitutionality
D)neither meaning nor constitutionality

Question 63

The first ten amendments to the U.S.Constitution are known collectively as the __________.

Question 64

The crime defined by the statute under review is a:

A)felony
B)common-law offense
C)mala in se offense
D)misdemeanor

Question 65

Taylor may be sued by Carson Pullman for:

A)wrongful destruction of property
B)disorderly conduct
C)reckless endangerment
D)public intoxication

Question 66

Trial courts make factual determinations and apply settled law to those facts, while ________ courts interpret and develop the law.

Question 67

Carson Pullman's role in the criminal case against Taylor Brady would be that of:

A)witness
B)plaintiff
C)prosecutor
D)mediator

Question 68

The conditional release of a convicted criminal in lieu of incarceration is known as ___________.

Question 69

What is the relationship between criminal law and societal morality?

Question 70

What is the essential distinction between a felony and a misdemeanor?

Question 71

What are the essential elements of a crime? How does a crime differ from a tort?

Question 72

One of the most basic tenets of criminal procedure is the presumption of _______________.

Question 73

What is the difference between the substantive and the procedural criminal law?

Question 74

Procedural due process contains two basic elements: fair notice and _____________.

Question 75

At his first appearance in court, Taylor claims that he was improperly questioned by police because they did not advise him of his right to remain silent.This is a question of:

A)substantive criminal law
B)common law
C)civil law
D)procedural criminal law

Question 76

The criminal law being challenged in this hypothetical case is an example of:

A)procedural criminal law
B)substantive criminal law
C)common law
D)decisional law

Question 77

In this case, a sentence of probation might involve the condition that Taylor:

A)perform specific deterrence
B)be incarcerated in the state penitentiary
C)make restitution
D)engage in plea bargaining

Question 78

Taylor Brady also can be charged criminally with:

A)sabotage
B)vandalism
C)antisocial conduct
D)civil disobedience

Question 79

How was the English common law important in the development of the American system of criminal justice?

Question 80

Congress might have the power to enact the challenged law using its:

A)taxing authority
B)police power
C)power to regulate interstate commerce
D)Model Penal Code