Deck 8: Close the Loopholes

Question 1

Despite the fact that the insanity defense is raised in less than 1% of all criminal indictments, one poll found that people believed nearly __% of all criminal defendants used it.

A) 95
B) 66
C) 87
D) 40

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Changes in the insanity defense have included efforts to

A) shift the burden of proof to the defendant in such cases
B) abolish the insanity defense
C) allow for a "guilty by mentally ill" verdict
D) all of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The reason why career criminal prosecution programs do not dramatically increase conviction rates and prison sentences is because

A) the criminal justice system is already tough on repeat offenders who have committed a serious crime
B) the courtroom work group tends to evade career criminal prosecution programs and dismisses these cases early on
C) the courtroom work group tends to make decisions based on their local going rate which includes many plea bargains to lesser charges not covered in the programs
D) All of the above
E) none of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Formal rules on plea negotiations in King County increased the efficiency of case handling, although it did not significantly impact case handling.

Question 5

An evaluation of the San Diego Major Violator Unit found that

A) the rate of failure to appear was zero and conviction rates increased dramatically
B) the percentage of offenders convicted and sent to prison increased slightly
C) the percentage of convicted offenders increased dramatically
D) San Diego was soft on career criminals prior to the intense prosecution program

Question 6

According to the text, career criminal prosecution programs are an effective yet tough strategy.

Question 7

The insanity defense is raised in fewer than 1% of all criminal indictments.

Question 8

One problem with sending more mentally ill people to prison through GBMI verdicts is that prisons cannot handle their current inmates with mental problems.

Question 9

Conservatives see plea bargaining as a loophole while liberals believe it is a source of injustice.

Question 10

GBMI is more a symbolic gesture than an effective reform of the system for mentally ill offenders.

Question 11

Research findings that compared special prosecutions and traditional prosecutions found

A) traditional prosecution eliminated plea bargains and improved conviction rates
B) strength of the evidence and the likelihood of conviction shaped decisions for both prosecution officers
C) special prosecution improved the conviction rate significantly
D) special prosecution closed the loopholes that allow serious offenders to beat the system

Question 12

The process of using one prosecutor to charge a defendant and then passing the case onto another prosecutor to try the case is called

A) original defense
B) horizontal prosecution
C) vertical prosecution
D) affirmative defense

Question 13

The key issue with the insanity defense is the mens rea requirement that must be established in order to prove the defendant is guilty of the crime.

Question 14

Many misunderstand split sentencing and believe

A) sentences are split between rehabilitation and incapacitation and offenders are beating the system
B) split sentences are just another word for probation where offenders are not actually incarcerated
C) the criminal justice system is tough because split sentences include incarceration to jail and then prison
D) the criminal justice system is weaker than it actually is if only accounting for offenders sentenced to prison and excluding split sentences

Question 15

The career criminal prosecution program in San Diego was characterized by

A) elimination of both plea bargains and split sentences
B) elimination of bail and restrictions on plea bargaining
C) continuity of prosecution and restrictions on plea bargaining
D) restrictions on split sentences and pretrial surveillance

Question 16

Conservatives believe post-conviction appeals allow offenders to escape punishment while liberals feel the possibility of recognizing error is a virtue of appeals.

Question 17

The insanity defense is considered a loophole because its successful use results in less time confined in a mental hospital than comparable guilty offenders spend in prison.

Question 18

In the early 1980s __________ sparked a national outcry and changes to laws on the insanity defense.

A) news coverage of the inhumane treatment of people in mental hospitals
B) research on the number of defendants who feign insanity to beat the rap
C) John W.Hinckley's acquittal for attempting to assassinate President Ronald Reagan
D) all of the above

Question 19

The ban on plea bargaining in Alaska proved that dangerous offenders had previously been beating the system.

Question 20

Limiting appeals positively impacts the rate of serious crimes.

Question 21

Walker maintains that, based on the evidence,

A) plea bargaining is a phantom loophole
B) abolishing plea bargaining will reduce serious crime
C) plea bargaining allows serious offenders to beat the system
D) abolishing plea bargaining will reduce less serious crime

Question 22

Plea bargaining reform in Washington included

A) a ban on gun-related plea bargaining
B) a highly structured and horizontal process of handling cases
C) less supervision for attorneys
D) a vertical approach to prosecution

Question 23

The real function of the GBMI verdict is that it is

A)cheaper to implement than NGRI
B)symbolic to appease public opinion
C)what the courtroom workgroup is doing
D)intended to reduce serious crime

Question 24

As a result of the plea bargaining ban in Alaska

A) the rate of dismissals remained consistently low
B) the rate of dismissals remained consistently high
C) the rate of dismissals increased as predicted
D) the rate of dismissals decreased surprisingly

Question 25

The landmark Supreme Court case of Baxstrom v.Herold

A) forced the release of persons held for long periods of time in mental hospitals and necessitated development of new procedures for continued confinement
B) held offenders must pay for their psychiatric treatment where the state pays for incarceration
C) held mentally ill offenders can be forced to take medications to help in their own defense
D) allowed for the GBMI verdict

Question 26

Currently, insanity is a(n) _____(1)_____ defense not a(n) _____(2)_____ defense.

A) (1) affirmative (2) ordinary
B) (1) over used (2) rarely used
C) (1) rich person's (2) poor person's
D) (1) extraordinary (2) ordinary

Question 27

Persons hospitalized after being found not guilty by reason of insanity

A) can be released in as short as one week and most of them stay less than one month
B) must pay for their psychiatric treatment where the state pays for incarceration
C) spend more time confined in hospitals than comparable offenders sent to prison
D) have usually feigned mental illness and escaped punishment through this loophole

Question 28

The most significant result of the ban on plea bargaining in Alaska was that

A) it increased the number of trials for defendants charged with serious crimes
B) it increased sentence length for defendants charged with serious crimes
C) it had no impact on defendants charged with serious crimes or substantial criminal records
D) it closed the loophole and got tough on prior offenders charged with serious crimes

Question 29

GBMI is a bogus reform because

A) research demonstrates that the courtroom work group evades it
B) it allows defendants to claim they are incompetent to stand trial and essentially beat the rap
C) it affects defendants who would have been found guilty, not defendants who would have been found NGRI
D) successful use of the insanity defense actually results in time spent in a mental hospital that is similar to what a guilty offender would serve in prison

Question 30

Steadman found that defendants claiming they were incompetent to stand trial spent how much time committed to an institution prior to trial?

A) 2 days
B) 2 weeks
C) 2 months
D) 2 years

Question 31

What percent of all felony cases in large urban courts were settled by a guilty plea in 2006?

A) almost none
B) a small minority
C) half
D) the vast majority

Question 32

In studies of plea bargaining, it has been found

A) that abolishing plea negotiations reduced serious crimes
B) a vast change in the way the courtroom workgroup occurred
C) a high degree of regularity and predictability occurs in the disposition of cases
D) that the ability to predict the outcome is based on all charges filed

Question 33

__________ has three flaws including that it does not guarantee treatment for the person who uses it.

A) GBMI
B) NGRI
C) insanity defense
D) banning the insanity defense

Question 34

One surprising result of the ban on plea bargaining was that

A) cases moved through the courts faster than before
B) discretion shifted upstream and police officers made fewer arrests
C) the increase in trials increased case processing time
D) prosecutors dismissed cases earlier and more quickly

Question 35

Conservatives feel that post-conviction appeals are

A) necessary to minimize the occurrence of mistakes
B) a loophole that undermines the deterrent effect
C) a waste of time since so few are successful
D) a good way to give the impression that justice is being done

Question 36

The insanity defense has been misinterpreted and abused by

A) defendants
B) the courtroom work group
C) the public
D) politicians and journalists

Question 37

An evaluation of King County's reform of plea bargaining found

A) bans on plea bargaining were unconstitutional and are quickly overturned
B) crime was reduced because defendants who had previously been treated leniently went to prison which produced both a general deterrent and incapacitated dangerous offenders
C) the plea bargaining charging guidelines significantly changed how cases were handled
D) high consistency among cases as the courtroom workgroup collaborated on appropriate charges and punishment

Question 38

A recent review of the literature concluded that the recidivism rate for persons acquitted by reason of insanity was

A) greater than that of felons
B) no greater than that of felons
C) less than that of felons
D) none of the above

Question 39

What happened when plea bargaining was banned in Alaska?

A) case disposition time increased
B) the number of defendants demanding trials tripled
C) less serious offenders were punished more severely
D) plea bargaining became a hidden process

Question 40

When Alaska banned plea bargaining

A) the courtroom work group evaded the ban
B) the criminal courts collapsed
C) there was a dramatic change in the rate of guilty pleas
D) trials increased slightly

Question 41

A study of habeas corpus petitions found that

A) they represented 4% of the civil court case filings in U.S.District Courts
B) the most frequent claim was ineffective assistance of counsel
C) only 1% of them succeeded
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 42

The Supreme Court decision Fay v.Noia would be most disliked by whom?

A) prosecutors
B) liberals
C) conservatives
D) inmates

Question 43

The chapter reported appeals to be rarely used with the exception of

A) celebrated cases and civil disputes
B) death row inmates and writ writers
C) habeas corpus petitions
D) due process challenges

Question 44

The effect of the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act is difficult to determine because

A) it limits the time between crime and punishment
B) it was repealed immediately because it negates the right to habeas corpus
C) capital punishment fell out of favor a few years after the law was passed
D) courtroom work groups chose to circumvent the law

Question 45

The writ of habeas corpus

A) is a device to challenge the detention of a person taken into custody
B) is a three-year statute of limitations regarding post-conviction appeals
C) was rejected by the Supreme Court in Fay v.Noia
D) all of the above
E) none of the above