Deck 6: The Courts

Question 1

The public's perception of courts is in no way influenced by media portraits and representations.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

When lawyers in the media are not being portrayed as crime fighters they can expect to be portrayed negatively.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT an emphasis of media judicial portraits?

A) Rare events
B) Common charges
C) Unlikely interactions
D) Improbable evidence

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following exemplifies how infotainment has worked its way into court proceedings?

A) Attorneys use entertainment narratives to construct reality and as building blocks for their cases
B) Visual representations in the courtroom often include entertainment video clips
C) Real world attorneys often use tactics used by their media counterparts
D) None of the above

Question 5

Which judicial strategy for dealing with pretrial publicity directly conflicts with the First Amendment?

A) Shield strategies
B) Sunshine strategies
C) Reactive strategies
D) Proactive strategies

Question 6

Media trials have become the most important single contributor to the social construction of the courts in America.

Question 7

Which of the following entertainment media narratives, all of which are common in media trial representations, typically involve bizarre or sexually related crime?

A) Abuse of power
B) The sinful rich
C) Evil strangers
D) None of the above

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT true of female attorney portrayals in the media?

A) Like police women, female attorneys in the media are often defeminized
B) Police women have had a longer tradition in the media than female attorneys
C) The real world experiences of female attorneys are more likely to be portrayed than the real world experiences of police women
D) Female attorneys are often portrayed as young, white, single, and childless

Question 9

Which of the following is a major concern regarding the effects of televising trials?

A) The courts don't want the public to have access to the courtroom and trial procedures
B) Defendants' rights to privacy will be infringed upon
C) Attorneys, judges, and other participants may alter their courtroom behaviors in the presence of cameras
D) All of the above

Question 10

In their coverage of trials, the media offer direct and individualist explanations of crime, which does NOT include _______________.

A) feelings of lust
B) insane diagnoses
C) social obstacles to conformity
D) immoral behavior

Question 11

Which of the following have the courts recently defined?

A) What is or is not insane behavior
B) Proper or improper child care
C) Intrusive or acceptable government law enforcement policies
D) All of the above

Question 12

In 1981 the Supreme Court rejected previously held assumptions about television during the Chandler v. Florida case. The Court felt that television could benefit the judicial system by showing all of the following EXCEPT __________.

A) Plea bargaining
B) Conviction of the guilty
C) Imposition of fair sentences
D) Fair procedure

Question 13

Which type of strategy is more effective for dealing with pretrial publicity?

A) Proactive strategies
B) Reactive strategies
C) Both proactive and reactive strategies are equally effective
D) Neither proactive nor reactive strategies are ever effective

Question 14

A defendant is believed by many to be guilty of child molestation because the media has been reporting stories from neighbors who have seen the defendant hanging out outside of a public school even though he has no children. This evidence helps to establish which of the following prejudicial publicity forms?

A) Factual information
B) Emotional information
C) Both A and B
D) Neither A or B

Question 15

Although televised coverage of trials has become increasingly popular over the years, there are still some states which forbid cameras in the court room.

Question 16

The entertainment media narrative of "evil strangers" includes the following subgroup(s)?

A) Non-Americans and the sinful rich
B) The sinful rich and psychotic killers
C) Psychotic killers and non-Americans
D) All of the above

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT true of media trials?

A) Media trials have been present in society for less than 50 years
B) Media trials are massively and intensively covered
C) Coverage of media trials is live whenever possible
D) When it comes to media trials, pictures are preferred over text

Question 18

The courts are distorted indirectly through the media, which presents the judicial system as soft on crime, easy on criminals, and due process-laden institutions.

Question 19

Which of the following does NOT benefit the media in their pursuit to access government information and to guard their own information?

A) the Freedom of Information Act (1966)
B) the Privacy Act (1974)
C) Shield Laws
D) the Sunshine Act (1976)

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT a reactive strategy for dealing with pretrial publicity?

A) restrictive and protective orders
B) the sequestering of jurors
C) the granting of trial continuances
D) the expansion of jury selection

Question 21

A judicial contempt-of-court ruling, which deters and punishes those who ignore judicial order regarding media publicity, is the ultimate reactive judicial remedy for media publicity.

Question 22

Jurors can be exposed to extensive media content regarding a case and still be considered impartial.

Question 23

Journalists/reporters feel that their rights are well-protected by shield laws, which protect them from forced divulgence of information.

Question 24

One unresolved issue of television coverage of trials is the effect the coverage has on victims reporting crimes, particularly victims of rape.

Question 25

A defendant's personality and character helps to establish factual information about them in regards to their innocence or guilt.