Deck 14: After Conviction Sentencing Appeals and Habeas Corpus

Question 1

Mandatory minimum sentences shift discretion from judges to prosecutors.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

SCOTUS j ustices are divided on whether the proportionality principle applies to sentences of imprisonment.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Throughout history, fixed sentences have totally dominated criminal sentencing.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

What approach by SCOTUS leaves sentencing decisions to trial judges' discretionary judgement?

A)the hands-off approach to sentencing procedures
B)the guidelines approach to sentencing procedures
C)the determinate approach to sentencing procedures
D)the fixed approach to sentencing procedures

Question 5

Supporters of fixed sentencing believe the punishment should fit the crime.

Question 6

What is it called when judges go above or below the range in sentencing guidelines?

A)departure
B)exception
C)condition
D)tolling

Question 7

Research indicates that mandatory minimum sentences actually introduce disparity in sentencing.

Question 8

Fixed sentencing has two primary forms: sentencing guidelines and discretion.

Question 9

A conviction becomes final when it's affirmed on appeal to the highest court of the land or when the highest court declines to review it.

Question 10

Indeterminate sentencing requires a judge to impose a nondiscretionary minimum period of incarceration that everyone convicted of that crime must serve.

Question 11

The proportionality principle deems sentences cruel and unusual if they're "grossly disproportionate" to the "gravity of the offense."

Question 12

A SCOTUS discretionary order to review a lower court decision is called a writ of review or a writ of certiorari.

Question 13

The Constitution places few limits on judicial sentencing.

Question 14

What exception says that if defendants might suffer legal consequences from a criminal conviction, then the case isn't moot, even if they have fully served their sentence?

A)the collateral consequences exception
B)the proportionality exception
C)the equitable tolling exception
D)the res judicata exception

Question 15

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA)substantially amends what law?

A)federal habeas corpus law
B)state appellate law
C)federal sentencing law
D)state sentencing law

Question 16

In Lockyer v. Andrade (2003), SCOTUS ruled that it was a violation of the Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual punishment clause to sentence Andrade to 25 years to life imprisonment for petty theft under the state's three-strikes law.

Question 17

After conviction, defendants become "offenders" and lose the constitutional protections they received as defendants.

Question 18

According to the Apprendi bright-line rule, any departure from sentencing guidelines that increases the penalty for a crime must be submitted to a jury.

Question 19

What type of sentencing prevailed in the United States from the 1600s to the late 1800s?

A)indeterminate sentencing
B)mandatory minimum sentencing
C)fixed sentencing
D)sentencing guidelines

Question 20

Every state jurisdiction has created a statutory right to appeal.

Question 21

Which of the following is not considered a mitigating circumstance in a death penalty case?

A)killing to avoid arrest
B)having no significant prior criminal record
C)being a minor participant in the murder
D)being a youth at the time of the murder

Question 22

What type of sentencing involves tailoring punishment to suit the criminal and puts the power to sentence in the hands of judges and parole boards?

A)fixed sentencing
B)determinate sentencing
C)indeterminate sentencing
D)presumptive sentencing

Question 23

In the administrative sentencing model, who prescribes the range of allowable prison times for particular crimes?

A)judges and the legislature
B)the legislature
C)judges
D)only the judge hearing the case

Question 24

Which court case ruled that the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines are advisory, but that they enjoy the presumption of reasonableness?

A)U.S. v. Booker
B)Rita v. U.S.
C)Apprendi v. New Jersey
D)Gall v. U.S.

Question 25

All of the following are sentencing models, except:

A)the administrative sentencing model.
B)the police sentencing model.
C)the legislative sentencing model.
D)the judicial sentencing model.

Question 26

In what case did SCOTUS affirm judges' power to increase maximum sentences based on prior convictions without juries finding out that there were prior convictions, or without defendants having confessed to the prior crimes?

A)Harris v. U.S.
B)Apprendi v. New Jersey
C)Blakely v. Washington
D)U.S. v. Booker

Question 27

Which of the following would not be considered an aggravating factor in a death penalty case?

A)prior conviction for a misdemeanor
B)killing to avoid arrest
C)felony murder
D)killing during escape from lawful custody

Question 28

The writ of certiorari :

A)requires SCOTUS to hear and decide a case.
B)is a request to a court to decide on the legality of a prisoner's incarceration.
C)is a discretionary writ, which allows SCOTUS to either agree or not agree to hear and decide a case.
D)mandates a party to turn over evidence to the other party in the case.

Question 29

Sentences determined under sentencing guidelines are based primarily on a combination of:

A)the seriousness of the crime and the offender's age.
B)the seriousness of the crime and the harm caused to the victim.
C)the offender's criminal history and whether the crime was violent.
D)the seriousness of the crime and the offender's criminal history.

Question 30

What principle states that a punishment is cruel and unusual if its harshness is grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the offense?

A)the departure principle
B)the proportionality principle
C)the res judicata principle
D)the sentencing guidelines principle

Question 31

In what case did SCOTUS strike down a state statute that empowered judges to increase the length of prison time beyond the "standard range" prescribed by the state's sentencing guidelines, based on facts that were not found by juries beyond a reasonable doubt?

A)U.S. v. Booker
B)Blakely v. Washington
C)Rita v. U.S.
D)Gall v. U.S.

Question 32

The Boggs Act (1951)signaled a shift to what type of sentences?

A)sentences based on sentencing guidelines
B)indeterminate sentences
C)mandatory minimum sentences
D)determinate sentences

Question 33

Which of the following offenders is most likely to receive the death penalty?

A)white offenders who kill African Americans
B)African American offenders who kill white individuals
C)African American offenders who kill African Americans
D)The race of the victim does not affect the likelihood of an offender receiving the death penalty.

Question 34

SCOTUS has increasingly denied petitions for writs of certiorari , thus reducing the number of cases it will review. Which two doctrines limit the scope of state appellate review?

A)the raise-or-waive doctrine and the collateral consequences doctrine
B)the mootness doctrine and the collateral doctrine
C)the mootness doctrine and the raise-or-waive doctrine
D)the mootness doctrine and the plain-error rule

Question 35

Which view of habeas corpus holds that the more review a conviction receives the more accurate it will be?

A)the narrow view
B)the broad view
C)the short view
D)the long view

Question 36

What rule says that once a matter is decided it can't be reopened?

A)habeas corpus
B)equitable tolling
C)Apprendi bright line
D)res judicata

Question 37

According to SCOTUS, the death penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment, if:

A)it is automatically applied to all murderers.
B)aggravating circumstances can support it.
C)there is a review procedure to ensure against discriminatory application.
D)judges and juries both agree in a particular case that death is appropriate.

Question 38

What sentencing scheme gives primary sentencing authority to legislators?

A)indeterminate sentencing
B)flexible sentencing
C)determinate sentencing
D)judicial sentencing

Question 39

According to SCOTUS, with regard to appeals, states:

A)must allow one appeal as a matter of right in all criminal cases.
B)must allow one appeal as a matter of right in all felony cases.
C)must allow one appeal as a matter of right in all criminal cases to which the right to a jury trial attaches.
D)need not provide any appeal at all.

Question 40

What is necessary for individual defendants to overturn a death sentence based on race?

A)Defendants have to prove that their case was infected by racial views.
B)Defendants have to prove that there was not equal representation of race on the jury.
C)Defendants have to show that racial discrimination has occurred in past cases.
D)Defendants have to show evidence that the prosecutor was racially biased.

Question 41

A state prisoner who seeks review of his or her case under a writ of habeas corpus in federal court can obtain review only if the claim:

A)states that the prisoner is innocent of the crime of which he or she was convicted.
B)is based on an alleged violation of a federal constitutional or statutory right.
C)is a search and seizure claim.
D)is a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.

Question 42

The _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ of 1996 substantially amends and narrows the federal habeas corpus rights of both state and federal prisoners.

Question 43

Legislatures prescribe specific penalties that judges and administrative agencies cannot alter in the _______________ _______________ model.

Question 44

In Booker v. U.S. , SCOTUS ruled that the Federal Sentencing Guidelines:

A)are advisory, but enjoy a presumption of reasonableness.
B)are advisory, and judges can depart without explanation.
C)are mandatory for all federal crimes.
D)are mandatory for certain serious felonies.

Question 45

Parole boards and prison administrators determine the exact release date within sentences prescribed by judges and legislatures in the _______________ _______________ model.

Question 46

Lockyer v. Andrade (2003)dealt with which of the following constitutional questions?

A)proportionality of a death sentence in a child rape and assault case
B)acceptability of sentencing a convicted felon in absentia
C)permissibility of a 50-year sentence for shoplifting under a three-strikes law
D)denial of a duly-filed habeas corpus petition seeking judicial relief

Question 47

What doctrine says defendants have to raise their objections at trial, and they give up their right to appeal if they do not?

A)the collateral consequences doctrine
B)the mootness doctrine
C)the raise-or-waive doctrine
D)the proportionality doctrine

Question 48

_______________ _______________ relies heavily on the discretion of judges and parole boards in exercising sentencing authority.

Question 49

Advocates of _______________ sentencing think the punishment should be tailored to the individual circumstances.

Question 50

A habeas corpus proceeding is called a collateral attack, because it _______________ attacks the judgment in a new and separate noncriminal (civil)lawsuit.

Question 51

According to the raise-or-waive doctrine, a defendant must make objections at trial in order to preserve those issues for appeal. What doctrine is this?

A)judicial economy
B)collateral consequences
C)habeas corpus
D)mootness

Question 52

Proceedings that attack the trial court's judgment of conviction as part of the same case are _______________ _______________.

Question 53

An appeal from a trial court's judgment of conviction:

A)is considered a direct attack.
B)can be taken multiple times.
C)can only be taken if the trial court certifies that there are important issues for the higher court to hear.
D)is the equivalent of habeas corpus.

Question 54

The writ of habeas corpus:

A)dates back to the 1867 Habeas Corpus Act.
B)is not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.
C)has a long and distinguished history and protected English citizens from tyrannical English kings.
D)has not been addressed by SCOTUS in many opinions.

Question 55

Which of the following are vested with the sole authority in determinate sentencing schemes?

A)legislators
B)judges
C)police officers
D)prosecutors

Question 56

A type of fixed sentence prescribing a non-discretionary amount of prison time that all offenders convicted of the offense must serve is a _______________ _______________ sentence.

Question 57

The traditional legal doctrine holding that criminal cases could not be appealed if the sentence had been satisfied is called the _______________ doctrine.

Question 58

Judges prescribe sentences within broad formal contours set by legislative acts in the _______________ _______________ model.

Question 59

During the Warren Court era, SCOTUS:

A)took a narrow view of the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867.
B)took a broad view of the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867.
C)declared the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867 unconstitutional.
D)did not decide any cases dealing with the Habeas Corpus Act of 1867.

Question 60

A habeas corpus proceeding, which is a separate civil action that does not challenge the guilt of the defendant but challenges the lawfulness of the defendant's imprisonment, is referred to as:

A)a collateral attack.
B)a writ of error.
C)an injunction.
D)a collateral estoppel.

Question 61

Compare and contrast sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimum sentences, and identify three aims of each type of sentence.

Question 62

Summarize the limits on the rights of offenders at sentencing, and explain the reasons for the limits.

Question 63

Summarize the five main empirical findings on the effectiveness of mandatory minimum sentences.

Question 64

Describe the progress through direct appeal and collateral attack.

Question 65

Based on the information provided in the text, explain what you believe is important in the case of Apprendi v. New Jersey.