Deck 6: Justice on the Bench Trial and Adjudication in Criminal Court

Question 1

Jury nullification, which has its roots in English common law, occurs when a juror believes that the evidence presented at trial establishes the defendant's guilt but nonetheless votes to ______.

A)punish
B)abdicate
C)convict
D)acquit

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In cases like Hernandez v. State , Texas argued there was no discrimination against Mexican-American because:

A)they are white.
B)they are not citizens.
C)they said so.
D)they did not meet IQ requirements.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A report entitled  Illegal Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection: A Continuing Legacy details the results of an investigation of jury selection procedures in eight __________states.

A)western
B)southern
C)eastern
D)northern

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In __________, the USSC reversed a death sentence murder conviction because the district attorney asked the jury commissioner to limit the number of African Americans and women on the master lists from which potential jurors were chosen.

A)Purkett v. Elem (1995)
B)Avery v. Georgia (1953)
C)Amadeo v. Zant (1988)
D)U.S. v. Ovalle (1998)

Question 5

Prosecutors and defense attorneys can use their peremptory challenges-challenges without cause, without explanation, and without judicial ________.

A)notice
B)scrutiny
C)restraint
D)review

Question 6

While Batson seemed to offer hope that the goal of a representative jury was attainable, an examination of cases decided since 1986 suggests:

A)that the situation issue solved.
B)otherwise.
C)that reforms continue to improve.
D)that Batson was meaningless.

Question 7

Randall Kennedy argues that race conscious jury selection could have _____ consequences.

A)intended
B)beneficial
C)unintended
D)progressive

Question 8

In __________, the USSC held that, in assessing the racial neutrality of a prosecutor's peremptory challenge, the trial court was required to evaluate the genuineness of the prosecutor's explanation, not its reasonableness .

A)Purkett v. Elem (1995)
B)Avery v. Georgia (1953)
C)Amadeo v. Zant (1988)
D)U.S. v. Ovalle (1998)

Question 9

It is clear that lawyers ______ take the race of the juror into consideration during the jury selection process

A)always
B)do
C)never
D)do not

Question 10

The USSC's ruling in __________ rejected the systematic exclusion requirement articulated in Swain v. Alabama (1965):

A)Whitus v. Georgia (1967)
B)Strauder v. West Virginia (1880)
C)Neal v. Delaware (1882)
D)Batson v. Kentucky (1986)

Question 11

From 2005 to 2009, prosecutors in Houston County, Alabama, used their  peremptory challenges to remove ___ percent of the African Americans  qualified for jury service in cases in which the death penalty was eventually decided.

A)33
B)50
C)45
D)80

Question 12

States do not obtain names of potential jurors from:

A)property tax rolls.
B)robo call lists.
C)voter registrations lists.
D)automobile registration lists.

Question 13

The USSC first addressed racial discrimination in jury selection in:

A)Strauder v. West Virginia (1880)
B)Neal v. Delaware (1882)
C)Whitus v. Georgia (1967)
D)Batson v. Kentucky (1986)

Question 14

The phrase playing the race card refers to:

A)appeals to racial sentiment.
B)a defense attorney alleging racial bias by the arresting officer.
C)an African American defendant being represented by a white attorney.
D)emphasizing a racial difference between the defendant and the victim.

Question 15

In __________, the USSC ruled a Georgia county's practice of putting the names of white potential jurors on white cards and African American potential jurors on yellow cards, then "randomly" drawing cards to determine who would be summoned for jury duty, as unconstitutional.

A)Purkett v. Elem (1995)
B)Amadeo v. Zant (1988)
C)U.S. v. Ovalle (1998)
D)Avery v. Georgia (1953)

Question 16

The reality is that both sides use their peremptory challenges to:

A)"help their client"
B)"stack the deck"
C)"create balance"
D)"seat a fair and impartial jury"

Question 17

In __________, the USSC struck down the "random" selection of jurors from tax books in which the names of white taxpayers were in one section and the names of African American taxpayers were in another.

A)Whitus v. Georgia (1967)
B)Batson v. Kentucky (1986)
C)Neal v. Delaware (1882)
D)Strauder v. West Virginia (1880)

Question 18

In a concurring opinion in the Batson case, Justice ________called on the Court  to ban the use of peremptory challenges by the prosecutor and to allow states to ban their use by the defense.

A)Marshall
B)Kennedy
C)Black
D)Stone

Question 19

In __________, t he USSC struck down as "purposeful discrimination" one state's rejection of African Americans for jury duty because they were "not intelligent, experienced, or moral enough to serve as jurors."

A)Strauder v. West Virginia (1880)
B)Neal v. Delaware (1882)
C)Batson v. Kentucky (1986)
D)Whitus v. Georgia (1967)

Question 20

In __________, a U.S. Court of Appeals held that a plan to subtract the names of white prospective jurors until the proportion of racial minorities in the pool matches the proportion in the population violated the equal protection rights of white jurors.

A)Avery v. Georgia (1953)
B)Amadeo v. Zant (1988)
C)U.S. v. Ovalle (1998)
D)Purkett v. Elem (1995)

Question 21

State and federal jurisdictions have experimented with a number of techniques for increasing the racial __________ of the jury pool.

Question 22

Jury pools tend to underrepresent racial and ethnic minorities and those who are:

A)rich
B)poor
C)well educated
D)urban dwellers

Question 23

Physically handicapped persons shall serve except where the court finds such service is not _____.

A)easy
B)necessary
C)fun
D)feasible

Question 24

Since the mid-1930s, the Supreme Court has consistently has struck down techniques used to __________ the requirement of racial neutrality in the selection of the jury pool.

Question 25

The racial neutrality of a prosecutor's peremptory challenge should be evaluated based on the genuineness of the prosecutor's explanation, not its reasonableness .

Question 26

The Strauder Court ruled that a West Virginia statute limiting jury service to white males violated the __________  C lause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Question 27

The Supreme Court decisions discussed in the chapter have made it more difficult for states to discriminate overtly on the basis of race or ethnicity. The procedures used to select the jury pool are:

A)not racially neutral
B)based on equality
C)based on IQ
D)racially neutral

Question 28

A U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a plan to subtract the names of white prospective jurors until the proportion of racial minorities in the pool matches the proportion in the population, which violated the equal protection rights of white jurors in Purkett v. Elem (1995).

Question 29

Although U.S. Supreme Court decisions have made it more difficult for states to discriminate overtly on the basis on race, the procedures used to select the jury pool are not racially neutral.

Question 30

The U.S. Supreme Court first addressed racial discrimination in jury selection in Neal v. Delaware (1882).

Question 31

The state of Delaware once rejected African Americans for jury duty because they were "not intelligent, experienced, or moral enough to serve as jurors."

Question 32

"Random" selection of jurors from tax books in which the names of white taxpayers were in one section and the names of African American taxpayers were in another was struck down in Strauder v. West Virginia (1880).

Question 33

In McCormick v. South Dakota (1991), the U.S. Supreme Court articulated the doctrine requiring a racially mixed jury in all criminal proceedings.

Question 34

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a death sentence murder conviction because the district attorney asked the jury commissioner to limit the number of African Americans and women on the lists from which potential jurors were chosen in Avery v. Georgia (1953).

Question 35

To prevent selecting African Americans for their jury pool, a Georgia county put names of white potential jurors on white cards and African American potential jurors on yellow cards, then "randomly" drew cards to determine who would be summoned for jury duty.

Question 36

Butler's position on jury _______ is that the "black community is better off when some nonviolent lawbreakers remain in the community rather than go to prison."

A)polling
B)selection
C)nullification
D)dismissal

Question 37

In serious criminal cases, the jury serves as the __________ of the community.

Question 38

Appeals to racial sentiment are referred to as "playing the race card."

Question 39

Highly publicized exonerations of individuals convicted of murder, sexual assault, and other serious crimes have led to confirmations that the procedures used to investigate and adjudicate criminal cases are accurate and fair to minorities.

Question 40

Jurors must be __ years old.

A)16
B)18
C)21
D)13

Question 41

In 1965, the Court ruled in _______v. Alabama that the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges to strike all six African Americans in the jury pool did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

Question 42

Discuss the various techniques described in the text for increasing the racial diversity of the jury pool.

Question 43

The requirement t hat the jury should be drawn from a representative cross-section of the community applies only to the selection of the jury __________ , not to the selection of individual jurors for a particular case.

Question 44

A controversial approach to increasing racial diversity in jury pools is termed "race __________ jury selection."

Question 45

Although the percentages of African Americans, Hispanics, and whites who were  exonerated for all crimes were similar to the percentages of each group incarcerated in state prisons, this was not the case for prisoners convicted of __________ .

Question 46

Explain what a peremptory challenge is and why it is legal to use such challenges in a racially discriminatory manner.

Question 47

Once the defendant makes a __________ case of racial discrimination, the burden shifts to the state to provide a racially neutral explanation for excluding African American jurors.

Question 48

Explain the controversy regarding race-conscious jury selection.

Question 49

As the justices stated in Avery v. Georgia , "The State may not draw up its jury lists pursuant to neutral procedures but then resort to __________at other stages in the selection process."

Question 50

Explain why, 21 years after Swain , the U.S. Supreme Court rejected its own ruling regarding systematic exclusion with its holding in Batson v. Kentucky (1986).

Question 51

Discuss the various ploys some states have used to circumvent the requirement of racial neutrality in the selection of jury pools.