Deck 5: The Dynamics of Courthouse Justice

Question 1

Which of the following courtroom actors works mostly behind the scenes?

A)law clerks
B)bailiffs
C)lawyers
D)court administrators

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is not a major subcomponent of discretion?

A)legal judgments
B)policy priorities
C)judicial restraints
D)personal philosophies

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Maverick defense attorneys

A)most often get the best plea bargains for their clients.
B)work cooperatively with prosecutors to resolve cases quickly.
C)generally have few sanctions imposed on them.
D)are seldom able to negotiate the most lenient sentences.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What concept stresses the importance of the patterned interactions of judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys?

A)The courthouse dynamics concept.
B)The courtroom workgroup concept.
C)The plea bargaining concept.
D)The assembly-line justice concept.

Question 5

Women make up what percent of judges in the U.S.(approximately)?

A)10%
B)20%
C)40%
D)30%

Question 6

How are newcomers to a courtroom taught formal requirements of the job and informal rules of behavior?

A)training
B)mutual interdependence
C)discretion
D)socialization

Question 7

The claim that increasing plea bargains and declining trials are a recent phenomenon is a weakness of what explanation?

A)assembly-line justice
B)discretion
C)courtroom work group
D)none of these is correct

Question 8

What 13ᵗʰ Century document attempted to address the problem of delay in justice?

A)Declaration of the Rights of Man
B)Magna Carta
C)English Constitution
D)Code of Wales

Question 9

Assembly-line justice, discretion, and the courtroom work group are all concepts used to explain what?

A)the difference between law in action and law on the books
B)courthouse discretion
C)the difference between judges and magistrates
D)legal ethics

Question 10

Which of the following is not a member of the courtroom work group?

A)prosecutor
B)defendant
C)judge
D)defense attorney

Question 11

The _____ is responsible for transporting detained defendants from the jail to the courthouse.

A)bailiff
B)bail bondsman
C)sheriff's deputy
D)clerk of court

Question 12

The American Bar Association recommends that all felony cases reach disposition within

A)six months of arrest.
B)six months of filing.
C)one year of arrest.
D)one year of filing.

Question 13

What concept is directly related to the reality that the criminal courthouse is not a single organization but rather a collection of separate institutions that gather in a common workplace?

A)discretion
B)mutual interdependence
C)assembly-line justice
D)legal ethics

Question 14

What happens with most complaints about attorney misconduct?

A)the complainant receives a settlement
B)the defendant loses in court
C)the attorney is disbarred
D)they are dismissed due to insufficient evidence

Question 15

Who is the record keeper for the court, often responsible for summoning potential jurors?

A)law clerk
B)clerk of court
C)court reporter
D)secretary

Question 16

Although a prosecutor may believe that a given defendant violated the law, s/he may decide against moving forward with prosecution based on a belief that no jury would come back with a guilty verdict. This represents a discretionary decision based on

A)legal judgment.
B)policy priority.
C)personal philosophy.
D)judicial restraint.

Question 17

What amendment provides for the right to a speedy and public trial?

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

Question 18

According to the chapter, which of the following best explains why few cases receive individual treatment?

A)discretion
B)speedy-trial laws
C)assembly-line justice
D)the dynamics of the courtroom work group

Question 19

A judge who accepts a guilty plea agreement reached by the defense attorney and the prosecutor provides an example of

A)discretion.
B)mutual interdependence.
C)routine administration of justice.
D)assembly-line justice.

Question 20

A discretionary decision based on decision makers' values and attitudes reflects

A)legal judgments.
B)policy priorities.
C)personal philosophies.
D)judicial restraints.

Question 21

Researchers agree that law in action approaches to court delay are

A)less effective than law on the books approaches.
B)more effective than law on the books approaches.
C)equally effective as law on the books approaches.
D)not comparable to law on the books approaches.

Question 22

Various researchers have found that the passage of speedy trial laws in many states has led to

A)a much more rapid handling of cases.
B)a decrease in the speed of case flow.
C)little change in disposition time.
D)the hiring of considerably more judges and attorneys.

Question 23

What factors often influence discretionary decision making by members of the courtroom work group?

A)legal judgments
B)policy priorities
C)personal philosophies
D)legal judgments, policy priorities, and personal philosophies

Question 24

The court case Barker v.Wingo is concerned with what constitutional guarantee?

A)the right to an attorney
B)freedom from unreasonable search and seizure
C)free speech
D)the right to a speedy trial

Question 25

The law on the books approach to delay focuses on

A)courthouse dynamics.
B)the courtroom work group.
C)plea bargaining.
D)resources and procedures.

Question 26

Which of the following is a law in action approach to court delay?

A)implementing speedy trial laws
B)adding court resources
C)streamlining court procedures
D)trying to achieve better coordination among members of the courtroom work group

Question 27

The Speedy Trial Act of 1974 (amended in 1979) allows how many days from arrest to indictment in federal courts?

A)30
B)45
C)60
D)75

Question 28

Speedy-trial laws reflect

A)A law on the books approach to problem solving.
B)A law in action approach to problem solving.
C)A legal ethics approach to problem solving.
D)A bail bonds approach to problem solving.

Question 29

The Speedy Trial Act of 1974 (amended in 1979) allows how many days from indictment to trial?

A)20
B)30
C)50
D)70

Question 30

What are important because they provide necessary boundaries on conflict represented by the adversary system?

A)courtroom workgroups
B)defense attorneys
C)bail bondsmen
D)legal ethics

Question 31

The problems in prosecuting and convicting Barker indicate what is often needed in interpreting the law?

A)discretion
B)rigidity
C)Rule
D)Humility

Question 32

In Barker v.Wingo, the Court held that the right to a speedy trial

A)was violated by a five year delay.
B)is a relative, not an absolute, right.
C)was an absolute constitutional mandate.
D)is a right of the prosecution but not the defense.

Question 33

The concept of assembly-line justice stresses

A)the high volume of cases in courthouses.
B)the emphasis on moving the docket.
C)the low volume of cases in courthouses.
D)the high volume of cases in courthouses and the emphasis on moving the docket.

Question 34

Which of the following are negative consequences of delay in the courts?

A)Delay works to the disadvantage of the prosecutor.
B)Delay works to the advantage of the judge.
C)Delay jeopardizes the rights of defendants.
D)All of these are negative consequences of delay in the courts.

Question 35

Which of the following statements is true regarding legal ethics?

A)Lawyers are not allowed to mislead the court.
B)Lawyers cannot knowingly allow witnesses for their side to perjure themselves.
C)Before an individual may be admitted to the bar, s/he must pass a separate test on legal ethics.
D)All of these statements are true.

Question 36

Most state speedy trial laws are designed to protect

A)defendants.
B)the state.
C)the prosecutor.
D)judicial integrity.

Question 37

The right to a speedy trial

A)was violated by a five year delay.
B)is a relative, not an absolute, right.
C)was an absolute constitutional mandate.
D)is a right of the prosecution but not the defense.

Question 38

What right did Barker's lawyer argue was violated?

A)the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial.
B)the Seventh Amendment right to a speedy trial.
C)the Eighth Amendment right to a speedy trial.
D)the Fourth Amendment right to a speedy trial.

Question 39

Law in action approaches to solving the problem of delay can prove effective because

A)They focus on coordinating the activities of the key actors in the courthouse.
B)They ignore activities of the key actors in the courthouse.
C)They override the activities of juries in the courthouse.
D)They assist the activities of the key actors in the courthouse.

Question 40

What is the term used to explain why few cases receive individual treatment?

A)courthouse dynamics.
B)the courtroom work group.
C)plea bargaining.
D)assembly-line justice.

Question 41

The courtroom workgroup includes all who appear in the courtroom at any trial.

Question 42

The clerk of court is responsible for maintaining order in the courtroom.

Question 43

Bail bondsmen have their offices outside of courtrooms.

Question 44

Plea bargaining predates any of the "modern" problems of the courthouse.

Question 45

The bailiff is responsible for transporting detained defendants from jail to the courthouse.

Question 46

Discretion is exercised at every key decision point within the criminal justice system.

Question 47

What do we all the authority to make decisions without reference to specific rules or facts?

A)delay
B)socialization
C)ethics
D)discretion

Question 48

The clerk of court is responsible for overseeing jury selection.

Question 49

Law in action approaches to solving the problem of delay are ineffective because they focus on coordinating the activities of the key actors in the courthouse.

Question 50

What is the name of the concept that describes the network of ongoing relationships among courthouse actors?

A)courtroom security
B)courtroom workgroup
C)courtroom personnel
D)courtroom ethics

Question 51

Legal ethics are an example of what type of ethics?

A)Theoretical ethics.
B)Applied ethics.
C)Professional ethics.
D)Applied and professional ethics.

Question 52

The concept of assembly-line justice stresses the mutual interdependence of the courtroom workgroup.

Question 53

Delay is a problem because it wastes court resources.

Question 54

Most cases end in a plea of guilty.

Question 55

Legal ethics is of critical importance because

A)the American legal system is based on the adversarial system.
B)the American legal system is based on the confrontational system.
C)the American legal system is based on the legalistic system.
D)the American legal system is based on the acrimonious system.

Question 56

What is the name given to the process that treats defendants' as objects to be processed?

A)socialization
B)delay
C)discretion
D)assembly-line justice

Question 57

The same differences of opinion about crime that characterize society as a whole likewise divide courthouse actors.

Question 58

Interactions between members of the courtroom work group strictly follow the adversarial model.

Question 59

Legal ethics seek to ensure clients that their lawyers are working in their best interests.

Question 60

In some courthouses civil and criminal cases are heard in the same courtroom during the same court session.

Question 61

The _____ is the officer who presides in a court of law.

Question 62

Speedy-trial laws reflect a law in action approach to problem solving.

Question 63

The _____ is responsible for maintaining order in the courtroom.

Question 64

_____ is best defined as the lawful ability of an agent of government to exercise choice in making a decision.

Question 65

The courtroom work group refers to the _____ participants.

Question 66

A law in action approach to court delay sets out specific times within which the prosecutor must indict and try the case.

Question 67

Clerks of court and court _____ work behind the scenes.

Question 68

The federal speedy-trial law is viewed as an important objective irrespective of whether the defendant's interests are in jeopardy.

Question 69

Assistant prosecutors are often judged not on how many cases they win, but on how few they ____.

Question 70

The shared decision making of the courtroom work group helps to diffuse responsibility.

Question 71

Judges, lawyers, clerks, court stenographers, law clerks, and bailiffs work inside the courtroom.

Question 72

Case scheduling is a simple process.

Question 73

Speedy-trial statutes exist in all 50 states.

Question 74

To one side of the bench sits the court _____, whose machine mysteriously makes a shorthand record of the proceedings.

Question 75

The most effective approaches to the problem of court delay are law on the books approaches.

Question 76

Because criminal laws are so broad and general they must be _____ enforced.

Question 77

Speedy-trial laws are limited because they do not deal with discretion.

Question 78

_____ justice explains why few cases receive individual treatment.

Question 79

The concept of assembly-line justice stresses the high volume of cases in courthouses and the emphasis on moving the docket.

Question 80

Legal ethics is an example of applied and _____ ethics.