Deck 15: Sentencing,punishment and Review

Question 1

Most appeals occur in cases when the plea was not guilty.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Death penalty sentencing standards are so exacting that innocent people are hardly ever sentenced to die.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Sentencing is always set by the jury in the federal system.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Apprendi v.New Jersey established that most statutory sentence enhancements must be decided by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

Question 5

A sentence may be enhanced if a crime is motivated by bias.

Question 6

Judges must usually account for a deviation from the presumptive sentence.

Question 7

States first abandoned capital punishment in the 1960s.

Question 8

A New York Times survey indicates that the death penalty is not a general deterrent to homicide.

Question 9

Fines are reserved for insignificant offenses.

Question 10

Prison discipline usually is in the form of physical punishment.

Question 11

In simple cases involving minor crimes,judges often pronounce sentence at conviction.

Question 12

No state has adopted the ABA guidelines to improve death penalty representation.

Question 13

Most state courts require notice of appeal to be filed within 90 days of judgment.

Question 14

The United States Sentencing Guidelines are reviewed on a five-year schedule.

Question 15

Prisons have a right to restrict visits to inmates.

Question 16

No punishment in America has been found to be "cruel and unusual" in the past hundred years.

Question 17

The Supreme Court and highest state courts provide appeals at their own discretion.

Question 18

The defense has 14 days to object to the presentence report under Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Question 19

Only a few states allow victims to have an influence at sentencing.

Question 20

The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act made habeas corpus petitions easier to file in federal court.

Question 21

An alternative sentencing plan may be compiled by

A)the judge
B)a probation officer
C)a paralegal sentencing specialist
D)a prosecution paralegal

Question 22

Restitution is

A)required in all state courts
B)used to prevent recidivism
C)repayment of losses from property crimes
D)used only as a condition of probation

Question 23

The writ of habeas corpus requires

A)a showing of just cause for the custody of another
B)reversal of conviction
C)a discretionary court to hear an appeal
D)release from custody

Question 24

When appeals are made "on the record,"

A)the process of presenting evidence does not have to be reenacted before the appellate court
B)an error in recording the trial is the issue of the appeal
C)the appellate judges base their decisions solely on the record of the trial
D)the decision of the appeal is recorded as federal law

Question 25

At a sentencing hearing,a defendant may not

A)exercise the right to counsel
B)question witnesses
C)speak in his or her own behalf
D)submit evidence

Question 26

Defenses to forfeiture include

A)necessity
B)innocent owner
C)claim of right
D)legitimate business defense

Question 27

A prisoner forfeits the right to

A)possess religious materials
B)due process
C)free assembly
D)access to writing materials

Question 28

The process of exacting punishment for crimes is limited by the

A)Third Amendment
B)Sixth Amendment
C)Eighth Amendment
D)Ninth Amendment

Question 29

Appeals function to do all except

A)brings an acquitted criminal to justice
B)correct errors made at trial
C)refine the law
D)ensure due process

Question 30

Three strikes laws provide sentences that are usually

A)mandatory
B)concurrent
C)consecutive
D)indeterminate

Question 31

The federal system uses

A)indefinite sentences
B)indeterminate sentences
C)concrete sentences
D)definite sentences

Question 32

The result of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 was

A)uniformity of sentencing among states
B)federal sentencing guidelines
C)more flexible sentencing
D)parole was declared unconstitutional

Question 33

In appeals involving constitutional issues,harmless error must be decided

A)by a clear and convincing standard
B)beyond a reasonable doubt
C)by a substantial outcome standard
D)by a reasonable person standard

Question 34

United States Sentencing Guidelines shifted power in sentencing from the

A)prosecutor to the judge
B)defense to the judge
C)judge to the prosecutor
D)judge to the jury

Question 35

Juries are particularly responsible for sentencing in

A)felonies
B)misdemeanors
C)the federal system
D)death penalty systems

Question 36

An effective alternative sentencing plan should include all except

A)documentation of medical information
B)hardships the defendant's family faced
C)problems the defendant has been unable to solve
D)consideration of suggestions from the prosecutor

Question 37

In bifurcated trials of capital cases,juries

A)first decide whether the death penalty should be considered,then decide the defendant's guilt
B)decide guilt and the sentence at the same time
C)must sentence the defendant to death if the verdict is guilty
D)first decide guilt,then consider whether circumstances warrant the death penalty

Question 38

Parole has been replaced in the federal system by

A)15 percent "good time" credit after the first year
B)10 percent "good time" credit after the first year
C)an automatic 15 percent reduction in sentence
D)the requirement that the full sentence be served

Question 39

Between 1973 and 1995,reversible error in capital cases occurred at a rate of

A)over 60 percent
B)under 5 percent
C)20 percent
D)40 percent

Question 40

In deciding death penalty cases,the jury must

A)decide without information on eligibility for parole
B)have a vehicle for expressing the view that the death penalty is not appropriate
C)impose the death penalty if not one mitigating circumstance is found
D)impose the death penalty if one aggravating circumstance is found

Question 41

What is the advantage and disadvantage of indefinite sentencing?

Question 42

What is the purpose of an alternative sentencing plan,and what should it include?

Question 43

What were the factors that caused Georgia's death penalty law to be declared unconstitutional in Furman v.Georgia (1972)? What were the factors in Georgia's new law that caused it to be upheld in Gregg v.Georgia (1976)?

Question 44

What is the advantage and disadvantage of victim impact statements? What Supreme Court cases reflect each side?

Question 45

List in order at least five steps in appellate procedure.