Deck 6: Defenses to Criminal Liability II: Excuses

Question 1

​Defendants who argue excuses such as post-traumatic stress disorder or premenstrual syndrome rarely succeed.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

​Defendants often use syndromes as excuses for committing crimes.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

​Most defendants who utilize the insanity defense do so successfully.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

​The defense of insanity excuses criminal liability when it seriously damages defendants' capacity to control their acts.

Question 5

​Defendants who plead an excuse defense admit what they did was wrong.

Question 6

​With an affirmative defense,defendants have to carry some of the burden of proving they have an excuse that will relieve them of criminal responsibility.

Question 7

​There are three different types of juvenile waivers.

Question 8

​The product-of-mental-illness test is also known as the right-wrong test of insanity.

Question 9

​A defendant with prior convictions for similar offenses would probably fare best in a jurisdiction that uses the subjective test of entrapment.

Question 10

​The defendant's predisposition to commit the crime is relevant in the objective test of entrapment.

Question 11

The defense of diminished capacity is an affirmative defense.

Question 12

​The substantial capacity test is supposed to remove the objections to the right-wrong test.

Question 13

​At common law,voluntary intoxication was not a defense.

Question 14

​Intoxication is never a defense.

Question 15

​U.S.courts have always accepted the defense of entrapment.

Question 16

​The right-wrong test focuses on defect in reason or cognition.

Question 17

​Diminished capacity and diminished responsibility are the same thing.

Question 18

​A syndrome is defined as a group of symptoms typical of a particular disease or condition.

Question 19

​In the majority of states,duress isn't a defense to murder.

Question 20

​Many defendants plead the insanity defense.

Question 21

​Which test of insanity from the Model Penal Code incorporates both the appreciation and control components of other tests?

A) ​Durham
B) ​McNaughtan
C) ​substantial capacity
D) ​irresistible impulse

Question 22

​The use of the insanity defense is limited to murder cases.

Question 23

​Most states reject diminished capacity.

Question 24

​For purposes of insanity statutes,mental diseases do not include

A) ​psychosis.
B) ​schizophrenia.
C) ​paranoia.
D) ​psychopathic personalities.

Question 25

​Diminished capacity is an affirmative defense in the sense that it excuses criminal conduct.

Question 26

​Syndrome defenses are used often.

Question 27

​For a long time,U.S.courts rejected the idea that entrapment excused criminal liability.

Question 28

​Which of the following is true of most defendants who offer and insanity defense?

A) ​Defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity are often confined in mental institutions for many years.
B) ​Few offenders "fake" insanity.
C) ​In most cases,prosecution and defense expert psychiatrists agree on whether the defendants are legally insane.
D) ​All of these are true.

Question 29

​Which test of insanity focuses on the defendant's inability to control their conduct?

A) ​Durham
B) ​irresistible impulse
C) ​right-wrong
D) ​McNaughtan

Question 30

​Mental defect refers to mental retardation or brain damage severe enough to make it impossible to know what you're doing,or if you know,you don't know that it's wrong.

Question 31

​All states have established juvenile justice systems to handle juvenile delinquency.

Question 32

​Under the McNaughtan test of insanity,the defendant is legally insane at the time of the crime if,because of a mental disease or defect,he did not know that what he was doing was wrong or did not know

A) ​that the behavior was against the law.
B) ​the identity of the victim.
C) ​that he had a mental disease or defect.
D) ​the nature and quality of the act.

Question 33

​To overcome the sanity presumption,the defense has the burden to offer some evidence of insanity.

Question 34

​As an affirmative defense,defendants have to carry some of the burden of proving they have an excuse that will relieve them of

A) ​criminal responsibility.
B) ​civil responsibility.
C) ​a psychological diagnosis.
D) ​a mental illness.

Question 35

​What is the name of the right-wrong test of insanity?

A) ​the McNaughtan rule
B) ​the Durham rule
C) ​the McDonough rule
D) ​the Althusser rule

Question 36

​In all states and the federal courts,the defendant must prove insanity beyond a reasonable doubt.

Question 37

​Insanity excuses criminal liability

A) ​when the defendant is under age 18.
B) ​when the defendant had an accomplice
C) ​when it seriously damages defendants' reason/will to control actions
D) ​when the defendant was competent.

Question 38

​Which war led to the defense of post-traumatic stress disorder defense (PTSD)?

A) ​the Korean War
B) ​the Vietnam War
C) ​the Gulf War
D) ​the War on Terror

Question 39

​Which of the following is an obstacle to proving the premenstrual syndrome (PMS)defense?

A) ​the defendant has to prove that PMS is a disease
B) ​the defendant has to suffer from PMS
C) ​the PMS has to cause the mental impairment that excuses the conduct
D) ​all of these answers are obstacles to proving the PMS defense

Question 40

​States vary as to who has to prove insanity and how convincingly they have to do so.

Question 41

​Which test focuses on criminal acts resulting from mental disease?

A) ​volitional incapacity
B) ​substantial incapacity
C) ​product-of-mental-illness
D) ​right-wrong

Question 42

​Which test focuses on defect in reason or cognition?

A) ​volitional incapacity
B) ​substantial incapacity
C) ​product-of-mental-illness
D) ​right-wrong

Question 43

​At common law,children above what age were presumed to be capable of criminal intent just like adults?

A) 10​
B) ​12
C) ​14
D) ​16

Question 44

​The right-wrong test focuses on defect in reason or

A) ​cognition.
B) ​standards.
C) ​knowing.
D) ​appreciation.

Question 45

​Diminished capacity is

A) ​the same as diminished responsibility.
B) ​an affirmative defense.
C) ​a failure-of-proof defense.
D) ​no longer a defense in any jurisdiction.

Question 46

​What word do those who criticize the use of the word "know" in insanity tests prefer?

A) ​understand
B) ​comprehend
C) ​cognate
D) ​appreciate

Question 47

​What legal term applies when a juvenile court gives up jurisdiction over a juvenile and transfers the case to the adult criminal court?

A) ​waiver
B) ​venue
C) ​sentencing
D) ​adjudication

Question 48

​What is the most common form of waiver in the United States?

A) ​prosecutorial
B) ​legislative
C) ​judicial
D) ​transfer

Question 49

​In the majority of states,duress is not a defense for

A) ​serious felonies.
B) ​misdemeanors.
C) ​theft.
D) ​murder.

Question 50

​The common law divided children into how many categories for determining their capacity to commit crimes?

A) ​three
B) ​two
C) ​four
D) ​none

Question 51

​Which test focuses on reason and self-control?

A) ​volitional incapacity
B) ​substantial capacity
C) ​product-of-mental-illness
D) ​right-wrong

Question 52

In the 1980s,the federal government and many states changed their insanity defenses after the insanity acquittal of​

A) ​John Hinckley.
B) ​Bernhard Goetz.
C) ​Daniel McNaughtan.
D) ​David Neubauer.

Question 53

​John Hinckley shot President Reagan.What happened to Hinckley after his trial?

A) ​He went to prison.
B) ​He was locked up in a hospital.
C) ​He went free.
D) ​He was sentenced to death.

Question 54

​Defendants who receive a "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict are

A) ​often sent to mental institutions for many years.
B) ​treated very leniently.
C) ​seldom incarcerated.
D) ​generally faking insanity.

Question 55

​What is another name for the product test?

A) ​the Durham rule
B) ​irresistible impulse
C) ​substantial capacity
D) ​the McNaughtan rule

Question 56

​Federal law required the government to prove Hinckley's sanity at what level of proof?

A) ​beyond a reasonable doubt
B) ​by a preponderance of the evidence
C) ​with probable cause
D) ​by a majority

Question 57

​In most jurisdictions,to establish the duress defense,the defendant must show that the threat of harm against him or her was

A) ​contingent.
B) ​foreseeable.
C) ​reasonable.
D) ​imminent.

Question 58

​The entrapment defense arose primarily in response to police excesses in enforcing what laws?

A) ​violent crime
B) ​consensual crime
C) ​international
D) ​espionage

Question 59

​Defendants rarely plead insanity.Those who do

A) ​rarely succeed.
B) ​often succeed.
C) ​always succeed.
D) ​never succeed.

Question 60

​The defense of diminished capacity

A) ​is the same as the Durham insanity test.
B) ​asserts that the defendant's acts were involuntary.
C) involves a claim that because of mental illness the defendant did not have therequired actus reus.
D) ​involves a claim that the defendant did not have the mens rea for the crime charged because of a mental disease or defect.

Question 61

​Defendants who plead the insanity defense

A) ​rarely succeed.
B) ​usually succeed.
C) ​never succeed.
D) ​always succeed.

Question 62

​Diminished responsibility is a defense of

A) ​justification.
B) ​insanity.
C) ​excuse.
D) ​exception.

Question 63

​At common law,Joey would

A) ​have no criminal capacity.
B) ​automatically have the same capacity as an adult.
C) ​be treated the same as under today's statutory laws.
D) ​be presumed to have no criminal capacity,but the presumption could be overcome.

Question 64

What type of syndrome is often related to military service?​

A) ​depressive syndrome
B) manic syndrome​
C) ​premenstrual syndrome
D) ​post-traumatic stress disorder

Question 65

​According to common law,children aged 7-14

A) ​had no criminal capacity.
B) ​were presumed to have no criminal capacity but the presumption could be overcome.
C) ​had the same capacity as adults.
D) ​could not be tried in court.

Question 66

​The subjective entrapment test is available for a defendant who can show the government

A) ​provided an opportunity for a mentally retarded individual to commit a crime.
B) ​caused a predisposed person to commit a crime.
C) ​caused an otherwise reasonable and law-abiding person to commit a crime.
D) ​provided an opportunity for a person predisposed to commit a crime.

Question 67

​The defense of voluntary intoxication is buffeted between two conflicting principles: accountability and

A) ​culpability.
B) ​competence.
C) ​responsibility.
D) ​capacity.

Question 68

​What excuse would Marissa likely use if she is tried for murder?

A) ​consent
B) ​voluntary intoxication
C) ​justification
D) ​involuntary intoxication

Question 69

​The defense of duress consists of four elements: the (1)nature of the threat,(2)immediacy of the threats,(3)crimes the defense applies to,and

A) ​(4)level of belief regarding the threat.
B) ​(4)lack of belief regarding the threat.
C) ​(4)existence of the belief regarding the threat.
D) ​There are only three elements.

Question 70

​The court wishes to prosecute Joey as an adult.Which of the following is not one of the ways Joey can be waived to adult court?

A) ​judicial waiver
B) ​prosecutorial waiver
C) ​legislative waiver
D) ​executive waiver

Question 71

​Which of the following is not one of the popular myths regarding the insanity defense?

A) ​The insanity defense is overused.
B) ​The use of the insanity defense is limited to murder cases.
C) ​There is no risk to the defendant who pleads insanity.
D) ​Criminal defendants who plead insanity are usually insane.

Question 72

​The objective test of entrapment focuses on

A) ​the actions of predisposed criminals.
B) ​the actions of white-collar criminals.
C) ​the actions of police.
D) ​the actions of mentally impaired offenders.

Question 73

​The reason that Marissa might be excused for her crime is

A) ​she could not be held accountable for her actions.
B) ​she was experiencing diminished capacity when she stabbed John.
C) ​John is a jerk and deserved what he got.
D) ​her crime was one of self-defense.

Question 74

​Which of the following is not an excuse for committing a crime?

A) ​voluntary intoxication
B) ​involuntary intoxication
C) ​insanity
D) ​duress

Question 75

​What would prevent Tony from being charged with a crime?

A) ​the defense of duress.
B) ​the defense of consent
C) ​the defense of insanity
D) ​the defense of diminished capacity

Question 76

​Defendants who plead the insanity defense successfully

A) ​go free.
B) ​face civil commitment.
C) ​go to jail instead of prison.
D) ​face community service.

Question 77

​Diminished capacity is what kind of defense?

A) ​failure-of-proof
B) ​affirmative
C) ​excuse
D) ​insanity

Question 78

​The shift from the philosophy of rehabilitation to retribution has led to

A) ​more juveniles at younger ages being tried as adults.
B) ​fewer juveniles at younger ages being tried as adults.
C) ​no change in the number of juveniles being tried as adults.
D) ​none of these answers is correct.

Question 79

​The insanity defense stands for the important proposition that we can only blame people who are

A) ​responsible.
B) ​sane.
C) ​insane.
D) ​irresponsible.

Question 80

​Waivers to adult court come in three varieties.Which of the following is not one of those varieties?

A) ​judicial
B) ​prosecutorial
C) ​legislative
D) ​executive