Deck 19: Law, Society, and the Mental Health Profession

Question 1

The legal test that someone experiencing a mental disorder at the time of the crime also had to be unable to know right from wrong or the nature of the act is known as the:

A) M'Naghten test.
B) irresistible impulse test.
C) Durham test.
D) American Law Institute test.

Answer 1

M'Naghten test.

Question 2

Which two political institutions have a particularly strong impact on the mental health profession?

A) legislative and executive branches of government
B) executive and administrative branches of government
C) legislative and judicial branches of government
D) administrative and executive branches of government

Answer 2

legislative and judicial branches of government

Question 3

Which individual-who was found not guilty by reason of insanity-did not attempt to kill a president?

A) David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz
B) John Hinkley
C) John Schrank
D) Richard Lawrence

Answer 3

David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz

Question 4

Approximately two-thirds of people acquitted of their crimes by reason of insanity qualify for a diagnosis of:

A) major depressive disorder.
B) a dissociative disorder.
C) schizophrenia.
D) a personality disorder.

Question 5

Which individual was found not guilty by reason of insanity?

A) Jeffrey Dahmer
B) Andrea Yates
C) Lee Boyd Malvo
D) Lorena Bobbitt

Question 6

The intersections between the mental health field and the legal and judicial systems are collectively referred to as:

A) criminology.
B) criminal psychology.
C) forensic science.
D) forensic psychology.

Question 7

According to studies conducted in Western countries, _____ is/are about five times more common among prisoners than among nonprisoners in the general population.

A) personality disorders
B) depression
C) schizophrenia
D) conduct disorder

Question 8

Approximately _____ percent of people with mental disorders are in no way violent or dangerous.

A) 90
B) 75
C) 97
D) 60

Question 9

The minimum standard of competent to stand trial was specified by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of:

A) Jackson v. Indiana.
B) Dusky v. United States.
C) Kansas v. Hendricks.
D) Foucha v. Louisiana.

Question 10

In 1999, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Olmstead v. L.C. that mental health patients have the right to:

A) treatment in the least restrictive facility available.
B) aftercare and an appropriate community residence.
C) refuse psychotropic medications.
D) refuse electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Question 11

In 1992 in the case of Foucha v. Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that the only acceptable basis for determining the release of hospitalized offenders is whether or not they are still:

A) represented adequately by an attorney.
B) a danger to society.
C) in treatment.
D) insane.

Question 12

Which statement is accurate about psychologists' predictions of future dangerousness?

A) They are right most of the time.
B) They are wrong more often than right when they make long-term predictions.
C) Short-term predictions are more accurate than long-term predictions.
D) Both (b) and (c) are accurate statements.

Question 13

Someone driven by a fit of passion to commit a murder might be found insane at the time of the crime under the _____ test.

A) Durham
B) irresistible impulse
C) American Law Institute
D) forensic insanity

Question 14

The current code of ethics for psychologists declares that therapists have a duty to _____, which involves a responsibility to break confidentiality, even without the client's consent, when it is necessary to prevent others from coming to harm at the hands of the client.

A) warn
B) parens patriae
C) protect
D) inform

Question 15

The _____ test classifies someone as not criminally responsible if, at the time of a crime, a mental disorder or defect prevented him or her from knowing right from wrong or from being able to control himself or herself and follow the rule of law.

A) American Law Institute
B) Durham
C) M'Naghten
D) irresistible impulse

Question 16

Which is NOT a guideline included in the American Psychological Association Code of Ethics?

A) Psychologists may not offer advice on television and radio.
B) Psychologists may not take sexual advantage of their clients and students.
C) Psychologists must adhere to the principle of confidentiality in all cases, with no exceptions.
D) Neither (a) nor (c) are included in the APA Code of Ethics.

Question 17

Which legal doctrines allow the government to commit people who may be dangerous to themselves or others?

A) stare decisis and judicial review
B) habeas corpus and parens patriae
C) parens patriae and police power
D) police power and habeas corpus

Question 18

In the 1972 case of Wyatt v. Stickney, a federal court ruled that civilly committed people were to receive:

A) periodic review of their cases.
B) mainstreaming in the general hospital population.
C) the assistance of an attorney.
D) adequate treatment.

Question 19

The FBI estimates that there are between _____ and _____ serial killers at large in the United States at any given time.

A) 7; 10
B) 12; 25
C) 35; 100
D) 150; 200

Question 20

Which is NOT a circumstance in which malpractice claims were made against clinicians?

A) providing therapy that did not result in improvement
B) a patient's attempted suicide
C) sexual activity with a patient
D) improper termination of treatment

Question 21

_____ is a legal test for insanity that holds people to be insane at the time they committed a crime if their act was the product of a mental disease or defect.

A) American Law Institute
B) Irresistible impulse
C) Durham
D) Hinckley

Question 22

Which defense allows the consideration of a defendant's mental dysfunction as an extenuating circumstance that may lead to conviction of a lesser crime?

A) not guilty by reason of insanity
B) guilty but mentally ill
C) guilty with diminished capacity
D) guilty but insane

Question 23

According to the case of Addington v. Texas (1979), the level of proof needed for civil commitment is:

A) discretionary with the judge.
B) clear and convincing.
C) a preponderance of the evidence.
D) beyond reasonable doubt.

Question 24

People can be forced to undergo mental health treatment through a process known as:

A) benevolent commitment.
B) day treatment.
C) civil commitment.
D) habeas corpus.

Question 25

Which would a forensic psychologist NOT be likely to do?

A) write legislation to regulate the practice of psychology in the courts
B) testify in criminal or civil proceedings
C) research questions pertinent to trials
D) profile serial killers

Question 26

About what percentage of defendants plead insanity?

A) 20 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 1 percent
D) 5 percent

Question 27

The _____ requirement is meant to ensure that defendants understand the charges they are facing and can work with their lawyers to prepare and conduct an adequate defense.

A) Durham
B) competence
C) not guilty by reason of insanity
D) M'Naughten

Question 28

State rulings have consistently granted patients the right to refuse _____, the most irreversible dangerous form of physical treatment.

A) electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
B) psychosurgery
C) psychotropic medications
D) psychotherapy

Question 29

Studies have shown that the largest category of crimes for which people were acquitted on grounds of insanity was:

A) murder.
B) property crimes.
C) physical assault.
D) robbery.

Question 30

Which was NOT mentioned as a criticism of civil commitments?

A) People committed involuntarily do not typically respond well to therapy.
B) Assessing dangerousness is difficult.
C) The legal definitions of "mental illness" and "dangerousness" are vague.
D) Civil commitments are unlawful under the U.S. Constitution.

Question 31

The most often heard criticism of the insanity defense is:

A) clinicians disagree over the definition of legal insanity.
B) people have free will and thus can resist the urge to commit violence.
C) dangerous criminals escape punishment.
D) the jury has to weigh the claims of opposing experts.

Question 32

Which is not a form of criminal commitment?

A) not guilty by reason of insanity
B) mentally unstable at the time of trial
C) both (a) and (b) are forms of criminal commitment
D) neither (a) nor (b) are forms of criminal commitment

Question 33

Which state has NOT eliminated the insanity plea altogether?

A) Montana
B) Kansas
C) Idaho
D) Arkansas

Question 34

Which U.S. Supreme Court case ruled that a mentally incompetent defendant cannot be indefinitely committed while awaiting a ruling of "competent to stand trial" but must be tried, transferred to a mental health facility under civil commitment procedures within a reasonable period of time, or set free?

A) Jackson v. Indiana
B) Dusky v. United States
C) Kansas v. Hendricks
D) Foucha v. Louisiana

Question 35

To which psychologists did Congress give the authority to prescribe medications starting in 1991?

A) all psychologists
B) psychologists who have been practicing for more than 10 years
C) some Army psychologists
D) psychologists who treat Medicare patients

Question 36

In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Robinson v. California that imprisoning people who suffered from _____ might violate the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

A) schizophrenia
B) sexual paraphilias
C) drug addiction
D) alcoholism

Question 37

Which type of criminal may be committed to a hospital or treatment facility before serving his or her full prison term?

A) robbers
B) murderers
C) drug dealers
D) sex offenders

Question 38

The length of an emergency commitment varies from state to state, but _____ day(s) is often the limit.

A) 1
B) 3
C) 7
D) 14

Question 39

Which statement is accurate about eyewitness testimony?

A) Some states prohibit it altogether.
B) It is so unreliable it ought to be prohibited in all instances.
C) Witnesses who are "absolutely certain" in their identification are no more likely to be accurate than those who are only "fairly sure."
D) There is no difference between laboratory research and real-life events.

Question 40

When people are judged mentally unstable at the time of their crimes and therefore innocent of wrongdoing, they are found to be:

A) guilty but insane.
B) not guilty by reason of insanity.
C) incompetent to stand trial.
D) guilty but mentally ill.

Question 41

A man killed another man with whom he was fighting. At his trial he claimed that he did not know what he was doing because he was drunk. Under which "insanity" standard might he be found not guilty by reason of insanity?

A) Durham test
B) M'Naghten rule
C) organic deficiency test
D) irresistible impulse test

Question 42

If someone is interested in pursuing a career in a field that combined mental health and the legal and judicial systems, you should direct that person toward:

A) forensic psychology.
B) behavioral neuroscience.
C) medical science.
D) neurology.

Question 43

A person who has been criminally committed has been:

A) found guilty of a crime but mentally ill.
B) found guilty of a crime but developmentally disabled.
C) accused of a crime and sent to a psychiatric institution for mental health treatment.
D) accused of a crime and unable to cooperate in mental health treatment.

Question 44

Courts ask for mental health professionals to help determine if defendants are:

A) responsible for the crimes they commit and capable of defending themselves in court.
B) telling the truth or covering for someone else who really committed the crime.
C) able to serve as their own counsel (lawyer) and educated regarding the law.
D) in need of medical treatment.

Question 45

Defendants who are judged mentally unstable at the time when they are said to have committed the crimes are MOST likely to:

A) be judged to be faking or using a legal loophole to get out of their crime.
B) be judged not guilty by reason of insanity.
C) be committed to a mental hospital until they are able to defend themselves.
D) fail to rely on testimony of mental health professionals.

Question 46

In using the insanity plea, the burden of proof to prove insanity rests with the:

A) court.
B) defendant.
C) prosecutor.
D) legislature.

Question 47

If a person accused of a crime is found not guilty by reason of insanity, he or she is committed to a psychiatric facility for treatment. This is called:

A) 2 PCs.
B) incarceration.
C) civil commitment.
D) criminal commitment.

Question 48

"I can't help myself. I had to do it," would likely be a successful insanity defense:

A) in most states of the United States due to the American Law Institute test.
B) in federal courts due to the M'Naghten rule.
C) virtually nowhere in the United States.
D) in fewer than half of the states in the United States.

Question 49

Who makes the final decision as to whether a person may be tried by the judicial system?

A) the courts
B) a panel of psychiatrists
C) a panel of psychologists
D) a court-appointed psychologist or psychiatrist

Question 50

The definition of "insanity" used in legal cases is written by:

A) psychologists.
B) criminologists.
C) legislators.
D) judges.

Question 51

A man got into a fight and killed his opponent. When he went to trial, he had a mental breakdown, did not know where he was, and was unable to answer questions. He is likely to be sent to a mental institution because:

A) he had a mental disorder.
B) no crime was committed.
C) he was mentally unstable at the time of the crime.
D) he was mentally unstable at the time of the trial and unable to defend himself.

Question 52

The version of the insanity defense that declares that a person cannot be held responsible for his or her actions if those actions were the result of mental disease or mental defect is called the:

A) Durham test.
B) M'Naghten rule.
C) organic deficiency test.
D) irresistible impulse test.

Question 53

Which person would never have to stand trial for a crime he or she might have committed?

A) one judged not guilty by reason of insanity
B) one judged mentally unstable at the time of the trial
C) one unable to assist in his or her defense at the time of the trial
D) one who had experienced criminal commitment

Question 54

A man killed a stranger in a fit of rage when he heard voices telling him that the stranger was about to destroy the Earth and must be stopped. The killer is likely to be sent to a mental institution because:

A) no crime was committed.
B) he was mentally unstable at the time of the crime.
C) a person who commits such a crime must be insane.
D) he was mentally unstable at the time of the trial and unable to defend himself.

Question 55

If a court decides that a defendant is mentally unstable, the defendant will:

A) never be tried.
B) not be punished in the usual way.
C) spend the rest of his or her life in jail.
D) be committed to a mental hospital for the rest of his or her life.

Question 56

A man beat another man nearly to death. In court the assailant claimed that he was forced to do what he did. He just exploded and was not in control of himself. Under which "insanity" standard might he be found not guilty by reason of insanity?

A) Durham test
B) M'Naghten rule
C) organic deficiency test
D) irresistible impulse test

Question 57

The Durham test judges a person not to be criminally responsible if he or she has:

A) acted under the influence of a mental disease or mental defect.
B) acted under a compulsion or an irresistible impulse to act.
C) acted without the knowledge that the nature of the act or actions were wrong.
D) lacked the ability to conform his or her conduct to the requirements of law, as a result of mental disease or defect.

Question 58

"I'm sorry I did that. I didn't know it was wrong," is MOST consistent with the:

A) Durham test.
B) irresistible impulse test.
C) American Law Institute test.
D) M'Naghten rule.

Question 59

What must be true before a person may be tried for a crime and potentially found guilty?

A) The person must have normal intelligence.
B) The person must be a citizen of the United States.
C) The person must not act in a bizarre way in court.
D) The person must be capable of helping to defending himself or herself in court.

Question 60

Defendants who are actively hallucinating and experiencing delusions during the time of their trials are MOST likely to be:

A) judged not guilty of the crime by reason of insanity.
B) judged not guilty of the crime due to severe mental instability.
C) committed for treatment until they improve enough to be released.
D) committed for treatment until they improve enough to defend themselves.

Question 61

The burden of proof in an insanity case is usually:

A) on the defense attorneys to prove the defendant is insane.
B) on the prosecution attorneys to prove the defendant is sane.
C) on the defense for federal cases and on the prosecution for most state cases.
D) on the defense for most state cases and on the prosecution for federal cases.

Question 62

An alcoholic got into a bar fight and killed his opponent. Which legal test would MOST likely have been used to find him not guilty by reason of insanity?

A) Durham test
B) American Law Institute guidelines
C) M'Naghten rule
D) irresistible impulse test

Question 63

In the case of Foucha v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court ruled that the only acceptable basis for determining the release of hospitalized offenders is whether they are still:

A) mentally ill.
B) insane.
C) dangerous.
D) unable to assist with their defense.

Question 64

The most common, and perhaps the most serious, objection to the insanity plea is that:

A) dangerous people go free.
B) people get jail rather than treatment.
C) it shortens the time that a guilty person must "serve."
D) it prevents the punishment of people with mental disorders.

Question 65

If a person with a mental illness committed murder and was convicted and sent to prison, but was also given treatment while in prison, that person probably lived in a state that had a:

A) guilty but mentally ill option.
B) guilty with diminished capacity option.
C) not guilty by reason of insanity option.
D) guilty by reason of insanity option.

Question 66

If a person with paranoid schizophrenia committed murder and was not able to control his or her actions and follow the law, that person would NOT be eligible for an insanity defense under:

A) the Durham test.
B) the American Law Institute test.
C) the irresistible impulse test.
D) M'Naghten test

Question 67

According to Foucha v. Louisiana, hospitalized offenders can only be institutionalized if they are:

A) insane.
B) dangerous.
C) substance abusers.
D) without resources.

Question 68

Suffering from a psychophysiological disorder such as headaches, alcoholism, and substance abuse might make one eligible for an insanity defense under the:

A) M'Naghten rule.
B) irresistible impulse test.
C) Durham test.
D) American Law Institute test.

Question 69

The reason that offenders are being released from mental hospitals earlier and earlier is the result of:

A) the increasing effectiveness of drug therapy.
B) the inability to accurately diagnose.
C) the overcrowding of mental hospitals.
D) the pleas of insanity that are overturned.

Question 70

The fact that lawyers can often find "experts" who convincingly argue both sides of a question suggests that:

A) scientific knowledge about abnormal behavior is incomplete and uncertain.
B) there is no basis for their testimony.
C) the field has made great strides in its ability to predict abnormal behavior.
D) people really do have free will.

Question 71

Which person is MOST likely to be acquitted by reason of insanity?

A) a white American with schizophrenia
B) a substance abuser who is a woman
C) an older person who commits a nonviolent crime
D) a person who has never been hospitalized for mental illness or arrested

Question 72

About what percentage of defendants in the United States are found not guilty by reason of insanity in a typical year?

A) less than 1 percent
B) 5 percent
C) 25 percent
D) 40 percent

Question 73

You are a forensic psychologist testifying about the sanity of someone. The question that is hardest for you to be sure of answering correctly is:

A) Was the defendant sane at the time of the crime?
B) What is the mental disorder that the defendant has now?
C) Would treatment be beneficial for the defendant?
D) Was what the defendant is alleged to have done wrong?

Question 74

Currently in the United States, patients who are criminally committed to a mental hospital can be released:

A) only after they have been hospitalized an amount of time equal to the time they would have spent in prison.
B) only when they are judged to be no longer dangerous.
C) when they are no longer considered insane.
D) after they have spent time in a halfway house.

Question 75

Which is NOT a criticism of the insanity defense?

A) In a given case, the testimony of clinicians is often not in agreement.
B) Clinicians are biased to assume that people have free will and are responsible for their actions.
C) Clinicians are trying to evaluate the defendant's state of mind during a time that is long past.
D) The insanity defense allows dangerous people to escape punishment.

Question 76

The MOST common diagnosis of those found not guilty by reason of insanity is:

A) depression.
B) schizophrenia.
C) bipolar disease.
D) sociopath or psychopath.

Question 77

If a man walked in on his wife in bed with his best friend and killed both of them in a "fit of passion," that man may be eligible for an insanity defense under the:

A) M'Naghten rule.
B) irresistible impulse test.
C) Durham test.
D) American Law Institute test.

Question 78

The legal system and the scientific community generally see _____ as fundamentally different.

A) the degree of free will people have regarding their behavior
B) the definition of mental illness
C) the level of equality between men and women
D) dangerousness

Question 79

Which case caused the uproar and outrage that led to a return to the M'Naghten rule in determining insanity?

A) Sirhan Sirhan's assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
B) Oliver North's indictment in the Iran-Contra scandal
C) John Hinckley's attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
D) A Bulgarian zealot's attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II

Question 80

In response to a recommendation by the American Psychiatric Association regarding insanity pleas, current federal practice is MOST like the:

A) M'Naghten rule.
B) irresistible impulse test.
C) Durham test.
D) American Law Institute test.