Deck 5: Crime and Criminal Law

Question 1

Substantive law is:

A) the law of crimes
B) the law of search and seizure
C) due process
D) none of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is a component of a crime?

A) an act in violation of a criminal law
B) the person committing the the criminal act must have intended to do so
C) the criminal act must have been committed without any legally acceptable defense or justification
D) all of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In regards to crime as a subset of harmful acts (Walsh & Ellis, 2007), which circle contains those acts that are considered no one else's business except the person engaging in them unless that person creates a public annoyance or endangers public safety?

A) all social harms
B) all crimes
C) all harms
D) core offenses

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In regards to crime as a subset of harmful acts (Walsh & Ellis, 2007), which circle contains the "core" mala in se crimes?

A) all social harms
B) all crimes
C) core offenses
D) all harms

Question 5

Common characteristics of criminal law include:

A) a list of penalties prescribed for those who violate the law
B) the provision of certain defenses to criminal liability
C) conviction carries with it the community's formal condemnation
D) all of the above

Question 6

The bulk of criminal law is located in:

A) the U.S. Constitution
B) state statutes
C) common law
D) federal statutes

Question 7

Around the middle of which century did states begin to codify the common law?

A) seventeenth
B) eighteenth
C) nineteenth
D) twentieth

Question 8

The legal theory of substantive due process is the underlying theory for the __________ rights extended in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), Roe v. Wade (1973), and Lawrence v. Texas (2003).

A) criminal trial
B) privacy
C) search and seizure
D) religious freedom

Question 9

In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court hold that a statute must give fair notice to both law enforcement and citizens on exactly what conduct is forbidden so as to limit arbitrary enforcement and provide individuals with fair warning of what they lawfully may do?

A) J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel T.B.
B) Gregg v. Georgia
C) Rummel v. Estelle
D) Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville

Question 10

What refers to the idea that laws must be enforced in a fair and nonarbitrary manner?

A) due process
B) overbreadth
C) fair notice
D) substantive fairness

Question 11

In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court hold that states can impose sentences of life in prison for habitual offenders, even when the underlying felonies involve nothing more serious than fraudulent use of a credit card and writing bad checks where the total amount of money in question was less than $230?

A) Rummel v. Estelle
B) Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville
C) Gregg v. Georgia
D) J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel T.B.

Question 12

What laws are those passed "after the fact"?

A) habeas corpus
B) ex post facto laws
C) bills of attainder
D) habeas bills

Question 13

Bills of attainder are:

A) laws passed after an event occurs
B) laws that impose punishment without a trial
C) retroactive punishment
D) permitted by the U.S. Constitution

Question 14

Generally, actus reus can be fulfilled by:

A) one's status
B) one's thoughts
C) a voluntary action
D) omission of action whether there is a legal duty to act or not

Question 15

In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court hold that it is lawful to punish someone for being drunk in public, which is an act, even if the person suffers from chronic alcoholism?

A) Gregg v. Georgia
B) Montana v. Egelhoff
C) Powell v. Texas
D) Rummel v. Estelle

Question 16

A failure to act:

A) is generally not subject to sanction even if it is morally reprehensible
B) must occur without coercion
C) never results in criminal liability because the person did not do anything
D) none of the above

Question 17

Retaining possession in the face of awareness that it is unlawful to possess the item is similar to a(n):

A) voluntary act
B) omission
C) involuntary act
D) all of the above

Question 18

Criminal liability:

A) attaches once the criminal act occurs
B) generally does not attach based on actions alone
C) can attach for a person's illegal thoughts
D) all of the above

Question 19

What refers to the mental purpose or desire to commit a certain act?

A) motive
B) causation
C) knowledge
D) intent

Question 20

What refers to the cause, or reason why the act was committed?

A) knowledge
B) motive
C) intent
D) purpose

Question 21

The Model Penal Code sets forth which of the following four levels of intent?

A) purposeful, knowing, reckless, negligent
B) accidental, intentional, premeditated, deliberate
C) willful, knowing, accidental, purposeful
D) none of the above

Question 22

Which level of intent occurs when a person is practically certain of the result to follow from this conduct?

A) knowingly
B) negligent
C) purposefully
D) recklessly

Question 23

The negligence standard is an objective one-if the "__________" person would have been aware of the risk of harm, then the negligent person is responsible for being aware of his or her conduct.

A) reasonable
B) prudent
C) culpable
D) purposeful

Question 24

What is the legal principle that the criminal act is the act that is the cause of the harm?

A) intent
B) action
C) vicarious
D) causation

Question 25

What type of causation refers to the idea that "but for" the actor's conduct, the harm would not have occurred?

A) legal cause
B) factual cause
C) proximate cause
D) illegal cause

Question 26

For all practical purposes, in the vast majority of criminal cases, legal cause and factual cause:

A) are not the same thing
B) are not important
C) are the same thing
D) do not need to be proven

Question 27

There can be no liability without:

A) motive
B) omission
C) harm
D) an attempt

Question 28

What type of liability is used in the criminal arena when there is a strong public interest involved to justify eliminating the mens rea requirement?

A) legal
B) strict
C) vicarious
D) criminal

Question 29

Which of the following is an example of an inchoate crime?

A) burglary
B) statutory rape
C) homicide as self-defense
D) conspiracy to commit murder

Question 30

Which crimes are ones in which criminal liability exists even though the contemplated act or actions never take place?

A) vicarious liability
B) strict liability
C) inchoate
D) complicity

Question 31

The doctrine of __________ developed as a means of controlling potentially dangerous persons and activities.

A) possession
B) solicitation
C) conspiracy
D) attempt

Question 32

For an attempt, courts generally require evidence of "some step" or "__________" that constitute perpetration of the criminal act.

A) words or some action of inducing
B) substantial steps
C) an act in furtherance
D) both a and b

Question 33

What involves the intent to induce another to commit a crime?

A) conspiracy
B) liability
C) solicitation
D) attempt

Question 34

Which of the following is true regarding conspiracy?

A) the intended crime must occur for conspiracy to be committed
B) in most jurisdictions, an agreement for an unlawful purpose is not enough to prove conspiracy
C) jurisdictions never require an act in furtherance of the conspiracy
D) a co-conspirator may be held liable for the actions of others in the conspiracy, even if they are unaware of their offenses

Question 35

Under the doctrine of complicity, those who commit the act are:

A) principles in the second degree
B) accessories before the fact
C) accessories after the fact
D) principles in the first degree

Question 36

__________ includes accessories both before and after the fact, so long as they are aware that a crime will occur or has occurred.

A) attempt
B) solicitation
C) complicity
D) conspiracy

Question 37

Which of the following is true regarding modern statutes and the doctrine of complicity?

A) they have eliminated the distinction between principles and now make them all accessories before the fact
B) they have eliminated accessories before and after the fact and only apply the doctrine to principles
C) they retain the distinction between principles and accessories after the fact
D) both a and c

Question 38

In what type of defense does the defendant assert they are not the person who committed the act charged?

A) alibi
B) affirmative
C) consent
D) reliable

Question 39

What refers to the duty to produce evidence?

A) burden of persuasion
B) burden of production
C) burden of complicity
D) burden of defense

Question 40

In some states, a higher burden of proof is imposed for certain offenses, such as the __________ defense.

A) insanity
B) entrapment
C) consent
D) duress

Question 41

An example of a justification defense is:

A) duress
B) intoxication
C) self-defense
D) none of the above

Question 42

Which doctrine states that persons attacked in their home need not retreat from a potentially deadly invasion and/or attack?

A) protection doctrine
B) walking doctrine
C) castle doctrine
D) retreat doctrine

Question 43

What defense to a crime provides that a person may agree to suffer what otherwise would be an actionable injury?

A) excuse
B) consent
C) duress
D) reliability

Question 44

Which type of defense is one in which a defendant admits that what they did was wrong but argues that, under the circumstances, they were not responsible for the improper conduct?

A) consent
B) consistency
C) duress
D) excuse

Question 45

Which of the following is true regarding the defense of duress?

A) its use never removes the mens rea component
B) it may be raised in a limited number of situations
C) it never excuses minor crimes
D) it never excuses major crimes

Question 46

What type of intoxication defense never provides a complete defense but may negate the mens rea component for an offense requiring specific intent in some states by reducing the degree of the crime charged?

A) involuntary intoxication
B) duress intoxication
C) voluntary intoxication
D) complicit intoxication

Question 47

Under the common law, there was a presumption that children under the age of seven years:

A) were incompetent
B) could be held legally liable, but were treated more leniently
C) could be held liable, but not be sentenced to death
D) could be held responsible only if they had an adult-level IQ

Question 48

As stated in the text, mental illness and legal ___________ are not the same thing.

A) complicity
B) intent
C) insanity
D) illness

Question 49

The GBMI (guilty but mentally ill) verdict:

A) maintains the defendant's criminal liability, and hence criminal sentence, but mandates psychiatric treatment for them
B) excuses the defendant's criminal liability but mandates psychiatric treatment for them
C) maintains the defendant's criminal liability, but not the criminal sentence, and encourages incarceration for them
D) excuses the defendant's criminal liability but encourages shock incarceration for them

Question 50

Which defense is increasingly being raised by defendants caught in drug and internet sexual enticement stings?

A) insanity
B) execution of public duties
C) entrapment
D) consent

Question 51

Which category of crimes often are ranked among the most serious offenses?

A) crimes against the person
B) crimes against property
C) crimes against public order
D) crimes against morality

Question 52

Under the common law, death was defined as when:

A) there was an irreversible cessation of brain function
B) breathing stopped
C) the heartbeat stopped
D) all of the above

Question 53

According to the Model Penal Code, which of the following are the three forms of criminal homicide?

A) justifiable homicide, excused homicide, criminal homicide
B) first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter
C) murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide
D) homicide, manslaughter, execution

Question 54

What is a criminal homicide in which an unintentional killing results from a reckless act?

A) negligent homicide
B) murder
C) involuntary manslaughter
D) voluntary manslaughter

Question 55

The common law definition of rape created which of the following loopholes in the law?

A) only men could be raped
B) only men were capable of rape
C) only women could rape
D) men could rape their wives

Question 56

Today, many jurisdictions have merged the offenses of assault and battery, referring to both as:

A) fighting
B) battery
C) assault
D) conducive battery

Question 57

Which category of crimes are far more common?

A) crimes against public order
B) crimes against morality
C) crimes against the person
D) crimes against property

Question 58

Since the earliest common law, dwellings have been afforded special protection from entry by:

A) friends
B) uninvited guests
C) agents of the state
D) both b and c

Question 59

Disorderly conduct in a group setting generally is referred to as:

A) group disorder
B) unlawful disorder
C) unlawful assembly
D) disorderly assembly

Question 60

Substantive law indicts (tells us what we should NOT do) various types of conduct.

Question 61

Offenses that carry universal consensus of being wrong, cause high levels of social harm, are extremely serious, and carry severe penalties are considered in rem.

Question 62

Part II offenses are reported to the FBI for the UCR only if an arrest is made.

Question 63

Statutes define the elements (the various parts) of a crime more specifically than was the case under common law.

Question 64

Due diligence simply means letting people know what is (and is not) permitted.

Question 65

Ex post facto laws are those passed "after the fact."

Question 66

All five elements of criminal liability, when taken together, comprise the body of the crime, or the stare decisis.

Question 67

A failure to act is also referred to as causation.

Question 68

Intent refers to the mental purpose or desire to commit a certain act.

Question 69

Concurrence is simply the union of the criminal act and criminal intent.

Question 70

Legal cause is also referred to as factual cause.

Question 71

Soliciting others to commit a crime is an example of an inchoate crime.

Question 72

In early common law, it was a crime to attempt but fail to complete a criminal act.

Question 73

Constructive intent is an agreement between two or more people for the purpose of committing a crime.

Question 74

Under the doctrine of complicity, individuals who were not present at the crime but who facilitated it in some way are accessories before the fact.

Question 75

A defense in which the defendant admits responsibility for the act that occurred but claims that, under the circumstances, the act was not criminal is an alibi.

Question 76

There is a doctrine that states that a person must scream rather than use deadly force if doing so is possible without endangering the person's life.

Question 77

The defense of duress varies by jurisdiction but generally includes situations involving the threat of serious, imminent harm to oneself where the act is less serious than the threatened harm.

Question 78

Persons below a certain age lack the requisite mental capacity to form mens rea.

Question 79

The product test for insanity is defined as the inability to control one's conduct even though one is aware that the conduct is wrong.

Question 80

In the case of Sherman v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court laid out two rules of entrapment.