Deck 11: The Legal World: Prisoners Rights

Question 1

The constitutional rights of inmates may be restricted by all except _____.

A) maintenance of institutional order
B) the general belief that inmates are bad
C) maintenance of institutional security
D) safety of prison inmates and staff

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A writ of _____ is an order from a court to produce a prisoner in court so that the court can determine whether the prisoner is being legally detained.

A) certiorari
B) mandamus
C) quo warranto
D) habeas corpus

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Under the _____, U.S. courts for many decades avoided intervening in prison management.

A) hands-off doctrine
B) Regan doctrine
C) dirty hands doctrine
D) open field doctrine

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A(n) _____ is a civil wrong, a wrongful act, or a wrongful breach of duty, other than a breach of contract, whether intentional or accidental, from which injury to another occurs.

A) habeas corpus
B) writ of mandamus
C) tort
D) injunctive relief

Question 5

_____ are awarded to punish a wrongdoer when his or her wrongful act is intentional and malicious or is performed with reckless disregard for the rights of an inmate.

A) General damages
B) Compensatory damages
C) Punitive damages
D) Special damages

Question 6

The hands-off era is said to have ended in 1970 when a federal district court declared in the _____ case the entire Arkansas prison system "so inhumane as to be a violation of the Eighth Amendment bar on cruel and unusual punishment."

A) Coffin v. Reichard
B) Monroe v. Pape
C) Cooper v. Pate
D) Holt v. Sarver

Question 7

Small amounts of money that a court may award when inmates have sustained no actual damages, but there is clear evidence that their rights have been violated are called _____.

A) nominal damages
B) compensatory damages
C) punitive damages
D) general damages

Question 8

A prisoner can challenge the legality of his or her confinement, associated prison conditions, and the practices of correctional officials with the help of _____.

A) a state habeas corpus action
B) a state quo warranto action
C) a federal de facto lawsuit
D) a federal in terrorem lawsuit

Question 9

In the _____ case, a federal circuit court clarified the Pape decision, indicating that prisoners could sue a warden or another correctional official under Title 42 of the U.S. Code, Section 1983, based on the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1871.

A) Coffin v. Reichard
B) Monroe v. Pape
C) Cooper v. Pate
D) Holt v. Sarver

Question 10

Which of the following is not one of the four legal foundations of prisoner's rights?

A) The U.S. Constitution
B) Federal statues
C) State constitutions
D) Inmate unions

Question 11

The personal and due process rights guaranteed to individuals by the U.S. Constitution and its amendments, especially the first 10 amendments, are known as the _____.

A) Declaration of Independence
B) Northwest Ordinance
C) Bill of Rights
D) Federalist Papers

Question 12

The interests of prison administration recognized by the courts as justifying some restrictions on the constitutional rights of prisoners are known as _____.

A) institutional needs
B) natural rights
C) unofficial needs
D) custodial rights

Question 13

_____ are payments for actual losses, which may include out-of-pocket expenses an inmate incurred in filing a suit, other forms of monetary or material loss, and pain, suffering, and mental anguish.

A) Punitive damages
B) Compensatory damages
C) Special damages
D) Nominal damages

Question 14

The first case that began a dismantling of the hands-off doctrine was _____.

A) Coffin v. Reichard
B) Monroe v. Pape
C) Cooper v. Pate
D) Ex parte Hull

Question 15

Habeas corpus is Latin for _____.

A) you have the body
B) a dead body
C) a murdered victim
D) the body of the victim

Question 16

A judicial order to do or refrain from doing a particular act is called a(n) _____.

A) interim order
B) interpleader
C) standing
D) injunction

Question 17

A legal obligation to another person to do, pay, or make good something is known as _____.

A) criminal liability
B) civil liability
C) vicarious liability
D) strict liability

Question 18

The _____ case was the first in which a federal appellate court ruled that prisoners do not automatically lose their civil rights when in prison.

A) Coffin v. Reichard
B) Monroe v. Pape
C) Cooper v. Pate
D) Holt v. Sarver

Question 19

Which of the following is a feature of state constitutions?

A) They generally avoid giving prisoners more rights than are granted by the U.S. Constitution.
B) They are generally shorter and less detailed than the U.S. Constitution.
C) They impose civil liability on any person who deprives another of rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
D) They often specify duties of corrections officials.

Question 20

According to one of the rationales of the hands-off doctrine, judges should leave correctional administration to _____.

A) correctional experts
B) police officers
C) probational officers
D) correctional chaplains

Question 21

The balancing test was established in the case of _____.

A) McNamara v. Moody
B) Monroe v. Pape
C) Pell v. Procunier
D) Holt v. Sarver

Question 22

Inmates' rights cases involving the _____ Amendment cover areas as diverse as medical care, prison conditions, physical insecurity, psychological stress, and capital punishment.

A) Second
B) Fourth
C) Fifth
D) Eighth

Question 23

The case of Hudson v. Palmer dealt with the issue of _____.

A) an inmate's right to practice his or her religion
B) an inmate's right to mail
C) an inmate's right to a certain diet
D) an inmate's right to not have his or her cell searched

Question 24

In the case of Fulwood v. Clemmer, the court of appeals ruled that the _____ must be allowed in prison.

A) Black Catholic faith
B) Buddhist faith
C) Black Muslim faith
D) Mormon faith

Question 25

A previous judicial decision that judges should consider in deciding future cases is known as a _____.

A) precedent
B) first impression
C) cession
D) dictum

Question 26

In the case of _____, the court ruled that "a prisoner has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his prison cell entitling him to the protection of the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches."

A) Hudson v. Palmer
B) Procunier v. Martinez
C) Pell v. Procunier
D) Holt v. Sarver

Question 27

The Attica prison riots occurred in _____.

A) Rhode Island
B) Texas
C) California
D) New York

Question 28

In 1974, in the _____ case, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the censoring of inmate mail is acceptable only when necessary to protect legitimate government interests.

A) McNamara v. Moody
B) Procunier v. Martinez
C) Pell v. Procunier
D) Holt v. Sarver

Question 29

The 1976 federal court case of Pugh v. Locke introduced the totality of conditions standard. That standard, said the court, is to be used in evaluating whether prison conditions are _____.

A) just deserts
B) overboard
C) cruel and unusual
D) severe and unjust

Question 30

A method the U.S. Supreme Court uses to decide prisoners' rights cases, weighing the rights claimed by inmates against the legitimate needs of prisons, is called a _____.

A) necessary test
B) justice test
C) fairness test
D) balancing test

Question 31

Legitimate penological objectives include _____.

A) the concerns of correctional officers for the integrity and security of the correctional institution
B) the concerns of administrators for cases charging mentally ill inmates with violations of federal criminal laws
C) the rights of inmates to be secure in their houses after they have been released
D) the rights of inmates to receive proper medical care under the supervision of prison wardens

Question 32

The case of Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners' Labor Union, Inc. ruled that _____.

A) inmates have a right to join a labor union in the prison
B) inmates do not have a right to join a labor union
C) inmates may form a labor union but only "honor" inmates are allowed to join
D) labor unions are not allowed in prison, even for the correctional officers

Question 33

In the case of _____, the conditions of confinement in the Texas prison system were deemed unconstitutional.

A) Bush v. U.S.
B) Ruiz v. Estelle
C) Holt v. Sarver
D) Estelle v. Gamble

Question 34

Punishments that are grossly disproportionate to the offense as well as those that transgress today's broad and idealistic concepts of dignity, civilized standards, humanity, and decency are known as _____ punishments.

A) cruel and unusual
B) illegal
C) licentious
D) unlawful and felonious

Question 35

The trial courts of the federal system are called _____.

A) criminal courts
B) district courts
C) appellate courts
D) superior courts

Question 36

The power, right, or authority of a court to interpret and apply the law is called _____.

A) venue
B) forum
C) mandate
D) jurisdiction

Question 37

Under a 1979 federal appeals court decision, in the _____ case, prison officials may not prohibit inmates from writing vulgar letters or those that make disparaging remarks about the prison staff.

A) McNamara v. Moody
B) Procunier v. Martinez
C) Pell v. Procunier
D) Holt v. Sarver

Question 38

_____ is at the heart of the Fourth Amendment.

A) The right to privacy
B) The right to practice a religion
C) The right to speedy trial
D) The right to education

Question 39

In the case of Thornburgh v. Abbott, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a prison warden may reject mailed publications that _____.

A) depict procedures for the use or construction of weapons
B) have articles on the latest technologies in the field of medical science
C) have articles on holistic therapies
D) describe political issues or socioeconomic problems

Question 40

The case of Grummett v. Rushen dealt with the issue of _____.

A) excessive force used by prison guards
B) the right to privacy within a prisoner's cell
C) the policy of allowing female correctional officers to observe male inmates in sensitive situations
D) the right to prisoners corresponding with their attorneys

Question 41

The case of Schenck v. United States decided that freedom of speech was an absolute right for all Americans.

Question 42

The case of _____ expanded the concept of due process by applying it to disciplinary actions within prisons.

A) Estelle v. Gamble
B) Pell v. Procunier
C) Pugh v. Locke
D) Wolff v. McDonnell

Question 43

The case of _____ ruled that the double-celling of prisoners was constitutional.

A) Rhodes v. Chapman
B) Estelle v. Gamble
C) Pell v. Procunier
D) Pugh v. Locke

Question 44

The Court has ruled that _____.

A) putting two or more inmates in a cell is unconstitutional
B) you can put two inmates into a cell if the cell is more than 100 square feet
C) two people in a cell is constitutional but three people is not
D) double-celling is constitutional

Question 45

Habeas corpus is Latin for "the dead body."

Question 46

The _____ case spelled out the duty of prison officials to provide inmates with medical care.

A) Hudson v. Palmer
B) Estelle v. Gamble
C) Pell v. Procunier
D) Pugh v. Locke

Question 47

In 1987, U.S. Supreme Court justice _____ summarized the thrust of earlier opinions, holding that "prison walls do not form a barrier separating prison inmates from the protections of the Constitution."

A) William Rehnquist
B) Clarence Thomas
C) Sandra Day O'Connor
D) Antonin Scalia

Question 48

Under the case of Procunier v. Martinez, inmate mail may not be read by the correctional officers.

Question 49

A jailhouse lawyer refers to _____.

A) a lawyer who represents the inmates in a jail
B) a lawyer who has been sent to prison for committing a crime
C) an inmate who is knowledgeable in the law
D) a college professor who teaches law in prison

Question 50

As a result of the _____ decision, law libraries were created in prisons across the nation.

A) Hudson v. Palmer
B) Bounds v. Smith
C) Johnson v. Avery
D) Meacham v. Fano

Question 51

The case of Johnson v. Avery dealt with the issue of _____.

A) medical treatment in prison
B) double-celling
C) solitary confinement
D) jailhouse lawyers

Question 52

At one point, the entire Arkansas Prison System was ruled unconstitutional.

Question 53

The case of Cruz v. Beto established the right of prisoners to have visits.

Question 54

Legitimate penological objectives are the permissible aims of a correctional institution.

Question 55

The state constitutions of California and Oregon give prisoners more rights than are granted by the U.S. Constitution.

Question 56

In the case of _____, the Court held that prisoners have no right to be in any particular prison and therefore have no due process protections before being transferred from one prison to another.

A) Hudson v. Palmer
B) Estelle v. Gamble
C) Johnson v. Avery
D) Meacham v. Fano

Question 57

A state legislature can pass statutes to grant specific rights to prisoners beyond those conferred by the state constitution.

Question 58

According to the rationales on which the hands-off doctrine was based, under the separation of powers inherent in the U.S. Constitution, the judicial branch of government has the right to interfere with the running of correctional facilities by the executive branch.

Question 59

A standard to be used in evaluating whether prison conditions are cruel and unusual is called the _____.

A) totality of circumstances
B) totality of conditions
C) totality of evidence
D) totality of time

Question 60

Mr. Gerber, a prisoner in the California Department of Corrections, sued for the right to _____.

A) have visitation rights for his children
B) put his children up for adoption
C) artificially inseminate his wife
D) adopt a child

Question 61

Female inmates frequently had to go to court simply to gain rights that male inmates already had.

Question 62

It is a constitutional requirement that prisons only have one inmate per cell.

Question 63

No state or its officers may interfere with a prisoner's right to apply to a federal court for a writ of habeas corpus.

Question 64

The Supreme Court has ruled that all religions and beliefs must be represented in a prison system.

Question 65

In the case of _____, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that no state or its officers may interfere with a prisoner's right to apply to a federal court for a writ of habeas corpus.

Question 66

Many conditions of confinement that violate prisoners' Eighth Amendment rights can be remedied by changes in prison rules and by educational programs for prisoners.

Question 67

The first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution are known as the _____.

Question 68

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted" is the Eighth Amendment.

Question 69

A historical policy of American courts not to intervene in the affairs of prison management was known as the _____.

Question 70

The Supreme Court has ruled that inmates do have a right to consult "jailhouse lawyers."

Question 71

As a result of a conviction for a criminal offense, the inmate loses all of his or her constitutional rights.

Question 72

A judicial order to do or refrain from doing a particular act is called _____.

Question 73

The Supreme Court has ruled that a Jewish inmate has a right to a kosher diet.

Question 74

A writ of habeas corpus is an order from the court to produce a prisoner in court so that the court can determine whether the prisoner is being legally detained.

Question 75

Before a prisoner can be transferred to another prison, he or she is allowed a hearing in which he or she can oppose the transfer on various constitutional grounds.

Question 76

The 1941 case of _____ began a dismantling of the hands-off doctrine.

Question 77

A writ of _____ is an order from the court to produce a prisoner in court so that the court can determine whether the prisoner is being legally detained.

Question 78

A jailhouse lawyer is a lawyer who has been convicted of a crime and sent to prison.

Question 79

The trial courts of the federal system are called _____.

Question 80

Habeas corpus is Latin for "_____."