Deck 15: Mental Disorder and the Law

Question 1

The legal doctrine of __________ allows the mentally ill to be confined on the basis of predicted danger to themselves or others.

A) de jure
B) parens patriae
C) parentis confirm
D) insaniae danger

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Legally, the state can involuntarily commit a mentally ill person because mental illness and __________ are so closely linked.

A) authority
B) benevolence
C) confinement
D) dangerousness

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Involuntary civil commitment is justified on any one of the following groups, except __________.

A) need for treatment
B) danger to others
C) danger to self
D) need for rehabilitation

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Only one state, __________, specifically defines a "dangerous" person.

A) Ohio
B) Oklahoma
C) Utah
D) Texas

Question 5

If an individual is unable to secure his/her own food and is unable to feed him/herself, s/he can be classified as __________.

A) in need of treatment
B) a danger to others
C) a danger to him/herself
D) in need of protection

Question 6

Which of the following statements is accurate regarding legally defining danger to others?

A) What is most important is the degree of harm, rather than the activity itself.
B) Danger to others is always defined as actual behavior, not the threat of such behavior.
C) The mentally ill cannot be held responsible for harm to others if their disorder is severe enough.
D) The activity must be life-threatening to be adequately classified as dangerous to others.

Question 7

In criminal cases, danger to others must occur within __________.

A) one year
B) the month
C) the foreseeable future
D) less than ten days

Question 8

Most courts view dangerousness as the combination of the magnitude of the harm and __________.

A) the time frame for harm
B) the predictors of hard
C) the person who is harmed
D) the likelihood of harm

Question 9

Shooting a police officer, breaking and entering, and exhibitionism are examples of what courts have found to be __________ of dangerousness in civil commitment cases.

A) preponderance-of-the-evidence
B) hybrid procedure
C) clear and convincing evidence
D) reasonable doubt

Question 10

Psychologists are often used as expert witnesses in cases of commitment. However, __________.

A) few psychologists are willing to participate
B) no accurate tests have been developed to predict dangerousness
C) clinical symptoms are different than civil symptoms
D) past dangerous behavior does not predict future dangerous behavior

Question 11

Early studies of discharged mental patients found that they were __________.

A) not any more dangerous than the general population
B) equally as dangerous as the general population
C) more dangerous than the general population
D) sometimes more dangerous than the general population

Question 12

Which of the following conclusions is accurate about the dangerousness of mentally disordered people?

A) Mentally disordered people are significantly more dangerous than the general population.
B) Mentally disordered people are slightly more dangerous than the general population in regard to certain crimes.
C) Mentally disordered people are significantly less dangerous than the general population.
D) Mentally disordered people are equally as dangerous as the general population.

Question 13

Ex-mental patients are arrested __________ than the general population.

A) more
B) less
C) more, but only for males
D) less, but only for females

Question 14

The __________ holds that it is better to judge a well person sick than a sick person well.

A) medical decision rule
B) over prediction norm
C) uncertainty diagnosis
D) dangerous rule

Question 15

The most important factor in a psychiatrist's decision to commit an individual is __________.

A) the time frame of the offense
B) the alleged offense
C) the likelihood of a false positive
D) the individual's defense

Question 16

In Cocozza and Steadman research, they found that the recommendations of psychiatrists were accepted in __________ percent of cases.

A) 22
B) 45
C) 61
D) 87

Question 17

Early commitment laws were __________.

A) nonexistent
B) too complex to understand
C) varied by state
D) the same as today

Question 18

Which of the following statements represents the insanity defense?

A) "I committed the crime, but someone else made me do it."
B) "I committed the crime, but am not responsible for my actions."
C) "I did not commit the crime."
D) "I am not able to commit crimes because I do not understand the law."

Question 19

The first case that used the insanity defense in the United States was in __________.

A) 1701
B) 1799
C) 1843
D) 1908

Question 20

In 1954, the M'Nagthen rule was superseded by the __________ rule, which offered a broader test of mental disorder.

A) impulse
B) Bobbitt
C) matter-of-fact
D) Durham

Question 21

The Insanity Defense Reform Act requires that the __________.

A) defendant must prove s/he was insane at the time of the crime
B) defendant must prove that s/he is currently insane
C) plaintiff must prove that the defendant was insane at the time of the crime
D) plaintiff must prove that the defendant is currently insane

Question 22

The 1966 Rouse v. Cameron case confirmed that __________.

A) mental patients have the right to be confined if necessary
B) hospitals need only provide custody
C) mental patients may demand therapy
D) hospitals must be therapeutic and not only custodial

Question 23

Social control of the mentally disordered is dependent upon __________ judgments of the deviant behavior.

A) subjective
B) objective
C) systematic
D) inexact

Question 24

Ex Parte Harcourt stated that there must be more than __________ possibility that the person will be a danger if allowed to remain at large.

A) a big
B) some
C) a mere
D) any

Question 25

Why is a reliance of psychiatrists' clinical judgment inadequate for civil commitment?

A) Psychiatrists are paid for their testimonies
B) Psychiatrists are by nature untrustworthy
C) Judgments are based on opinions and not facts
D) Judgments are too objective

Question 26

How is dangerousness defined?

Question 27

Describe the history of the insanity defense.

Question 28

What is the legal doctrine of parens patriae?

Question 29

Why is dangerousness difficult to predict?

Question 30

Describe a patient's right to treatment.