Deck 4: Criminal Law, Crime, and the Criminal Court Process

Question 1

Most of the laws that regulate our daily lives are _____ that are enacted by national and state legislatures.

A) civil laws
B) constitutional laws
C) administrative laws
D) statutory laws

Answer 1

D

Question 2

This type of law defines certain behaviors as harms against the community, rather than harms against the victim alone, and authorizes the government to prosecute offenders and punish them with fines, limits on behavior, and/or incarceration.

A) administrative law
B) constitutional law
C) criminal law
D) civil law

Answer 2

C

Question 3

This type of law defines and regulates the relationship that individuals and organizations have with the state.

A) public law
B) civil law
C) constitutional law
D) administrative law

Answer 3

A

Question 4

This means that government agents must adhere to lawful procedures when they are processing a case and trying to deprive someone of freedom and rights.

A) criminal due process
B) civil due process
C) procedural due process
D) substantive due process

Question 5

This refers to the constitutional principle that people have basic rights, such as privacy and freedom of speech, that the government cannot violate without clear justification.

A) criminal due process
B) civil due process
C) procedural due process
D) substantive due process

Question 6

This is an intentional act or omission committed without justification or defense that is in violation of criminal law and punishable by the state.

A) crime
B) tort
C) corpus delicti
D) complaint

Question 7

Which is not an element of a crime?

A) evidence
B) an act
C) intent
D) concurrence

Question 8

This occurs when the intention to produce harm occurred at the same time as the criminal act and harm.

A) conflation
B) concurrence
C) coalescence
D) confusion

Question 9

This refers to a voluntary act that causes legally prohibited harm; it is also called "reality of the act."

A) actus reus
B) mens rea
C) concurrence
D) corpus delicti

Question 10

This is the intent of the accused to commit the offense and, for some laws, produce the resultant harm; it is also called "reality of the mind."

A) corpus delicti
B) actus reus
C) mens rea
D) concurrence

Question 11

These are considered serious offenses and usually carry a possible sentence ranging from more than a year of incarceration in prison to execution.

A) felonies
B) misdemeanors
C) crimes
D) all of the above

Question 12

Usually the maximum sentence for this type of offense is one year of incarceration in a county jail, but most of these convictions lead to a fine, community service, probation, and other forms of community corrections.

A) crimes
B) felonies
C) misdemeanors
D) status offense

Question 13

At which broad part of the criminal court process does the arraignment occur?

A) sentencing
B) trial and adjudication
C) post-crime police work
D) pretrial stages

Question 14

A sworn accusation of wrongdoing given to a prosecutor's office is called a(n) _____.

A) complaint
B) deposition
C) burden of proof
D) information

Question 15

What is it called when a defendant appears in front of a judge for the first time?

A) indictment
B) bench trial
C) nolle prosequi
D) initial appearance

Question 16

In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court set forth that states do not have to provide public defense for most people charged with misdemeanors?

A) both Argersinger and Gideon
B) Argersinger v. Hamlin
C) Gideon v. Wainwright
D) neither Argersinger nor Gideon

Question 17

What is it called when the prosecutor decides to drop the charges?

A) corpus delicti
B) actus reus
C) mens rea
D) nolle prosequi

Question 18

A _____ specifies the alleged criminal offense and the corpus delicti of the crime, the elements of the offense that match the criminal statute, the person(s) alleged to have committed it, her or his intention, and the date, time, and location of the offense.

A) nolle prosequi
B) deposition
C) complaint
D) charge

Question 19

In order to deny someone the _____ Amendment right to bail, the prosecution must convince the judge that preventive detention, or keeping the defendant incarcerated, is necessary to keep the public safe, protect evidence, or ensure that the defendant does not flee.

A) Fourteenth
B) First
C) Eighth
D) Fourth

Question 20

This involves either moving a case to a grand jury or testing an information.

A) sentencing hearing
B) discovery
C) bench trial
D) preliminary hearing

Question 21

This is a panel of citizens who are convened to review the prosecutor's bill of indictment.

A) citizens' panel
B) judge
C) grand jury
D) petit jury

Question 22

This is the hearing designed to inform defendants of the formal charges against them and allow them to enter their first plea.

A) deposition
B) arraignment
C) grand jury
D) bench trial

Question 23

This is the process accessing the opposing party's documents.

A) deposition
B) discovery
C) hearing
D) recovery

Question 24

Sworn statements are usually called _____.

A) oppositions
B) testimonies
C) informations
D) depositions

Question 25

What is the first step of the trial?

A) defendant enters a plea
B) indictment
C) prosecution opening
D) defense opening

Question 26

This is the task of producing the corpus delicti to establish that an act occurred that violated a criminal statute.

A) burden of proof
B) burden of production
C) burden of trial
D) burden of corpus delicti

Question 27

The United States, unlike most nations today, is a constitutional government.

Question 28

Law is the cornerstone of the U.S. justice system.

Question 29

The constitutional principle of government restraint applies to all three branches of the government, not just the courts.

Question 30

Each state has its own constitution, which was written by the state legislature and ratified either by that body or by popular vote.

Question 31

Most criminal laws are enacted at the state level.

Question 32

A behavior does not have to be identified in the criminal law to be a criminal offense.

Question 33

Federal supremacy requires that if a state law conflicts with a federal law, the issue of which law is to be followed is decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Question 34

The United States has a hybrid lawmaking system, with civil law created by the judicial branch and common law created by the legislative branch.

Question 35

Common law has two sources: English common law and the rulings of state and federal judges.

Question 36

Law created in all three branches varies little across jurisdictions.