Deck 2: Social Science and Psychological Influences in Law

Question 1

Muller vs. Oregon was a significant case in 1908 in which

A) the Supreme Court disregarded all evidence of social science data indicating the detrimental effects on women's health from women working in factories
B) took into account social science data, even though it was not technically seen as an "authority"
C) no social science evidence was presented
D) the first abortion was made legal in the U.S. due to social science data

Answer 1

took into account social science data, even though it was not technically seen as an "authority"

Question 2

Legal theorists like Holmes and Brandeis believed all of the following except

A) law is based on common values and follows an abstract universal law
B) law should be approached pragmatically, as a means to the end of establishing social policies
C) judges and scholars should study the actual social effects of legal institutions and doctrines
D) laws were derived from natural universal laws

Answer 2

laws were derived from natural universal laws

Question 3

In the 1930's and 1940's, legal realism

A) opposed Brandeis' and Pound's pragmatic approach to law
B) understood law as a vehicle for advancing social goals and advancing the general course, methods and principles governments use to manage public affairs
C) observed that the legal system was not a flawless entity and drastic reforms took place in order to change the system
D) none of the above

Answer 3

understood law as a vehicle for advancing social goals and advancing the general course, methods and principles governments use to manage public affairs

Question 4

After World War I, the use of social science in a court of law

A) was considered and is still considered taboo to this day
B) became more prominent due to post war movements
C) did not change. It had always been in acceptance.
D) once a huge fad, now faded in the background and was no longer seen as credible

Question 5

Developed in the 1990's, " therapeutic jurisprudence"

A) gives more protection to defendants who have diagnosed mental conditions
B) tries to organize social science findings into legislative facts
C) is the result of legal systems reforms and new courts with the goal of producing legal, social, psychological, and medical services to produce therapeutic effects and to study how mental health can shape the law
D) tries to make the courtroom experience less traumatizing and invasive for first time offenders and juveniles.

Question 6

In a social framework testimony

A) an expert witness is not asked about any specific facts during the trial, but gives the judge/jury general, background information
B) the expert witness is required to give a full, detailed report of the facts
C) jurors are given an overview of the societal influences that may have led to the criminal act
D) social scientists give testimony to enlighten legistive panels about the impact of research on social policy

Question 7

Social scientists can influence policy by

A) working for executive agencies, like state and welfare agencies
B) by preparing research summaries on social problems for legislatiors (i.e., sexual predator laws)
C) lobbying
D) all of the above

Question 8

To bring research to the attention of courts, social scientists

A) get the attention of the mass media, hoping to influence public opinion and, therefore, pressure courts to accept findings
B) file Amicus briefs
C) organize large protest rallies and have them form outside legal buildings
D) all of the above

Question 9

In order for expert testimony to be admitted

A) It has to be help prove the fact at issue
B) the probative value has to outweigh any predjudicial or misleading effects the information might have
C) Both A and B
D) Neither A nor B

Question 10

The Daubert decision affected the admission of social science evidence in court cases by

A) raising the question of when scientific evidence resulting from social science techniques should be considered valid and leading to the establishment of the criteria for social science validity.
B) disregarding testimonies of "experts" as mere opinions and nothing more.
C) increasing the number of mentally ill defendants who escaped incarceration and instead were placed in mental institutions.
D) elevating the opinions of experts and solely basing trial outcomes on them.

Question 11

Dr. Johnson indicates in his testimony that he tested the defendant in his office using a measure designed to identify suggestibility in an effort to help the defendant's claim that he was coerced by the police into speaking with them. The judge rules this information inadmissible because the setting in which the defendant was tested is not the same as an interrogation. This is a problem of

A) external validity.
B) test-retest reliability.
C) internal validity.
D) internal consistency.

Question 12

Is it fair for the court to partly base its decisions on the opinion of another individual, even if this person is considered an expert? Could there be an issue of bias? Is a decision based upon "expert" testimony more warranted in some cases as opposed to others? What about in death penalty cases? Are there alternatives for helping judges look at complex evidence?

Question 13

It is apparent that psychologists view human behavior differently than lawyers do. What kinds of problems does this create in the courtroom? What might some solutions be? Use ideas from text and some of your own.

Question 14

Psychology is not value free, or in other words, what a person believes will influence research. To what degree do you feel this is appropriate/inappropriate? What are some ethical issues involved and what do you feel is the proper role for psychology in society?

Question 15

What is meant by internal and external validity? How does these effect the application of research to the courtroom setting?

Question 16

Social science data

A) Were summarized in a footnote to a Supreme Court opinion in Muller v. Oregon in 1908
B) Were cited specifically in a footnote support of the Court's unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954
C) Are now are found in the body of many court opinions along with citations to legal case
D) All of the above

Question 17

Social science and historical data were

A) not used by legal scholars until the legal realism school took hold.
B) Not relevant in traditional jurisprudence
C) Not important to those who believed that experience not logic was central to law
D) Not important because the law on the books is the same as the law in action

Question 18

Today, many social scientists and mental health practitioners

A) are barred from giving evidence in court by the rules of evidence
B) testify in court, but are not permitted to testify to legislatures on matters of policy
C) provide services to police and correctional agencies, but not to family court
D) find research by cognitive, developmental and social psychologists relevant to their work

Question 19

Today, there is an infrastructure of organizations, training, journals etc. that

A) supports the growth of the field of law-psychology
B) impedes the growth of the field of law-psychology
C) is not found in law schools
D) was blocked because judges can decide what science is admissible in evidence

Question 20

In the school of thought labeled therapeutic jurisprudence

A) traditional legal rights are not considered important for the law
B) adherents believe that legal rules and actions affect the mental health of participants
C) adherents believe that legal actors should maximize the therapeutic effect of law no matter the due process considerations
D) adherents are opposed to the development of specialized courts for non- adversarial dispute resolution

Question 21

Social science evidence presented in a specific trial, if admitted, is relevant to

A) support the defense's position
B) support the prosecution's position
C) help determine an issue in contention in the trial
D) the tripartite classification of psychological evidence

Question 22

Social scientists have several avenues for informing policy makers about research relevant to legislation. These include

A) providing legislative facts in a congressional hearing
B) serving on a special commission created by Congress
C) working for administrative agencies which provide reports to congress
D) all of the above

Question 23

Psychologists are ethically prohibited

A) from lobbying congress on :"guild" or professional issues
B) from advocating for the interests of clients by lobbying
C) from working as lobbyists to influence congress
D) none of the above

Question 24

If an expert is testifying at a trial and summarizes research, he or she

A) is providing social framework testimony
B) risks being charged with contempt of court
C) is undermining traditional beliefs about parenting
D) is behaving unethically and is subject to professional discipline

Question 25

Amicus briefs are

A) an effective means of bringing the results of science to the attention of a trial court
B) often controversial because members of a professional have different views about whether the underlying science is sufficiently developed to be relevant to a court
C) uncontroversial because they are meant only to provide information and not to influence a decision
D) submitted to bring research to the attention of an appellate court

Question 26

Expert testimony differs from testimony by ordinary witnesses because

A) experts can't express opinions and are limited to what they have seen or heard
B) it is not given under oath
C) it is not subject to cross examination
D) it is supposed to provide something beyond commonly known information

Question 27

When expert evidence is presented to a judge, under the Dauber decision the judge acts as a "gatekeeper"

A) to try to exclude "junk" science from coming into evidence
B) but does not have to be concerned with junk science because the witness is a true expert
C) in order to "frye" an expert who seems overly confident about his or her conclusions
D) in order to make sure the witness is fully confident about his or her testimony

Question 28

An expert witness may offer an opinion based on his or her "experience"

A) and a judge has no role as a gatekeeper in that instance
B) but the judge may rule it is not admissible if it is too speculative
C) because the rule is designed to encourage speculation by the expert
D) because experience not logic is the fundamental principle of law

Question 29

Law's fundamental role is society is to

A) support rapid social change as conditions change
B) support gradual social change and ensure social stability
C) help social scientists to throw out and radically alter hypotheses when the evidence changes
D) bring about rapid acceptance of social science challenges to traditional social values

Question 30

Because their testimony is subject to cross examination, expert psychological testimony may become

A) more speculative and depart further from the research base because psychologists gain in prestige when they testify in court
B) more grounded in studies with internal validity because that is most relevant to courts
C) less speculative and more concerned with external or ecological validity
D) more dramatic because research doesn't have to be "on point" for the legal issues in the case

Question 31

Psychologists have something to offer the legal system in amicus briefs because

A) their research is objective and value free
B) they are liberals whose views are based on research
C) they are conservatives whose views are based on research
D) they can present research bearing on legal issues often without supporting either side.