Question 1

Research examining the interactions of legally irrelevant sentencing factors has found race,gender,and age to have significant direct effects on sentence severity.

Accepted Answer

Research has found that race, gender, and age have significant direct effects on sentence severity, even when legally irrelevant.

Question 2

Auerhahn suggested that the offender's race and ethnicity would not have a direct effect on the length of the sentence.Rather,she hypothesized that harsher treatment would be reserved for African American and Hispanic defendants who more closely matched stereotypes of:

Accepted Answer

Auerhahn's hypothesis suggests that the length of the sentence is influenced by stereotypes of dangerousness and threat associated with African American and Hispanic defendants, regardless of their actual race or ethnicity, which supports choice A) as the best answer. The other choices are not mentioned in the hypothesis as influencing the length of the sentence.

Question 3

It has been argued that "the recent blackening of America's prison population"¹³⁰ is a result of America's war on drugs.

Accepted Answer

Many studies and research have shown the direct correlation between America's war on drugs and the disproportionate number of black Americans being incarcerated. This is due to various factors, including biased policing, harsher sentencing for drug-related offenses, and systemic racism within the criminal justice system.

Question 4

Differential treatment of interracial and intraracial sexual assaults continued even after passage of the ________Amendment,which outlawed explicit statutory racial discrimination

Accepted Answer

The Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote, the Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a fair trial, and the Fifth Amendment includes protections against self-incrimination and double jeopardy. Only the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly outlawed racial discrimination, including in the treatment of interracial and intraracial sexual assault cases.

Question 5

There is relatively little research testing for racial discrimination in the sentencing of individuals convicted of misdemeanor offenses.Because the lower courts where misdemeanor cases are handled usually have huge caseloads and informal,nonadversarial procedures for delivering what is often referred to as _______________,one might predict that the likelihood of racially disparate decisions would be even greater in these courts than in the more formal felony courts.

Accepted Answer

The phrase "assembly-line justice" refers to the fast-paced, informal procedures used in lower courts handling misdemeanor cases, which can lead to racially disparate decisions due to the large caseloads and lack of formal procedures. Therefore, option D is the best fit. Options A, B, and C do not accurately reflect the informal process of the lower courts or the potential for racial discrimination in sentencing.

Question 6

Steffensmeier and his colleagues argue that judges develop a _______________based on stereotypes and attributions that are linked to offender characteristics.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Steffensmeier and his colleagues argue that judges...

Question 7

Some researchers,building on Kalven and Zeisel's "liberation hypothesis,"¹²² assert that African Americans will be sentenced more harshly than whites in:

Accepted Answer

The "liberation hypothesis" suggests that in less serious cases, where the legal constraints are weaker, jurors have more discretion and may be influenced by their biases, leading to harsher sentences for African Americans compared to whites.

Question 8

One possible explanation for racial disparity in sentencing is that minorities are more often subject to facially neutral _______________which proscribe more severe sentences or sentence enhancements.

Accepted Answer

The answer of One possible explanation for racial disparity in...

Question 9

Sentencing studies conducted from the 1930s through the 1960s usually used __________ statistical techniques.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Sentencing studies conducted from the 1930s through...

Question 10

The __________ hypothesis suggests that jurors deviate from fact-finding in cases in which the evidence against the defendant is weak or contradictory.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The __________ hypothesis suggests that jurors deviate...

Question 11

The task of assessing the effect of race on sentencing is complicated by the _________,which critics contend has been fought primarily in minority communities.

Accepted Answer

The phrase "which critics contend" suggests that this is an issue that is controversial and disputed. The "war on drugs" has been criticized for its disproportionate impact on minority communities, with many arguing that drug laws have been used to target and incarcerate black and brown people at higher rates than white people, perpetuating racial disparities in the criminal justice system. The other choices may also have an impact on sentencing, but have not been as heavily criticized for their potential role in perpetuating racial inequalities in the justice system.

Question 12

The fact that minorities have a greater likelihood of pretrial detention and unemployment,which often leads to harsher sentences,is an example of ______________discrimination.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The fact that minorities have a greater...

Question 13

The term social predators characterizes that segment of the deviant population that is viewed as particularly threatening and dangerous.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The term social predators characterizes that segment...

Question 14

Judges have access to all relevant information when determining an offender's culpability or dangerousness to society at the time of imposing sentence.

Accepted Answer

Judges rely on the information presented to them by the prosecution and defense, as well as any pre-sentencing reports. They do not have access to all possible information but must make decisions based on what is legally and procedurally presented to them.

Question 15

The numerous studies of racial disparity in sentencing conducted during the 1970s and 1980s are notable for their low levels of theoretical and methodological sophistication.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The numerous studies of racial disparity in...

Question 16

Most of the research on sentencing examines the sentences imposed on offenders convicted of felonies.

Accepted Answer

Most studies on sentencing have focused on felony sentences, rather than misdemeanors or other types of offenses.

Question 17

The differential treatment of interracial crimes is most pronounced with property crimes.

Accepted Answer

The differential treatment of interracial crimes is most pronounced in violent crimes, not property crimes. Studies and public perception often focus more on interracial violent incidents, such as assaults or homicides, rather than on property crimes like theft or vandalism.

Question 18

The liberation hypothesis suggests that jurors deviate from fact-finding in cases in which the evidence against the defendant is weak or contradictory.

Accepted Answer

The liberation hypothesis proposes that jurors may feel free to deviate from fact-finding and acquit a defendant in cases where the evidence against them is weak or contradictory, as a way of expressing a broader dissatisfaction with the criminal justice system.

Question 19

Research has shown that whites are more likely to believe that serving time in prison is less of a hassle than alternative forms of sentencing.

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that whites are more likely to believe that alternative forms of sentencing (such as probation) are less severe than serving time in prison, reflecting broader societal perceptions and biases about the criminal justice system.

Question 20

Reviews of sentencing studies conducted from the 1930s through the 1960s found that most were too limited in scope.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Reviews of sentencing studies conducted from the...

Quiz 7: Race and Sentencing: in Search of Fairness and Justice