CJUS 330 Quiz Evidence Trials

CJUS 330 Quiz Evidence Trials

CJUS 330 Quiz Evidence Trials Juries and Sentencing

1. In England, the concept of a jury functioning as an impartial fact-finding body was first formalized in 1215 in the:
2. During a bench trial, the defense prefers when the issues are either highly technical or very emotional. This is an example of
3. What case replaced Frye regarding the admissibility of scientific testimony?
4. In __________, it was found that state juries are not required by the U.S. Constitution to consist of 12 members.
5. The jury selection is the process of selecting a fair and impartial jury in which of the following?
6. Neither prosecutors nor defense attorneys may use peremptory challenges to eliminate potential jurors on the basis of
7. Failing to respond to a jury summons can result in a warrant being issued for arrest; punishments include
8. Throughout most of our nation’s history, the three broad constitutional provisions dealing with trial by jury had little applicability in state courts. The U.S. Constitution applied only to trials in federal courts. These practices changed dramatically, however, when the Supreme Court decided Duncan v. Louisiana (1968), ruling that the jury provisions of the Sixth Amendment were incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to apply to state courts, as well. Subsequent decisions grappled with the problem of defining the precise meaning of the right to trial by jury. The most important issues concerned the scope of the right to a jury trial, the size of the jury, and unanimous versus nonunanimous verdicts. Stefanie is caught shoplifting at her local pharmacy. Which of the following is most likely true?
9. The venire is the master jury list.
10. All persons charged with an offense for which any amount of incarceration is possible have a right to a jury trial.
11. An attorney’s use of peremptory challenges cannot be scrutinized by the courts.
12. The primary purpose of the jury is to prevent oppression by the government.
13. Alternative jurors replace regular jurors who disagree with the majority during deliberations.
14. A gag order prohibits anyone involved in a case—police, prosecutor, defense attorney, defendant—from talking to the press.
15. Symbolic restitution usually involves some form of __________.
16. The Prison Litigation Reform Act severely limited the federal courts’ supervisory powers over what?
17. The Prison Litigation Reform Act severely limited the federal courts’ supervisory powers over what?
18. “An eye for an eye” is an example of a punishment based on __________.
19. Advocates of the due process model of criminal justice see the death penalty as __________.
20. “Only by ‘locking him up and throwing away the key’ can we assure that he won’t be able to rape another woman.” That statement best matches which of the following purposes of punishment?
21. What sentence specifically states the exact number of years to be served in prison?
22. Executive branch influence on punishment is exercised through __________.
23. The trend since the 1970s has been to reduce judicial discretion in sentencing.
24. New York has led the nation in downsizing its prison population.
25. The finding that poor, young, minority males are disproportionately represented in prison populations provides proof of discrimination.
26. Spending money for more prisons is not a high priority for the general public.
27. A law on the books approach to mandatory minimum sentences stresses nullification by discretion, whereas a law in action approach stresses certainty of punishment.
28. Which of the following is a primary purpose of the appellate process?
29. Criminal appeals are generally routine because they seldom raise meritorious issues (Primus, 2007; Wold & Caldeira, 1980). Current standards of effective assistance of counsel often force lawyers to appeal, no matter how slight the odds of appellate court reversal. As a result, a significant number of criminal appeals lack substantial merit. For example, of the roughly 10,000 written dispositions in criminal appeals filed by defendants in the California Court of Appeals between 2013 and 2014, the court reversed only about 880 (9 percent) convictions (Judicial Council of California, 2015). Why do criminal appeals rarely succeed? First, the appellate standards of review applicable to most decision-making during criminal trials are highly deferential to trial court outcomes (Primus, 2007). Second, appellate courts often find that no reversible error was committed during the trial court proceedings. Given the information provided, which of the following statements is true?
30. The written legal arguments filed with the appellate court are called __________.
31. The practice of state courts using state constitutions to reinvigorate rights and make policy is called the new judicial __________.
32. Most intermediate courts decide most cases in rotating panels of how many judges?
33. The error-correction function of appellate review protects against arbitrary, capricious, or mistaken legal decisions by a trial court
34. Defects seriously affecting substantial rights that are so prejudicial to a jury’s deliberations “as to undermine the fundamental fairness of the trial and bring about a miscarriage of justice” are called
35. Of the exonerations in 2016, __________ percent involved official misconduct by criminal justice system actors.
36. A court that has a choice as to whether or not to hear the appeal is said to have what kind of appellate jurisdiction?
37. The two primary functions of appeals are error correction and policy formation.
38. Appeals are started when the prosecutor files a notice of appeal.
39. The most common type of postconviction relief is mandamus.
40. All errors are subject to the harmless error rule except plain errors.
41. Appeals courts hear evidence at trials.
42. What presumptions apply at the start of trials? What is the burden of proof applicable to overcoming them?