Chapter 7: Criminal Courts

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following refers to a defendant who pleads guilty to some of the charges and others are in return dropped?

A. count bargaining

B. charge bargaining

C. plea bargaining

D. sentence bargaining

2. Jimmy is accused of robbing a victim. The prosecution is offering Jimmy probation instead of prison time if he agrees to plead guilty. The prosecution wants Jimmy to engage in ______.

A. charge bargaining

B. count bargaining

C. sentence bargaining

D. court bargaining

3. Jimmy is accused of kidnapping and robbing a victim. The prosecution is offering to charge Jimmy just with robbery, a charge that carries a lesser prison sentence, if he pleads guilty. The prosecution wants Jimmy to engage in ______.

A. charge bargaining

B. count bargaining

C. sentence bargaining

D. court bargaining

4. Jimmy is accused of kidnapping, beating, and robbing a victim. The prosecution is offering to charge Jimmy just with robbery, and to drop the other charges. The prosecution wants Jimmy to engage in ______.

A. charge bargaining

B. count bargaining

C. sentence bargaining

D. court bargaining

5. Individuals may NOT be represented by a lawyer in ______.

A. front of a Grand Jury

B. criminal suits

C. civil suits

D. in federal court

6. Which of the following features of the grand jury refers to the fact that prosecutors who do not secure an indictment can get another jury to hear case?

A. evidence

B. proceedings

C. testimony

D. double jeopardy

7. Identify which of the following refers to the defendant pleading guilty in return for a lenient sentence.

A. sentence bargaining

B. count bargaining

C. plea bargaining

D. charge bargaining

8. Which of the following refers to the defendant pleading guilty to a less serious charge for a lesser prison sentence?

A. sentence bargaining

B. count bargaining

C. charge bargaining

D. plea bargaining

9. Identify which of the following is NOT a primary explanation on whether a prosecutor will pursue a case.

A. credibility of victim

B. offenders background

C. seriousness of the crime

D. strength of case

10. Identify which of the following has mandatory prosecution.

A. France

B. Illinois

C. Germany

D. New York

11. Which of the following is NOT true about prosecutors?

A. They are typically elected.

B. They typically serve 4 years.

C. They have jurisdiction over offenses committed in their district.

D. They have jurisdiction over offenses committed in their state.

12. In which of the following cases was there serious concern over the abuse of prosecutorial discretion?

A. North Carolina v. Adolf

B. Commonwealth v. Battis

C. Edwards v. People

D. Lafler v. Cooper

13. During this stage of the Adversarial process the suspect is formally given a notice of plea and enters a plea.

A. arraignment

B. indictment

C. discovery

D. arrest

14. This informal and interdependent organization of lawyers and judges works together to evaluate and dispose of cases.

A. working group

B. Grand Jury

C. Pretrial motion

D. Charging decision

15. In this case, the U.S. Supreme Court held that even when a lawyer commits a serious error at trial the verdict will not be reversed unless “there is reasonable probability that but for the counsel’s unprofessional errors, the results of the proceeding would have been different.”

A. McCleskey v. Kemp

B. State v. N. J.

C. Gideon v. Wainwright

D. Strickland v. Washington

16. Identify which of the following is the least studied institution in the criminal justice system.

A. police

B. courts

C. prisons

D. jails

17. Which of the following is NOT true about assistant prosecutors?

A. They handle most of the day-to-day work of the office.

B. They supervise various divisions within the office.

C. They are paid more than private practice lawyers.

D. They are paid less than private practice lawyers.

18. When judges appoint private lawyers to represent indigent defendants it is an example of ______.

A. public defenders

B. contract attorneys

C. assigned counsel

D. prosecuting counsel

19. This model is based on the premise that the repression of crime is one of the most important functions of government.

A. crime control model

B. due process model

C. consensus model

D. adversarial model

20. During this stage of the Adversarial process the prosecutor decides whether to pursue the case.

A. arraignment

B. indictment

C. discovery

D. charging decision

21. Identify which of the following statements regarding convictions is most accurate.

A. The conviction rates of defendants represented by assigned counsel is significantly lower than those represented by contract attorneys and public defenders.

B. The conviction rates of defendants represented by public defenders is significantly lower than those represented by assigned counsel, contract attorneys, and private attorneys.

C. The conviction rates of defendants represented by private attorneys is significantly lower than those represented by assigned counsel, contract attorneys, and public defenders.

D. The conviction rates of defendants represented by assigned counsel, contract attorneys, public defenders, and private attorneys are virtually identical.

22. Critics state that prosecutors are guilty of this when trying to make a plea more appealing.

A. providing lesser charges in pleas

B. dropping charges in pleas

C. piling on charges at trial

D. reducing sentences in pleas

23. When the state has salaried lawyers who work full time to represent indigent defendants, it is an example of ______.

A. public defenders

B. contract attorneys

C. assigned counsel

D. none of the above

24. In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court proclaim that plea bargaining is constitutional?

A. Edwards v. People

B. North Carolina v. Adolf

C. Santobello v. New York

D. Commonwealth v. Battis

25. Private lawyers, bar associations, law firms, or groups of attorneys enter into an agreement with the government to represent indigents. This is an example of ______.

A. assigned counsel

B. contract attorneys

C. public defenders

D. none of the above

26. Which state successfully banned plea bargaining?

A. Alaska

B. Illinois

C. New York

D. California

27. During this stage of the adversarial process, the suspect is brought before a judicial official and informed of charges.

A. arraignment

B. indictment

C. initial appearance

D. grand jury

28. In this case, the Supreme Court held that “so long as the prosecution has probable cause to believe that the accused has committed an offense defined by statutes” the decision to prosecute lies entirely in the prosecutor’s discretion.

A. Strickland v. Washington

B. McCleskey v. Kemp

C. Wayte v. United States

D. State v. N. J.

29. Which of the following is NOT true about the Grand Jury?

A. allows double jeopardy

B. does not consider unlawfully obtained evidence

C. is conducted in secret

D. is used to determine probable cause

30. This model describes the courtroom as the process of speedily moving cases through the system.

A. crime control model

B. due process model

C. consensus model

D. adversarial model

31. When deciding to offer a concession to defendants, which selection below is NOT something prosecutors look for?

A. victim cooperation

B. no prior criminal record

C. weak evidence of guilt

D. minor offense

32. This model describes the court room as a battlefield ______.

A. crime control model

B. due process model

C. adversarial model

D. consensus model

33. When deciding to decline a concession to defendants, prosecutors will be least likely to look at whether there is ______.

A. uncooperative victim

B. strong evidence of guilt

C. lengthy criminal record

D. seriousness of the crime

34. Identify which of the following does not have prosecutorial discretion.

A. Germany

B. France

C. New York

D. Alabama

35. This model stresses the need for protecting suspects against the power of police, prosecutors, and judges.

A. crime control model

B. due process model

C. consensus model

D. adversarial model

1. A total of 47 states elect their prosecutors.

2. Assigned counsel is a salaried lawyer paid by the government who works full time to provide legal defense to the indigent defenders.

3. Germany has mandatory prosecution.

4. The due process model focuses on the premise that the repression of crime is one of the most important functions of government.

5. Charge bargaining refers to defendants pleading guilty to some of the charges and others are in return dropped.

6. A very small amount of cases result in plea bargains.

7. In Gideon v. Washington the U.S. Supreme Court held that the 1st Amendment guarantees individuals charged with a felony access to a lawyer in criminal prosecutions.

8. Prosecutors are appointed by judges in most states.

9. Charge bargaining is an incentive for defendants to plead guilty.

10. In Strickland v. Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court held that when a lawyer commits a serious error at trial the verdict will be automatically reversed.

11. Grand Jury proceedings are conducted in public.

12. Public hearings were intended to protect individuals against prosecutorial abuse of power.

13. Count bargaining refers to the defendant pleading guilty to some of the charges and others are in return dropped.

14. Europe follows the inquisitional legal system.

15. Consensus bargaining refers to the defendant pleading guilty to a less serious charge for a lesser prison sentence.

1. Briefly explain the characteristics of legal representation before a Grand Jury.

2. Why did plea bargaining replace the trial as the primary mechanism for determining guilt in criminal courts? Include “mutuality of advantage” in your answer.

3. Explain the three stages of the inquisitorial system found in Europe.

4. There are several justifications offered to justify public attorneys’ defense of criminal defendants. Several of these are listed in Table 7.1 of your textbook. Which do you find most persuasive and why?

5. Identify and explain how Indigent defense came about in the United States.