Deck 9: Excuses

Question 1

Defendants who rely on the ______ defense typically are required to provide notice to the prosecution; then the defendant is subject to an examination.

A) necessity
B) duress
C) insanity
D) cultural

Answer 1

C

Question 2

An underage defendant may use the juvenile defense on the grounds that he or she is too young to ______.

A) understand what he or she is doing
B) understand the legal process
C) form the required intent
D) physically commit the crime

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A ______ constitutes a defense in those instances that the defendant's mistake results in a lack of criminal intent.

A) mistake of fact
B) mistake of law
C) ignorance of fact
D) ignorance of law

Answer 3

A

Question 4

With regards to entrapment, the ______ test focuses on the defendant and asks whether the accused possessed the criminal intent or the predisposition to commit the crime or whether the government created the offense.

A) objective
B) Durham
C) subjective
D) Model Penal Code

Question 5

______ merely recognizes that an individual has the right to demonstrate that he or she is incapable of forming the intent for the offense committed.

A) Insanity
B) Competency
C) Diminished capacity
D) Diminished competency

Question 6

The ______ is a legal defense in which defendants claim that the crimes with which they are charged resulted from their own victimization and that they should not be held responsible.

A) PMS defense
B) postpartum psychosis
C) environmental defense
D) abuse excuse

Question 7

The contemporary trend is that ______ is not a defense for any criminal act or requisite state of mind.

A) voluntary intoxication
B) involuntary intoxication
C) sleep deprivation
D) drug overdose

Question 8

The ______ provides that a person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, he lacks the substantial capacity to either appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.

A) irresistible impulse
B) Model Penal Code standard
C) M'Naghten
D) Durham product

Question 9

The ______ has been invoked by defendants who contend that they suffered from severe pain and distress that drove them to act in a violent fashion.

A) PMS defense
B) postpartum psychosis
C) black rage
D) XYY chromosome

Question 10

The most common mental disorder or defect that results in legal insanity under the ______ test for insanity is psychosis.

A) irresistible impulse
B) Model Penal Code standard
C) M'Naghten
D) Durham product

Question 11

All of the following are ways in which voluntary intoxication can occur EXCEPT ______.

A) duress
B) mistake
C) fraud
D) ignorance

Question 12

The ______ test provided that an accused is "not criminally responsible if his unlawful act was the product of mental disease or defect."

A) irresistible impulse
B) Model Penal Code standard
C) M'Naghten
D) Durham product

Question 13

The ______ test requires the jury to find a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity in the event that the jurors find that the defendant possessed a mental disease that prevents him from curbing his or her conduct.

A) irresistible Impulse
B) Model Penal Code standard
C) M'Naghten
D) Durham product

Question 14

With regards to entrapment, the ______ test focuses on the conduct of the government rather than the character of the defendant.

A) objective
B) Durham
C) subjective
D) Model Penal Code

Question 15

______ provide(s) a defense based on the fact that although a defendant committed a criminal act, he or she is not considered responsible.

A) Excuses
B) Justifications
C) Self-defense
D) Necessity

Question 16

The ______ has been used as an excuse for homicide based on the argument that the chemicals used in lawn care resulted in the involuntary intoxication of the defendant.

A) urban survivor defense
B) environmental defense
C) involuntary intoxication defense
D) abuse excuse

Question 17

To use the ______ defense, individuals were categorized on the basis of their actual age rather than their mental age at the time of the offense.

A) insanity
B) infancy
C) competency
D) juvenile

Question 18

______ is a defense to any and all criminal offenses in those instances that a defendant's state of mind satisfies the standard for the insanity defense in the state.

A) Voluntary intoxication
B) Involuntary intoxication
C) Sleep deprivation
D) Drug overdose

Question 19

The ______ defense is used by women who have a drop in hormonal levels following the birth of a child.

A) PMS defense
B) postpartum psychosis
C) environmental
D) XYY chromosome

Question 20

The ______ defense excuses an individual from guilt who commits a crime to avoid a threat of imminent bodily harm.

A) necessity
B) duress
C) insanity
D) intoxication

Question 21

The general trend in the law is to do what with regard to excuses?

A) expand the excuses available to criminal defendants
B) limit the excuses available to criminal defendants
C) turn to academic researchers to identify what new excuses should be available to criminal defendants
D) look to things such as poverty and inequality just as much as more traditional excuses

Question 22

Issac is charged with a specific intent crime yet he claims his voluntary use of alcohol prevented him from forming the specific intent required by statute. If he is successful in his argument what is the most likely outcome?

A) an acquittal
B) a fine
C) liability only for a lesser offense requiring general intent
D) probation only

Question 23

At common law, there is an irrefutable presumption of infancy for which category of individuals?

A) children between 14 and 17
B) children older than 7 and younger than 14
C) children younger than 7
D) children younger than 4

Question 24

Which test asks but for the actions of the government would the defendant have broken the law?

A) objective test
B) subjective test
C) legal causation
D) proximate cause

Question 25

The availability of the excuse to the criminal defendant is based on all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) a lack of moral blameworthiness
B) a lack of criminal intent
C) at times, the involuntary nature of the criminal act
D) at times, voluntary nature of the criminal act

Question 26

Mary was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. She has been prescribed a strong painkiller by her doctor. She has never taken painkillers before and she is unaware of how they will affect her. After the first dose she begins hallucinating. Believing that her neighbor, who is outside tending to her garden, is actually an escaped unicorn, she attacks the neighbor and ties her up and calls animal control. If she is charged with a crime, what defense might she successfully utilize?

A) lack of consent
B) voluntary intoxication
C) duress
D) involuntary intoxication

Question 27

The ______ defense argues that a foreign-born defendant was following his or her culture and was understandably unaware of the requirements of the American law.

A) cultural
B) foreign
C) alien
D) immigrant

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT a type of a new sociological defense?

A) rotten social background
B) media intoxication
C) urban survivor
D) postpartum psychosis

Question 29

What factor may not be looked to in order to overcome the presumption of incapacity in juvenile offenders?

A) knowledge of the wrongfulness of the child's actions
B) seriousness of the crime
C) efforts to conceal the crime
D) quality of parenting

Question 30

The inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy is known as ______.

A) PMS
B) irresistible impulse
C) diminished capacity
D) psychosis

Question 31

All of the following statements are true regarding civil commitment EXCEPT ______.

A) the period of civil commitment is limited to the length of the criminal sentence for which a defendant was convicted
B) in most states, after a finding of NGRI a separate civil commitment hearing is conducted
C) the purpose of the civil commitment hearing is to determine if the defendant poses a danger
D) if the defendant poses a danger he will be intended at a mental institution

Question 32

Joclyn and her son do not have a good relationship. She recently divorced his father, and the boy, who is just 7 years old, chose to go live with him instead of her. Joclyn and her ex do not have a custody agreement in place at this time, but he regularly allows her to see the son whenever she desires. The boy does not enjoy his visitation. The boy dislikes his mother so much, for no apparent reason, that he demanded his father take her life. The boy threatened him and said if he did not cooperate, he would kill the father instead and go off on his own. He is a feisty 7-year-old. The father, afraid for his own life, makes an elaborate plan to kill Joclyn and attempts to take her life. She manages to live through the attack and has reported it to the police. Will the ex-husband be able to successfully utilize the defense of duress?

A) Yes, because it is a subjective standard and he feared for his life.
B) Yes, providing a reasonable person would have also been afraid in that situation.
C) No, because of the special relationship possessed by the family members.
D) Only if the other elements of the defense are met.

Question 33

When are the common law presumptions of infancy applicable to proceedings in juvenile court?

A) always
B) when the individual is under 14
C) never
D) none of these

Question 34

Modernly, how do courts handle women and duress?

A) There is a rebuttable presumption that any woman who has committed a crime does so under some sort of duress.
B) Women are exempted from criminal liability only in the presence of their husbands because of the belief they act at the direction of the man.
C) Women and duress are treated the same way as men utilizing the defense.
D) Women are punished more than men when using the duress defense.

Question 35

Shanice has been selling drugs here and there for the past few years. She doesn't make a lot of money, but it's enough to get by. She has befriended Rizzo who claims to have a big job for her. Typically she only sells marijuana but he claims she can make a lot more selling crack cocaine. She is very hesitant because she knows of the harsh penalties associated with crack, but Rizzo continuously pressures her to come work for him and makes statements like "if she values their friendship, she would start dealing crack for him." Eventually after months of convincing she gives in to Rizzo. It turns out Rizzo is an undercover agent. Under which test will Shanice have the best chances of an acquittal if she faces criminal charges?

A) predisposition
B) due process
C) subjective
D) objective

Question 36

Rory is 16 but has been charged with a crime. His lawyer was hoping he would be tried as a juvenile but, due to the seriousness of the crime, he will be tried as an adult. What is the legal mechanism that allows for this?

A) transferability of charges
B) the Model Penal Code
C) transfer statutes
D) judiciary waivers

Question 37

The ______ defense consists of the contention that young people living in poor areas do not receive adequate policing and develop a heightened awareness and fear of threats.

A) posttraumatic stress syndrome
B) rotten social background
C) urban survivor
D) black rage

Question 38

What is the purpose of juvenile court?

A) treatment and adjudication of moral responsibility
B) adjudication of moral responsibility and punishment
C) treatment and rehabilitation
D) rehabilitation and punishment

Question 39

The defense in which the individual claims to have been placed under the control of others is ______.

A) media intoxication
B) brainwashing
C) indoctrination
D) posttraumatic stress syndrome

Question 40

Which is a false statement?

A) In order to utilize the defense of duress, an individual must have exhausted all reasonable and available alternatives to violating the law.
B) In order to utilize the defense of duress, an individual need not exhaust all reasonable and available alternatives to violating the law.
C) Duress may not excuse the intentional taking of the life of another.
D) Duress does not excuse the intentional taking of the life of another.

Question 41

M'Naghten is criticized for focusing on the mind and failing to consider emotions.

Question 42

All of the following are explanations for duress EXCEPT ______.

A) the law cannot expect people to act in a heroic fashion and resist threats of death or serious bodily harm
B) the defendant may only utilize the excuse after threats of death have been made
C) an individual who commits a crime in response to a server threat lacks a criminal intent
D) individuals who commit crimes under duress act in an involuntary rather than a voluntary fashion

Question 43

Self-defense is an excuse defense.

Question 44

Insanity is an excuse defense.

Question 45

The fundamental difference among the insanity tests is whether the emphasis is placed on the defendant's ability to know right from wrong or on the defendant's ability to control his or her behavior.

Question 46

As a response to the growing concern for the moral blameworthiness of acts committed by defendants found to be not guilty by reason of insanity, all 50 states have adopted a verdict of "guilty but mentally ill."

Question 47

The American Law Institute Substantial Capacity Test broadens the legal test for insanity in order to decrease the number of defendants who may be judged to be legally insane.

Question 48

Critics contend that the insanity defense undermines the proper functioning of the criminal justice system.

Question 49

The insanity defense is one of the most thoroughly studied, yet most debated issues in criminal law.

Question 50

The early common law did not recognize infancy as a defense to criminal prosecution.

Question 51

The contemporary trend is to dismiss the original common law rule and recognize a defense based on voluntary intoxication because of the increasing acceptance of alcoholism as a disease.

Question 52

Diminished capacity is a compromise between either finding an individual not guilty by reason of insanity or fully liable.

Question 53

The Durham product test was formulated by the New Hampshire Supreme Court in State v. Norman in 1869.

Question 54

There is a growing trend for state statutes to permit the criminal prosecution of any juvenile as an adult who is charged with a serious offense.

Question 55

Insanity is not distinct from competence to stand trial.

Question 56

For the defense of duress, there must be a threat of death or serious bodily harm that causes an individual to commit a crime.

Question 57

Jack is carjacked as he drives down sunset blvd around 4 AM. The carjacker instructs him to move over to the passenger seat and Jack complies. He further goes on to say that Jack must assist him in robbing a back otherwise he will kill his pregnant girlfriend. The carjacker reminds him that he can simply look at his vehicle registration in order to obtain the address. Jack is unsure of what to do but fears for the lives of his loved ones. He decides to comply. If after the bank robbery he is apprehended and charged with a crime, does he have and defenses available to him?

A) No
B) He may utilize the insanity defense.
C) He may utilize the duress defense.
D) Yes

Question 58

Mark recently joined a gang and as a result he has begun participating in violent brawls and drug use and distribution. In his impoverished neighborhood it is commonplace sell drugs because there are very few other economic opportunities. Mark's mom recently left his dad after he beat her so badly she was hospitalized. Things are really rough for the family. Mark joined the gang because he liked the way the members stood up for one another. He saw it both as an economic opportunity but also as a family. If Mark is charged for his criminal activity what defense offers him the best chance of success?

A) self-defense
B) insanity
C) the cultural defense
D) rotten social background

Question 59

According to the irresistible impulse test, a defendant may be found legally insane even if he or she is able to tell right from wrong.

Question 60

The requirement that the defendant did not know the nature and quality of the act is simpler to satisfy than the rest of the requirements.

Question 61

Involuntary intoxication is not a defense to criminal offenses in those instances that the defendant's state of mind satisfies the standard for insanity.

Question 62

Cindy's daughter has been kidnapped. The kidnappers have demanded that Cindy transport cocaine from an anonymous dealer to a buyer. After the buyer hands her the money, she is to shoot the buyer and take back the cocaine. Once she hands over the drugs and money to the kidnappers, they will return her daughter. Cindy is not to contact the police and as a warning, the kidnappers have already sent Cindy her daughter's ear. After Cindy has killed the buyer, she is arrested for murder. At her trial, Cindy invokes the duress defense. Would Cindy be successful? Why or why not? Apply the elements of duress to the case and come to a conclusion.

Question 63

What are the three explanations for the duress defense?

Question 64

What is the difference between not guilty by reason of insanity and guilty but mentally ill?

Question 65

The mistake of law does not constitute a defense.

Question 66

What are the three reasons for the government to rely on entrapment?

Question 67

What are the four tests for insanity?

Question 68

Duress excuses the intentional taking of the life of another.

Question 69

What is the difference between the abuse excuse and the rotten social background defense?

Question 70

What is diminished capacity?

Question 71

What is the difference between voluntary intoxication and involuntary intoxication?

Question 72

Fred, age 23, was searching an online chat room to meet new women. While online, a girl who claimed to be 13 years old offered him sexual favors. He agreed to meet the girl at her home during the afternoon while her parents were at work. When Fred arrived, the police were there to arrest him. What is entrapment? What are the two tests to entrapment? Using the given case, illustrate how the tests are administered to determine entrapment.

Question 73

List and discuss four new biological defenses. Provide an example for each.

Question 74

Jeremiah strangled and chopped up his neighbor. He committed this vicious act because he claimed that he believed his neighbor to be the devil and he had to prove that the devil would not bleed. What are the four tests for insanity? Define each test using the above example to illustrate how each test is administered. Under which test would Jeremiah be considered legally insane? Why?

Question 75

Mya has been arrested for the violent murder of Robbie. Mya is 10 years old and Robbie was 8. Mya killed Robbie by forcing him to swallow rocks until he suffocated. Because of Mya's age, what will the prosecutors need to prove? Explain how that has been done citing a case from your text. What if Mya had been 6 years old? Would the prosecutors approach the crime differently? What if Mya had been 15 years old? How would this crime be approached?

Question 76

What are the three categories into which juveniles are categorized under the common law?

Question 77

What are the four ways in which involuntary intoxication can occur?

Question 78

What is the difference between mistake of fact and mistake of law?

Question 79

James was taking prescription drugs for a toothache. While driving one evening, James became extremely nauseated and then blacked out. James subsequently drove his car into a group of pedestrians, killing three people. What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary intoxication? May James rely on one of these defenses? Why or why not?

Question 80

The irresistible impulse test requires the jury to find a defendant NGRI in the event that the jurors find that the defendant possessed a mental disease that prevented him from curbing his or her criminal conduct.