Deck 11: Sentencing

Question 1

Which goal of sentencing focuses on separating offenders from society to reduce opportunities for further criminality?

A)Incapacitation
B)Deterrence
C)Retribution
D)Rehabilitation

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is a mitigating circumstance?

A)The offender induced others to participate in the crime.
B)The crime was committed for hire.
C)The offender acted under strong provocation.
D)The offender possessed a deadly weapon during the crime.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

________ is a type of sentencing plan that allows no leeway in the imposition of a sentence for a person convicted of a crime.

A)Mandatory sentencing
B)Indeterminate sentencing
C)Presumptive sentencing
D)Truth in sentencing

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is a characteristic of restorative justice?

A)Crime is seen as an act against the state and a violation of the law.
B)Crime control is the responsibility of the criminal justice system.
C)Victims tend to be peripheral in the process of resolving a crime.
D)Crime has individual and social dimensions of responsibility.

Question 5

What is the main priority of justice reinvestment?

A)Prioritizing the use of alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders
B)Increasing the use of fines as a punishment to create a sustained revenue stream for the criminal justice system
C)Developing an investment portfolio to eventually allow the criminal justice system to be self-supporting
D)Expanding the use of mandatory sentencing policies

Question 6

A sentence of 8 to 15 years in prison is an example of ________ sentencing.

A)consecutive
B)concurrent
C)indeterminate
D)structured

Question 7

Which of the following is a form of structured sentencing?

A)Indeterminate sentencing
B)Contemporary sentencing
C)Quasi-independent sentencing
D)Determinate sentencing

Question 8

What appears to be the most dramatic result of the recent emphasis on the use of mandatory sentencing and other get-tough policies?

A)Crime rates have fallen dramatically.
B)The average length of prison terms has decreased.
C)The use of incarceration as a sentencing option has increased significantly.
D)Offender rehabilitation programs have become increasingly successful.

Question 9

In the case of ________ the U.S.Supreme Court cases ruled that requiring sentencing judges to consider facts that have not been proven to a jury violates the Constitution.

A)Apprendi v.New Jersey
B)U.S.v.Booker
C)Melendez v.U.S.
D)Blakely v.Washington

Question 10

Federal sentencing guidelines

A)provide a range of punishments for a specific crime.
B)eliminate judicial discretion completely.
C)tend to be uniform across states.
D)do not permit departures from the guidelines.

Question 11

________ is a sentencing principle that holds that an offender's criminal history should be taken into account in sentencing decisions.

A)Equity
B)Proportionality
C)Social debt
D)Good time

Question 12

Which sentencing model tends to involve the greatest amount of judicial discretion?

A)Presumptive sentencing
B)Determinate sentencing
C)Indeterminate sentencing
D)Structured sentencing

Question 13

Which of the following is not one of the main goals of contemporary sentencing?

A)Incapacitation
B)Restitution
C)Deterrence
D)Rehabilitation

Question 14

The just deserts model of sentencing emphasizes

A)the use of fines.
B)retribution.
C)restitution.
D)placing offenders on probation.

Question 15

If a judge requests information on a convicted defendant's background,the probation or parole office will conduct a ________ investigation.

A)probation
B)presentence
C)presumptive sentencing
D)general deterrence

Question 16

Under the indeterminate sentencing model,what is the primary determinant of the amount of time served?

A)The leniency of the judge
B)The inmate's behavior while incarcerated
C)Pressure from politicians
D)The leniency of the parole board

Question 17

Proportionality means that

A)caseloads must be distributed equally among the available judges.
B)there should be a direct relationship between the severity of the sanction and the seriousness of the crime.
C)the offender's criminal history should be objectively considered at sentencing.
D)similar crimes are punished with similar sentences.

Question 18

________ involves suspending criminal proceedings and referring the alleged offender to a private agency.

A)Diversion
B)Presentence investigation
C)Deterrence
D)Three-strikes

Question 19

What is the main limitation of the Crime Victims' Rights Act?

A)It only provides rights to victims of federal crimes.
B)It does not require courts to ensure that victims are afforded their rights.
C)It does not give victims the legal authority necessary to assert their rights in court.
D)The Act does not have any limitations.

Question 20

General deterrence attempts to

A)prevent individual offenders from engaging in future criminal acts.
B)make the victim whole again.
C)discourage potential offenders from committing crimes.
D)separate offenders from the community to reduce opportunities for future criminality.

Question 21

Which of the following arguments regarding the death penalty is a retentionist rationale?

A)Just deserts
B)Lack of proven deterrence
C)Arbitrariness
D)Discrimination

Question 22

What effect did the USA PATRIOT Act have on the death penalty in the U.S.?

A)The death penalty was abolished for federal crimes.
B)The requirement of a mandatory appeal in cases involving a capital sentence was eliminated.
C)The method of imposing death was standardized throughout the U.S.
D)The list of federal crimes punishable by death was expanded significantly.

Question 23

The majority of death-penalty states use which method of execution?

A)Firing squad
B)Hanging
C)Electrocution
D)Lethal injection

Question 24

Opportunities for federal appeals by death-row inmates were limited by the ________ Act

A)Victim and Witness Protection
B)Victims of Crime
C)Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement
D)Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty

Question 25

The U.S.Supreme Court has ruled that ________ must decide the facts that lead to a death sentence.

A)juries
B)high courts
C)appellate courts
D)judges

Question 26

A sentence of "four years in prison" is an indeterminate sentence.

Question 27

The "nothing works" doctrine suggested that rehabilitation did not reduce recidivism.

Question 28

In which case did the Supreme Court approve the separation of the determination of guilt from the determination of the sentence?

A)Furman v.Georgia
B)Woodson v.North Carolina
C)Wilkerson v.Utah
D)Gregg v.Georgia

Question 29

Incapacitation corresponds to the just deserts model of sentencing.

Question 30

The Innocence Protection Act of 2004 provides federal funds to help eliminate

A)the misinterpretation of forensic evidence at trial.
B)witness misidentification.
C)the backlog of unanalyzed DNA samples.
D)withholding of evidence by prosecutors.

Question 31

Research into victim-impact statements has found that

A)they have a significant impact on judicial sentencing decision-making.
B)juries are not required to consider victim-impact statements.
C)sentencing decisions are rarely affected by them.
D)oral impact statements have more impact than written documents.

Question 32

The Supreme Court's decision in the case of Furman v.Georgia was a statement against

A)the use of capital punishment by the criminal justice system.
B)giving a jury the authority to impose a capital sentence.
C)the manner in which statutes permitted the death penalty to be imposed.
D)the disproportionality of the death penalty for crimes other than first degree murder.

Question 33

Which one of the following is not a traditional sentencing option?

A)Fines
B)Probation
C)Death
D)Parole

Question 34

The protectionist argument justifying capital punishment is fairly weak because the underlying social interest can also be met by which other sentencing option?

A)Severe fines
B)Incarceration
C)Probation
D)The use of alternative sanctions

Question 35

The day-fine system solves which objection to the use of fines?

A)The collection of fines is expensive and creates administrative difficulties for the criminal justice system.
B)Fines are unfair because more affluent offenders can buy their way out of prison while indigent offenders are unable to pay fines.
C)Not only do fines not appear to reduce recidivism,they have been linked to increased involvement in future crime.
D)It is difficult to ensure proportionality when imposing fines.

Question 36

________ requires that a prisoner be brought before a judicial officer to determine if he or she is being lawfully imprisoned.

A)Restorative justice
B)Diversion
C)A victim impact statement
D)A writ of habeas corpus

Question 37

Which of the following is an advantage of the imposition of fines as a criminal sanction?

A)Fines are expensive to administer.
B)Fines can reduce the stress placed on state resources by the use of incarceration.
C)Fines can reduce recidivism through incapacitation.
D)Fines contribute to prison overcrowding.

Question 38

Victim restitution is a key element of the restorative justice model.

Question 39

Based on the Supreme Court's ruling in Woodson v.North Carolina,when is a mandatory death sentence for first degree murder constitutional?

A)When there are aggravating circumstances that make the crime even more serious
B)When the victim was a police officer who was killed during the performance of his or her duty
C)When the murder was committed by a prison inmate already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole
D)Never-mandatory application of the death penalty is unconstitutional.

Question 40

Under federal jurisdiction,about how many crimes are punishable by death?

A)100
B)60
C)30
D)20

Question 41

Justice reinvestment emphasizes the use of alternative sanctions,rather than incarceration,for nonviolent offenders.

Question 42

The automatic review of death sentences by appellate courts helps to reduce the delay in carrying out sentences of execution.

Question 43

Although crime rates in the U.S.began to decline in the mid-1990s,incarceration rates continued to increase into the 2000s.

Question 44

The indeterminate sentencing model can result in judicial discrimination based on the offender's race or social class.

Question 45

Plea bargaining is permitted under the federal sentencing guidelines.

Question 46

The Crime Victims' Rights Act only establishes statutory rights for victims of federal crimes.

Question 47

According to the Supreme Court,imposing a sentence of life imprisonment for a non-violent felony is a violation of the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment,even if the defendant has a history of serious or violent convictions.

Question 48

The majority of states have passed victims' rights amendments to their state constitutions.

Question 49

DNA evidence is increasingly being used to identify wrongful convictions.

Question 50

Mandatory sentencing laws appear to reduce the use of plea bargaining and increase the number of cases that are brought to trial.

Question 51

Research suggests that victim-impact statements have a significant effect on judicial sentencing decisions.

Question 52

The concept of social debt would suggest that an offender with a prior criminal record should receive a more severe punishment than a first-time offender committing the same offense.

Question 53

In federal criminal courts,judges are required to consider presentence reports.

Question 54

Judges are not permitted to depart from the federal sentencing guidelines.

Question 55

The day-fine system takes the offender's financial resources into account.

Question 56

Stigmatic shaming is commonly used in restorative justice programs.

Question 57

Presentence investigations are conducted by the court.

Question 58

The severity of an inmate's crime is the primary determinate of the actual amount of time served under an indeterminate sentence.

Question 59

The use of fines is increasing in response to prison overcrowding problems

Question 60

The use of torture during a crime is an example of a mitigating circumstance.

Question 61

The sentencing goal of ________ involves punishment based on the need for revenge.

Question 62

________ laws get tough on crime by mandating enhanced sentences for repeat felony offenders.

Question 63

A(n)________ is the examination of a convicted offender's background prior to sentencing.

Question 64

________ is a sentencing innovation that uses public embarrassment to attempt to change an offender's behavior.

Question 65

________ is a sentencing goal that focuses on preventing the offender from committing crimes by reducing his or her opportunities for crime.

Question 66

The principle of ________ suggests that two offenders who commit the same crime in different states should receive about the same sentence.

Question 67

According to the Supreme Court,a simple showing of racial discrepancies in the application of the death penalty constitutes a constitutional violation.

Question 68

The case of Coker v.Georgia approved a bifurcated trial procedure in capital cases.

Question 69

The ________ model defines crime as an act against the state and a violation of the law.

Question 70

A(n)________ includes information supplied by victims or survivors and is provided in court to help the judge make an informed sentencing decision.

Question 71

________ may be used by the defense to show reduced criminal responsibility and suggest a lesser sentence is called for.

Question 72

Support for the use of the death penalty in the U.S.has declined overall since the mid-1990s.

Question 73

The ________ Act establishes statutory rights for victims of federal crimes and is seen as a partial statutory alternative to a constitutional victims' rights amendment.

Question 74

The death penalty may not be imposed on an adult offender if he was under the age of 18 at the time the crime was committed.

Question 75

Because of the increasing number of death penalty cases involving wrongful convictions,the Supreme Court has ruled that convicted offenders have a fundamental right to access DNA-testable evidence.

Question 76

________ is deducted from the amount of time an offender must serve in prison on a given sentence because the offender participated in a special project or program.

Question 77

The death penalty retentionist claim of protection is weak because other sentences could achieve the same goal.

Question 78

Death penalty retentionists argue that the death penalty fails to be an effective deterrent only because of the delays produced by repeated appeals.

Question 79

________ involves officially suspending criminal proceedings against an alleged offender and referring him or her to a treatment program.

Question 80

________ laws require a close correspondence between the sentence imposed by the judge and the time the offender actually serves in prison.