Deck 8: The Juvenile Court Process

Question 1

The _____________ stage is often the first opportunity for the juvenile to meet with an attorney.

A)Detention hearing
B)Intake
C)Adjudication
D)Disposition

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Token economy systems use which type of psychological program?

A)Cognitive
B)Behavior modification
C)Psychodynamic
D)Humanistic

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The initial detention decision is usually made by:

A)Judges
B)Prosecutors
C)Police chiefs
D)Detention workers or probation officers

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In order to reduce possible bias, many courts now employ _____________ in detention decisions.

A)Blind assessment tools
B)Minority advantage scores
C)Risk assessment instruments
D)All of the above

Question 5

About how many of the delinquency cases processed in 2014 were transferred to adult court?

A)2,800
B)4,200
C)11,300
D)18,600

Question 6

According to a study by Abram et al., approximately what percentage of youths in the system experienced trauma in the previous year?

A)30%
B)50%
C)70%
D)90%

Question 7

Youth courts handle over _____________ cases per year.

A)10,000
B)100,000
C)500,000
D)1 million

Question 8

According to the text, when police take a youth into custody, the most likely outcome is:

A)Release
B)Referral to juvenile court
C)Referral to adult court
D)None of the above

Question 9

An intake officer is supposed to consider:

A)The welfare of the child
B)The needs of the family
C)The legal demands of the police and the victim
D)Both a and c

Question 10

Which stage in juvenile court corresponds to sentencing in adult court?

A)Detention hearing
B)Intake
C)Adjudication
D)Disposition

Question 11

According to the text, in 2014, juvenile courts processed about _________ delinquency cases.

A)500,000
B)1 million
C)1.3 million
D)2.1 million

Question 12

In 2015, approximately _____ of youths taken into custody were referred to juvenile court and _____ were sent directly to adult criminal court.

A)52%, 15%
B)59%, 8%
C)43%, 19%
D)82%, 6%

Question 13

Teen courts are a type of _________ program.

A)Diversion
B)Rehabilitation
C)Deterrence
D)None of the above

Question 14

What percentage of girls in the juvenile justice system have histories of physical abuse?

A)25%
B)33%
C)50%
D)70%

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT true about detention in recent years?

A)White youths are more likely to receive detention than minority youths
B)Detention may be longer than stays in state training schools
C)Significant cost increases per youth per day
D)Overcrowding is a major problem

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a weakness found with drug courts?

A)Net-widening
B)High dropout rate
C)Maybe more appropriate for adults
D)None of the above

Question 17

Which of the following is an option to filing a petition against a youth and taking the youth to juvenile court?

A)Informal adjustment
B)Teen courts
C)Drug courts
D)All of the above

Question 18

According to the text, which of the following can be a factor in intake decisions?

A)Seriousness of the offense
B)Prior record
C)Demeanor
D)All of the above

Question 19

Which of the following is an alternative to traditional detention facilities?

A)Day-evening centers
B)Home detention
C)Bail
D)All of the above

Question 20

Research shows ___________ should be the cornerstone of detention programming.

A)Punishment
B)Education
C)Therapy
D)Community service

Question 21

Over 290,000 youths were adjudicated delinquent in 2014.

Question 22

The prosecutor is the primary decision-maker in the juvenile court process, though other personnel play important roles.

Question 23

According to the text, which of the following is/are problems with attorneys in juvenile court?

A)High caseloads
B)Lack of training
C)Confusion about what role to play
D)All of the above

Question 24

Courts that use teenagers as decision-makers (e.g., the jury) and deal with minor offenses such as shoplifting are called _________ courts.

A)Informal
B)Drug
C)Teen
D)Community

Question 25

In which of the following does the criminal court have jurisdiction and sentencing can be to either juvenile or adult corrections?

A)Juvenile-inclusive sentencing
B)Criminal-exclusive sentencing
C)Criminal-inclusive sentencing
D)Juvenile-contiguous sentencing

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT a cited reason that race appears to affect intake decisions?

A)Higher levels of disrespect toward decision-makers by minorities
B)Consideration of parental control or supervision
C)Stereotypes of minority offenders as dangerous
D)Processing with the goal of treatment eligibility

Question 27

In which of the following does the juvenile court have jurisdiction and sentencing can include both correctional systems?

A)Juvenile-inclusive sentencing
B)Criminal-exclusive sentencing
C)Criminal-inclusive sentencing
D)Juvenile-contiguous sentencing

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT a recommendation by the American Bar Association regarding juvenile plea bargaining?

A)Plea agreements should be invisible and occur behind closed doors
B)The judge should not be involved
C)The judge should consult with the parents before accepting a plea
D)If the judge will not accept the plea, he/she should allow the juvenile to withdraw it

Question 29

The intake decision is the decision police make whether to take a youth into custody or not.

Question 30

According to the text, what has been the traditional procedure for switching juvenile cases to adult court?

A)Direct file
B)Statutory exclusion
C)Transfer or waiver
D)Lowering the age limit of adult court

Question 31

Approximately one-third of detained youths have experienced solitary confinement.

Question 32

Sentences that can involve both the juvenile and adult court and correctional systems are examples of __________ sentencing.

A)Hybrid
B)Dual
C)Blended
D)Combined

Question 33

If state law stipulates that certain offenses (e.g., murder) automatically go to adult criminal court, that is called:

A)Transfer
B)Statutory exclusion
C)Prosecutorial waiver
D)Reverse waiver

Question 34

Programs in detention centers where youths earn credits or points toward rewards when rules are followed and lose them when rules are disobeyed are called economic reward systems.

Question 35

Which of the following are the two major models for juvenile court attorneys?

A)Zealous advocate and concerned adult
B)Zealous advocate and plea bargain architect
C)Concerned adult and instructor
D)Instructor and zealous advocate

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT true about urban courts (vs.rural/suburban courts)?

A)More formal
B)Dispense more severe sentences
C)Appoint attorneys less often
D)Place more youths in detention

Question 37

The requirement that all or certain categories of youths placed in criminal courts must automatically be processed in adult courts for any subsequent offenses is called:

A)Automatic criminal file
B)Reverse waiver
C)"Once an adult, always an adult" provisions
D)Graduated offending

Question 38

The most frequently used and preferred detention decision in most states is to release the youth to his or her parents.

Question 39

The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) has reduced the use of detention by as much as 50%.

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT true about sentences for transferred juveniles?

A)Juveniles are more likely to be incarcerated than young adults
B)Most sentence disparity occurred with violent juvenile offenders
C)Sentences were longer for juveniles than young adults
D)Overall, sentences were harsher for juveniles than young adults

Question 41

Almost all juveniles (about 90%) are represented by attorneys in juvenile court.

Question 42

In all states, juvenile court proceedings are closed to the public.

Question 43

The U.S.Supreme Court has mandated the right to jury trials for all juveniles.

Question 44

According to the text, it is unclear whether teen courts reduce recidivism.

Question 45

The differential selection hypothesis posits that minorities commit more crimes and more crimes of violence.

Question 46

One problem with Miranda rights for juveniles is a lack of understanding of those rights.

Question 47

Prosecutorial waiver is synonymous with direct file and concurrent jurisdiction.

Question 48

The juvenile codes of all states only mention the best interests of the child.There is no provision for punishment as a goal.

Question 49

Demeanor can influence decisions such as intake, although it is not necessarily recorded in the case file.

Question 50

Girls often receive harsher dispositions than do boys for less serious offenses (e.g., status offenses).

Question 51

Bishop's interviews with transferred youths showed that they had positive comments about criminal court personnel.

Question 52

Waiver (transfer) is decreasing in frequency because other methods of prosecuting juveniles as adults are now available.

Question 53

Approximately 84,000 16- and 17-year-olds are processed in adult court annually due to jurisdictional age limits.

Question 54

Bail is not universally available in juvenile court.

Question 55

When an attorney fights as hard as possible for all defendants, even those who have admitted guilt, he/she assumes a zealous advocate role.

Question 56

According to the text, approximately 85% of delinquency cases brought to the attention of juvenile court result in a delinquency petition.

Question 57

Studies have shown that judges find guilt 25% more than juries.

Question 58

Recent changes in sentencing options have given prosecutors less leverage in pressuring juveniles to accept plea bargains.

Question 59

Maryland's "Life Skills!" program teaches respect, responsibility, caring, fairness, and citizenship.

Question 60

Statutory exclusion differs from legislative waiver in that only offenses resulting in death are automatically transferred to adult court.

Question 61

More research is needed to clearly state the existence of disproportionate minority contact.