Deck 11: Legal Issues and the Death Penalty

Question 1

In Roper v. Simmons the Supreme Court decided that offenders cannot be sentenced to death for a crime they committed before they reached the age of 18.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The death penalty requires the state terminate the life of the convicted as a form of revenge.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The most recent cases concerning equal protection deal with issues concerning juvenile offenders.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In 1968 the Supreme Court firmly established that racial segregation could become an official policy within prison walls to help minimize gang violence.

Question 5

Correctional searches can be done with the intent to humiliate or degrade the inmate.

Question 6

Court decisions have upheld prisoners' rights to be served meals consistent with religious dietary laws.

Question 7

An ombudsman is a public official who investigates complaints against government officials and recommends corrective measures.

Question 8

Constitutional rights are absolute.

Question 9

The shackling of female prisoners during labor and delivery has been a common practice in the United States.

Question 10

Until the 1970s, disciplinary procedures conducted in prisons could be exercised without challenge because the prisoner was legally in the hands of the state.

Question 11

By the end of the 1970s, federal judges had imposed changes on prisons and jails in every state.

Question 12

Prisoners are no longer executed by hanging or by firing squad.

Question 13

Legal rules produced by judges' decisions are referred to as .

A) common law
B) statutes
C) case law
D) regulations

Question 14

According to the text, inmates find litigation effective and satisfying.

Question 15

Prior to the 1960s, the courts maintained a hands-on policy with respect to corrections.

Question 16

Because of the heinous nature of the crime, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld that those convicted of the rape of a child can in fact be given the sentence of death.

Question 17

The compelling state interest test is the current standard for the analysis of not only prisoners' First Amendment
claims but other constitutional claims as well.

Question 18

The most intrusive personal searches of inmates involve X-rays of the inmate's body.

Question 19

The Fourth Amendment protections cover prison cells.

Question 20

In 1996, Congress passed the Anti-Terrorism Act, which gives inmates just one year from the time of conviction to file a federal habeas petition.

Question 21

In regard to an inmate's first amendment rights, the requires that a regulation provide a reasonable method of advancing a legitimate institutional goal.

A) rational basis test
B) totality of the circumstances
C) compelling interest test
D) least restrictive test

Question 22

The means of ensuring a legitimate state interest (such as security) that impose fewer limits to prisoners' rights than do alternative means of securing that end is called

A) least restrictive methods
B) compelling state interest
C) clear and present danger
D) rational basis test

Question 23

The combination of factors that federal courts examine to see if cruel and unusual punishment applies are referred to as ______ .

A) totality of conditions
B) totality of injuries
C) clear and present danger
D) compelling state interest

Question 24

In ____________ (1995), Iowa female inmates argued that their equal protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment were violated because programs and services were not at the same level as those provided for male inmates. The court ruled against the female inmates, citing that no invidious discrimination was present.

A) Hutto v Finney
B) Sandin v Conner
C) Pargo v Elliot
D) Wolff v McDonnell

Question 25

Case law decisions create that are legal rules that can be used to make future judgments on cases that involve similar circumstances.

A) patterns
B) precedents
C) standards
D) examples

Question 26

The first successful prisoners' rights case in 1967 involved:

A) a lack of recreational opportunities.
B) brutality and inhumane living conditions.
C) freedom of speech issues.
D) religious expression rights.

Question 27

In which case did the Supreme Court rule that prisoners who adhere to nontraditional religious beliefs may not be denied the opportunity to practice their own religion?

A) Mapp v. Ohio
B) Cruz v. Beto
C) Bell v. Wolfish
D) Pate v. Cooper

Question 28

Up until the 1960s, the U.S. federal court system practiced a policy with respect to corrections; ultimately giving more power and discretion back to individual state correctional systems.

A) maternal-like
B) don't ask, don't tell
C) get tough
D) hands-off

Question 29

Which of the following is NOT one of the elements of the rational basis test?

A) There must be a less­restrictive alternative available.
B) There must be a rational connection between the regulation and the legitimate interest put forward to justify it.
C) There must be alternative means of exercising the right that remain open to prison inmates.
D) There must be a minimal impact of the regulation on correctional officers and other inmates.

Question 30

In Hudson v. Palmer, (1984), the Supreme Court held that the rules of the Amendment do not apply to a search of a convicted prisoner's cell.

A) Fourth
B) Fifth
C) Eighth
D) Fourteenth

Question 31

All of the following are considered to be alternatives to inmate litigation, EXCEPT _______.

A) direct conversation with the assistant/deputy warden
B) ombudsman
C) legal assistance
D) inmate-grievance procedures

Question 32

Inmates who assist other inmates in preparing necessary legal documents or give other help in legal matters are referred to as __________________.

A) jailhouse lawyers
B) legal aids
C) prison paralegals
D) prison librarians

Question 33

The courts have recognized all of the following specific interests as justifying some restrictions on the constitutional rights of prisoners, except:

A) the maintenance of institutional order
B) the maintenance of institutional security
C) the rehabilitation of inmates
D) the carrying out of retributive punishments to deter future criminal acts

Question 34

A judicial order asking correctional officials to produce the prisoner and to give reasons to justify continued confinement is called a writ of .

A) actus reus
B) habeas corpus
C) corpus delicti
D) lex talionis

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT one of the foundations that support the legal rights of individuals under correctional supervision?

A) statutes
B) regulations
C) case law
D) institutional codes

Question 36

Which of the following was not one of the justifications for the hands-off policy by the courts?

A) the belief that prisoners did not have rights
B) the belief that the U.S. Congress was responsible for prisoner rights
C) the belief that the separation of powers among the three branches of government prevented them from interfering in the operations of any executive agency
D) the belief that because they were not penologists, their intervention in the internal administration of prisons could disrupt discipline

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT part of the three principal tests under the Eighth Amendment to determine whether conditions are unconstitutional?

A) whether the punishment shocks the general conscience of a civilized society
B) whether the punishment is unnecessarily cruel
C) whether the inmates are satisfied with the conditions
D) whether the punishment goes beyond legitimate penal aims

Question 38

In Wolff vs. McDonnell (1974), the court created four legal procedures to enhance the protection of an inmate who has been accused of a serious prison violation. Which of the following is NOT one of these four procedures?

A) The prisoner must be given 24-hour written notice of the charges.
B) The prisoner has the right to present witnesses and document evidence in his defense against the charges.
C) The prisoner has the right to a hearing before a felony trial judge.
D) The prisoner has the right to receive a written statement from that body concerning the outcome of the hearing.

Question 39

are laws that are created by local, state, and federal governments.

A) Doctrines
B) Statutes
C) Regulations
D) Constitutions

Question 40

The number of Section 1983 lawsuits among both state and federal prisoners dropped dramatically following the passage of the _______________________.

A) Correctional Reform Act 1971
B) Civil Rights Act 1964
C) Prisoner Rights Act of 1984
D) Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT one of the three steps most corrections systems use when handling the inmate grievance process?

A) A staff member or committee receives the complaint.
B) A staff member or committee makes a decision regarding the complaint.
C) An officer conducts a hearing on the legality of the complaint after consulting state or federal legal counsel.
D) A staff member or committee investigates the complaint.

Question 42

Under the Gregg decision, states must have hearings to determine guilt and the proper sentence.

A) bifurcated
B) trifurcated
C) subjective
D) unbiased

Question 43

With respect to inmate grievances, it is believed that the most difficult type of situation to resolve is .

A) inmate possession of a weapon
B) inmate-on-inmate rape
C) inmate possession of drugs
D) brutality by a guard

Question 44

What right is inmate Ness alleging is being violated?

A) Eighth Amendment
B) Fourteenth Amendment
C) Fifth Amendment
D) First Amendment

Question 45

What is Inmate Ness wanting when she demanded a third party become involved?

A) mediation
B) evidence hearing
C) legal counsel
D) a jury trial

Question 46

In , the Supreme Court ruled that offenders cannot be sentenced to death for a crime they committed before they reached the age of 18.

A) Gregg v. Georgia
B) Roper v. Simmons
C) Atkins v. Virginia
D) Ring v. Arizona

Question 47

Intervention in a dispute by a third party to whom the parities in conflict submit their difference for resolution is known as

A) mediation
B) ombudsman
C) negotiation
D) resolution

Question 48

A(n) is a public official with full authority to investigate citizens' complaints against government officials.

A) detective
B) ombudsman
C) probation officer
D) parole officer

Question 49

What is Kim's role in the above scenario?

A) ombudsman
B) prosecutor
C) warden
D) special investigator

Question 50

What process is Inmate Ness initiating?

A) inmate-grievance process
B) habeas corpus process
C) ombudsman process
D) appeal process

Question 51

What right is inmate Ace alleging has been violated by searching his cell without him present?

A) Fourth Amendment
B) First Amendment
C) Fourteenth Amendment
D) Eighth Amendment

Question 52

In , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that while the death penalty was constitutional, the way it was used constituted "cruel and unusual" punishment.

A) Abney v. California
B) Klenowski v. West Virginia
C) Furman v. Georgia
D) Bell v. South Carolina

Question 53

In Ring v. Arizona (2002), who did the Supreme Court rule must make the crucial factual decision on whether a convicted murderer should receive the death penalty?

A) juries
B) judges
C) victims
D) probation officers

Question 54

Which of the following alternatives to litigation has NOT been incorporated into state correctional systems?

A) legal assistance
B) plea bargaining
C) grievance procedures
D) use of an ombudsman

Question 55

In Atkins v Virginia (2002) the Supreme Court ruled that the execution of who was unconstitutional?

A) mentally retarded
B) sex offenders
C) juveniles
D) physically disabled

Question 56

Staff attorneys, inmate lawyers and law school clinics are examples of

A) legal assistance
B) mediation
C) ombudsman
D) juries

Question 57

Over the past several decades, inmates have pursued rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution by filing Section petitions in U.S. federal courts.

A) 1871
B) 1964
C) 1983
D) 1976

Question 58

In , the Supreme Court ruled juries, not judges, must make the crucial factual decision on whether a convicted murderer should receive the death penalty.

A) Gregg v. Georgia
B) Roper v. Simmons
C) Atkins v. Virginia
D) Ring v. Arizona

Question 59

What is Jake's role in the above scenario?

A) legal assistance
B) ombudsman
C) judge
D) special investigator

Question 60

More than half of the inmates on death row are .

A) Caucasian
B) Black
C) Latino
D) Asian

Question 61

The penal codes of the national and state governments contain statutes defining behavior.

Question 62

In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court guarantee access to law books for inmates?

A) Bounds v. Smith
B) Gregg v. Georgia
C) Turner v. Safley
D) Fulwood v. Clemmer

Question 63

are legal rules, usually set by an agency of the executive branch, designed to implement policies of that agency.

Question 64

The first successful prisoners' rights cases involved the most excessive prison .

Question 65

A writ of habeas corpus requests an examination of the legality of .

Question 66

The hands-off policy was essentially ended by the Supreme Court decision of ______________.

Question 67

In the above scenario, what is Inmate Niles?

A) jailhouse lawyer
B) public Defender
C) ombudsman
D) mediator

Question 68

Upon entering a correctional institution, prisoners surrender most of their rights to .

Question 69

are legal rules created by judges' decisions that serve to guide future judgments in cases that involve
similar circumstances.

Question 70

Why was inmate Davis's lawsuit denied?

A) Three-Strikes Rule of the Prison Litigation Reform Act
B) RICO Act
C) Federal Sentencing Guidelines
D) Mandatory Sentencing

Question 71

Since the 1940s, the Supreme Court has maintained that the Amendment holds a special position in the
Bill of Rights because it guarantees those freedoms essential in a democracy.

Question 72

Case law consists of legal rules produced by decisions.

Question 73

The clear and present danger test takes into account any threat to security or to the safety of individuals that is so obvious and compelling that the need to counter it overrides the guarantees in the Amendment.

Question 74

The equal protection clause is found in the Amendment.

Question 75

contain basic principles and procedural safeguards, and they describe the institutions of the government, the powers of the government, and the rights of individuals.

Question 76

The circumstances in a correctional facility that, when considered as a whole, may violate the protections guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment are known as .

Question 77

On entering a correctional institution, prisoners surrender most, but not all, of their rights under the Amendment.

Question 78

When convicted of a crime, an individual does not lose all of his or her rights.

Question 79

state interest states an interest of the state that must take precedence over rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Question 80

Inmate Davis alleging that he is not able to have the types of pictures he wants is a violation of what?

A) First Amendment
B) Eighth Amendment
C) Fourth Amendment
D) Fifth Amendment