Deck 3: Inside Criminal Law

Question 1

Court decisions that provide guidance in interpreting the law are called:

A)Procedural guidelines
B)Benchmarks
C)Precedents
D)Baselines

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Statutes enacted by legislative bodies at any level of government make up a source of law, which is generally referred to as:

A)Administrative law
B)Case law
C)Constitutional law
D)Statutory law

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Crimes punishable by death or imprisonment in a federal or state penitentiary for 1 year or longer are called:

A)Felonies
B)Gross misdemeanors
C)Misdemeanors
D)Petty misdemeanors

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Misdemeanors are punishable by a fine or by confinement up to:

A)1 year
B)5 years
C)10 years
D)Life imprisonment

Question 5

What is the burden of proof necessary to win a civil trial?

A)Clear and convincing evidence
B)Probable cause
C)Preponderance of evidence
D)Proof beyond a reasonable doubt

Question 6

The remedy for a violation of civil law is:

A)Monetary damages awarded to the plaintiff
B)Probation up to five years
C)A fine paid to the state or county
D)Incarceration up to 1 year

Question 7

The ____________________ is the supreme law of the land, and as such is the basis of all law in the United States.

A)Declaration of Independence
B)U.S.Penal Code
C)U.S.Constitution
D)Case law of the United States Supreme Court

Question 8

____ are offenses punishable by 30 days to a year in jail.

A)Gross misdemeanors
B)Third degree felonies
C)Violations
D)Petty misdemeanors

Question 9

A homicide that results from the offender's carelessness, but occurs when the offender lacks intent is classified as:

A)First degree murder
B)Second degree murder
C)Voluntary manslaughter
D)Involuntary manslaughter

Question 10

In a civil case, the injured party is called the ____.

A)Plaintiff
B)Defendant
C)Prosecutor
D)State

Question 11

Which category of murder occurs when the victim provoked the offender to act violently?

A)First degree murder
B)Second degree murder
C)Voluntary manslaughter
D)Involuntary manslaughter

Question 12

Law may be broken down according to various classifications.Which of the following is not one of these classifications?

A)Civil law and criminal law
B)Felonies and misdemeanors
C)Mala in se and Mala prohibita
D)Tort crimes and civil crimes

Question 13

The term "judge-made" law is synonymous with:

A)Administrative law
B)Case law
C)Constitutional law
D)Statutory law

Question 14

What degree of felony carries the maximum penalty of death?

A)Capital offense
B)First degree felonies
C)Second degree felonies
D)Third degree felonies

Question 15

In a criminal case, the burden of proof is:

A)Beyond a reasonable doubt
B)Preponderance of the evidence
C)Beyond a shadow of doubt
D)By clear and convincing evidence

Question 16

On a state and local level, ______________ can write criminal statutes through a form of direct democracy known as the ballot initiative.

A)Law enforcement
B)Legislators
C)Judges
D)Voters

Question 17

The social function of the law includes the concepts of:

A)Protecting individual rights and teaching societal boundaries
B)Protecting individual rights and punishing offenders
C)Expressing public morality and teaching societal boundaries
D)Expressing public morality and punishing offenders

Question 18

As a circumstance of murder, ____ means that the offender considered the crime beforehand.

A)Deliberation
B)Malice aforethought
C)Premeditation
D)Spontaneity

Question 19

The rules, orders, and decisions of regulatory agencies make up:

A)Administrative law
B)Case law
C)Constitutional law
D)Statutory law

Question 20

The primary legal function of the law is to:

A)Teach societal boundaries
B)Reflect society's changing morality
C)Express public morality
D)Maintain social order by protecting citizens from criminal harm

Question 21

A defendant is said to have ____ committed a criminal act when he or she desires to engage in certain criminal conduct or to cause a certain criminal result.

A)Purposely
B)Knowingly
C)Negligently
D)Accidentally

Question 22

What is the term that means that the guilty act and the guilty intent occur together?

A)Causation
B)Attendant circumstances
C)Concurrence
D)Harm

Question 23

Strict liability is inconsistent with the general principles of criminal law, because ____ is lacking.

A)Mens rea
B)Actus reus
C)Causation
D)Concurrence

Question 24

A defense for criminal liability in which the defendant claims that the taking of intoxicants rendered him or her unable to form the requisite intent to commit a criminal act is:

A)Never accepted in court
B)A good defense if the intoxication was voluntary
C)A good defense if the intoxication was involuntary
D)Not allowed in felony court but is sometimes allowed in misdemeanor trials

Question 25

The offense of robbery is:

A)Mala in se
B)Mala prohibita
C)A tort
D)A misdemeanor

Question 26

What defense is used when the wrongdoing of the accused is excused because he or she is too young to fully understand the consequences of his or her actions?

A)Infancy
B)Insanity
C)Intoxication
D)Mistake

Question 27

A common law test of criminal responsibility that relies on the defendant's inability to distinguish right from wrong is the:

A)Durham Rule
B)Irresistible-Impulse Test
C)M'Naughten Rule
D)Substantial Capacity Test

Question 28

Which category of mens rea involves the mental state in which the defendant grossly deviates from the standard of care that a reasonable person would use under the same circumstances?

A)Purpose
B)Knowledge
C)Accidental
D)Negligence

Question 29

Murder, rape, and theft are examples of ____ crimes.

A)Mala in se
B)Mala prohibita
C)Premeditated
D)Deliberate

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a basic element of corpus delicti?

A)Actus reus
B)Mala in se
C)Mens rea
D)Concurrence, or coming together of the criminal act and guilty mind

Question 31

A person who used force in order to protect him or herself from harm would apply the criminal defense of:

A)Necessity
B)Justification
C)Self-defense
D)Duress

Question 32

The guilty act in a criminal offense is referred to as:

A)Actus reus
B)Mens rea
C)Corpus delicti
D)Habeus corpus

Question 33

A criminal act that is considered wrong even if there is no law prohibiting it is known as:

A)A felony
B)Mala in se
C)Mala prohibita
D)A misdemeanor

Question 34

What is the defense for criminal ability that is used to assert a lack of criminal responsibility because according to law, a person cannot have the requisite state of mind to commit a crime?

A)Duress
B)Insanity
C)Entrapment
D)Mistake

Question 35

A crime in which the defendant is guilty regardless of his or her state of mind at the time of the act is known as:

A)Tort
B)First degree homicide
C)Strict liability
D)Manslaughter

Question 36

The facts surrounding an underlying crime are referred to as:

A)Causation
B)Attendant circumstances
C)Concurrence
D)Harm

Question 37

The term mala prohibita refers to:

A)An act that would be wrong even if no law prohibited it
B)A violation of natural law
C)A "human-made" law
D)An act that goes against the public morality

Question 38

A wrongful mental state, or intent, is known as:

A)Actus reus
B)Mala in se
C)Mens rea
D)Concurrence

Question 39

When the wrongful threat of one person induces another person to perform an act that he or she would otherwise not perform, ____ exists.

A)Duress
B)Entrapment
C)Necessity
D)Self-defense

Question 40

As discussed in the textbook, Corpus delicti refers to:

A)The dead body at the scene of a crime
B)The element of criminal intent
C)The basic elements of a crime
D)The criminal act

Question 41

Involuntary intoxication is a valid criminal defense.

Question 42

Murder is a mala in se offense.

Question 43

Criminal law has one primary function: to express public morality.

Question 44

Due process is addressed in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

Question 45

Defendants who are found "guilty but mentally ill" do not serve criminal sentences.

Question 46

Entrapment is a justification defense in which the offender claims that he or she was induced to commit the crime by a public official.

Question 47

This form of due process requires laws to be carried out in a fair and orderly manner.

A)Legislative due process
B)Procedural due process
C)Relative due process
D)Substantive due process

Question 48

The Fourth Amendment protects against:

A)Excessive bail
B)Excessive fines
C)Cruel and unusual punishment
D)Unreasonable searches

Question 49

Proceedings in civil court are normally initiated by the plaintiff.

Question 50

Which of the following is NOT an excuse defense?

A)Mistake
B)Infancy
C)Insanity
D)Necessity

Question 51

Law that defines the manner in which the rights and duties of individuals may be enforced is known as __________________.

A)Legislative criminal law
B)Procedural criminal law
C)Relative criminal law
D)Substantive criminal law

Question 52

A state statute applies only within that state's borders.

Question 53

The U.S.Constitution is the supreme law of the land and as such, it is the basis of all law in the United States.

Question 54

An inchoate offense is an attempted or incomplete offense.

Question 55

Society's views on morality, which are reflected as laws, are stable and unchanging over time.

Question 56

Most criminal cases involve a request for monetary damages in recognition that a wrong has been committed.

Question 57

This form of due process is defined as the constitutional requirement that laws used in accusing and convicting persons of crimes must be fair.

A)Legislative due process
B)Procedural due process
C)Relative due process
D)Substantive due process

Question 58

Duress, self-defense, entrapment, and necessity are examples of excuse defenses.

Question 59

Actus reus refers to guilty intent as an element of a crime.

Question 60

Procedural criminal law defines the acts that the government will punish.

Question 61

Explain the difference between crimes that are mala in se and crimes that are mala prohibita.

Question 62

The ____________ and __________ Amendments require that no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Question 63

An offense motivated by bias is a ___________________.

Question 64

Explain how the doctrine of strict liability applies to criminal law.

Question 65

Ordinarily ignorance of the law, or _______________________, is not a valid criminal defense.

Question 66

A statutory text created by the American Law Institute that sets forth general principles of criminal responsibility and defines specific offenses is the__________________________.

Question 67

The burden of proof in the American criminal court system is ___________________.

Question 68

Discuss the justification defenses of duress, self-defense, necessity, and entrapment.Describe a situation in which each defense may be used.

Question 69

Identify and discuss the four written sources of American criminal law.

Question 70

Explain the importance of the due process clause in the criminal justice system.