Deck 7: Victims and the Criminal Justice System: Cooperation and Conflict

Question 1

Intimidation can be directed against defendants, defense lawyers, and defense witnesses.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Victims' rights gained at the expense of offenders might include reducing options for early release from confinement.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The Code of Professional Responsibility that guides legal strategies prohibits any line of questioning intended solely to harass or maliciously harm a witness.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Often the lawyers who actually handle the prosecution of criminal cases and work with victims are the Assistant District Attorneys.

Question 5

Whether or not a teenager who gets arrested can be considered and treated as an adult by the criminal justice system is determined by constitutional authority at the federal level.

Question 6

According to the 1992 National Prosecutor Survey Program, 97% of all district attorney offices reported that they notified felony victims of the outcomes of their cases.

Question 7

Overcharging means filing a criminal indictment for an offense that is more serious than the available evidence might support.

Question 8

Police officials, other prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, community leaders, media, and interest groups can all affect a prosecutor's decision.

Question 9

The Eighth Amendment guarantees accused persons the right to a speedy trial.

Question 10

Prosecutors always put the interests of the victim above those of the government and their bureaucracy.

Question 11

Resolution of criminal matters through agreements made between Assistant District Attorneys and defense counsel is known as restitution.

Question 12

A stalling strategy has succeeded when the victim has to pay for private prosecution.

Question 13

Bedsheeting refers to the practice of charging a defendant with every applicable crime committed during a single criminal incident.

Question 14

Nationwide, almost 90% of victims of violent crimes faced the prospect that the person accused of harming them would be let out on bail in the 75 largest counties in 2009.

Question 15

A crime victim's right to be notified that a suspect is out on bail is an example of victims' rights at the expense of offenders.

Question 16

Cultural intimidation occurs when would-be complainants experience strong pressures from their own families and friends not to come forward and tell the police what has happened.

Question 17

Victims see their situations as unique events that deserve careful consideration and not as routine occurrences to be handled according to a formula sometimes referred to as a jurisdiction's going rate.

Question 18

The United States Supreme Court only hears cases on appeal from federal and state courts that raise important principles of constitutional law.

Question 19

Victims' rights gained at the expense of offenders support the principle of innocent until proven guilty.

Question 20

The burden of proof in a criminal case falls on the prosecution.

Question 21

In the 75 busiest urban U.S.counties in 2009, over what percentage of all felony convictions were secured by the accused admitting guilt, rather than by a jury's verdict or judge's decision?

A) 13
B) 25
C) 52
D) 95

Question 22

Prosecutors' offices can and should serve victims by doing which of the following?

A) Keeping them informed of court dates
B) Conveying the victim's views to the judge
C) Taking steps to protect their clients
D) Accomplishing all of these victim services

Question 23

Prosecutors may have difficulty balancing the interests of the government, their own bureaucracies, and their clients if they

A) see the case as a stepping stone in their career.
B) take a case where an employee of the state is the victim.
C) were formerly defense attorneys.
D) don't like the victim.

Question 24

A federal truth-in-sentencing law, passed in 1987 and adopted in most states, requires offenders to serve at least what percentage of their court-imposed sentences?

A) 65%
B) 70%
C) 85%
D) 90%

Question 25

To address the problems and needs of victims and witnesses, the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration funded which of the following for the first time during the mid-1970s.

A) Assistant District Attorney's offices
B) Official Bar Associations
C) Victim-Witness Assistance Projects
D) Public Defender's offices

Question 26

Which of the following does the Code of Professional Responsibility clearly prohibit defense attorneys from doing when cross-examining witnesses?

A) Resorting to theatrics and hyperbole to discredit damning testimony
B) Mounting a zealous defense to gain an acquittal or lenient sentence
C) Questioning meant only to harass or maliciously harm the witness
D) Impugning victim character or blaming victims for being harmed

Question 27

Measuring victim intimidation in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is very difficult, in part because

A) there is lack of agreement as to what constitutes intimidation versus simple pressure.
B) those intimidated from reporting may be unwilling to disclose to the interviewer.
C) the small remunerations provided to NCVS participants may bias their reporting.
D) the rates of nonreporting vary so widely across different crimes and over time.

Question 28

According to advocates, some rights that victims gain should come at the expense of which of the following?

A) Society in general
B) Justice system officials and agencies
C) Legislators and other law makers
D) Individuals who fail to report crimes

Question 29

When would-be complainants experience strong pressures from their own families and friends not to come forward and tell the police what has happened, they have experienced which of the following?

A) Cultural intimidation
B) Fear of reprisal
C) Amnestic pressure
D) False memory syndrome

Question 30

In which year was a national government committee first acknowledged the economic burdens for victims going to trial?

A) 1931
B) 1946
C) 1953
D) 1962

Question 31

In which of the following states was the nation's first juvenile court set up?

A) Illinois
B) Indiana
C) North Dakota
D) Florida

Question 32

A stalling strategy has succeeded when

A) the judge dismisses the charges.
B) a victim gives up and fails to appear in court.
C) the Assistant District Attorney drops the case.
D) the victim has to pay for a private prosecution.

Question 33

Which of the following was the first state to adopt a Child Victims' Bill of Rights?

A) Massachusetts
B) California
C) Vermont
D) Wisconsin

Question 34

Which of the following enables injured parties to directly convey to the judge (and the public) the extent of their suffering and their beliefs about what an appropriate sentence might be?

A) Allocution
B) Going rate
C) Bedsheeting
D) Plea bargaining

Question 35

Which of the following refers to the resolution of criminal matters through agreements made between Assistant District Attorneys and defense counsels?

A) Restitution
B) A plea negotiation
C) Reparations
D) A community service agreement

Question 36

In the criminal justice system, pledges, entitlements, privileges, benefits, options, practices, and opportunities for redress are commonly referred to as which of the following?

A) Just deserts
B) Prosecutorial bargains
C) Victims' rights
D) Plea deals of the hour

Question 37

Which of the following constitutional amendments guarantees accused persons the right to a speedy trial?

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

Question 38

Who among the following are the chief law enforcement officials within their jurisdictions?

A) Assistant District Attorneys
B) Judges
C) Defense attorneys
D) Prosecutors

Question 39

Intimidation can be directed against who among the following?

A) Defendants
B) Defense lawyers
C) Reluctant defense witnesses
D) All of the above participants can be intimidated.

Question 40

Which of the following refers to the variation among judges in the severity of punishment they mete out in comparable cases?

A) Sentence variation
B) Sentence disparity
C) Sentence discrimination
D) Sentence prejudice

Question 41

Who among the following have pieced together scattered research findings to develop a picture of which victims are more likely to be given the best treatment?

A) Criminologists
B) Victimologists
C) Chiefs of police
D) District Attorneys

Question 42

Explain the federal government's progression in assisting victims and other witnesses in a state criminal case.What are the ethical and constitutional concerns underlying the activities of Victim/Witness Assistance Programs?

Question 43

Among the following, with whom are crime victims more likely to have contacts?

A) County jail officials
B) State prison authorities
C) State parole authorities
D) County probation officers

Question 44

Which of the following types of crime victims are most likely to want parole boards to grant parole to convicts, but only with certain requirements as conditions of parole?

A) Victims who want offenders to receive the maximum punishment
B) Victims who want offenders to pay them back for what they took
C) Victims who want offenders to be treated and who want payback
D) Victims who want offenders to get treated for criminal behaviors

Question 45

Discuss the five most important actions by prosecutors to assist and serve crime victims, based on the material in this chapter.

Question 46

Why have parole boards recently been scrutinized and even criticized for releasing prisoners early? How does this compare to the historical origins of parole? Identify three reasons cited by correctional authorities to justify some early releases.Also identify three contrasting criticisms of parole made by prisoners' rights groups.What have these groups recommended as alternatives?

Question 47

Which of the following describes the court proceedings of prosecutors and defense attorneys each presenting their cases and cross-examining witnesses?

A) The adversary system
B) A cooperative system
C) The plea deals system
D) The "old boy" system

Question 48

Which constitutional amendment guarantees equal protection under the law?

A) Fifth Amendment
B) Sixth Amendment
C) Fourth Amendment
D) Fourteenth Amendment

Question 49

On rare occasions, a case involving a crime victim raises significant legal issues that have not yet been addressed and resolved by some earlier judicial ruling.Identify and discuss two recent Supreme Court decisions and their direct effects on crime victims.

Question 50

Corrections officials include jail and prison wardens and guards, parole boards, and probation and parole officers.Accordingly, crime victims seek the cooperation of these professionals but often find themselves in conflict with them.Identify and discuss two of the issues over which crime victims and corrections personnel are most likely to have conflict.