Deck 9: Courts and Pretrial Processes.

Question 1

Most felony arrests are decided by a​

A) ​dismissal.
B) ​rejection at screening.
C) ​guilty plea.
D) ​conviction at jury trial.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In the United States,the judicial system operates according to a(n)_______ system of justice.

A) ​adversarial
B) ​inquisitorial
C) ​civil law
D) ​authoritarian

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A court-appointed special advocate is someone who​

A) ​serves jury duty.
B) ​acts as a judge in special courts.
C) ​has no official legal training.
D) ​must complete law school before serving.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following statement is true regarding work as a judge?​

A) ​Judges usually have very low caseloads.
B) ​The typical judge is a white female.
C) ​All judges must have doctoral degrees to sit on the bench.
D) ​Judges are usually able to set their own schedules and work hours.

Question 5

Which of the following is not a goal of a unified court system?​

A) ​Eliminating overlapping boundaries
B) ​Creating a hierarchical court structure
C) ​Having courts funded by local government
D) ​Creating a centralized court structure

Question 6

U.S.district courts exist​

A) ​in only the 10 largest states.
B) ​to handle all criminal cases that arise in the country.
C) ​to share appellate responsibilities with state supreme courts.
D) ​to handle trial-level federal cases.

Question 7

According to the diagram,which two courts can appeal directly to the Supreme Court of the United States?
​

A) ​District courts and courts of limited jurisdiction
B) ​Circuit courts of appeals and trial courts of general jurisdiction
C) ​Circuit courts of appeals and appellate courts of last resort
D) ​Intermediate courts of appeals and district courts

Question 8

What is the main purpose of drug courts?​

A) ​To mete out harsh punishments to drug offenders
B) ​To teach children about the dangers of drug use
C) ​To bring "drug kingpins" to trial
D) ​To help drug offenders overcome their addictions

Question 9

Why would a local court want to implement a centralized court administration?​

A) ​It would avoid problems with jurisdiction.
B) ​It would reduce caseloads.
C) ​It would prevent the political party in power from using those positions as "rewards."
D) ​It would help to eliminate gender and racial bias in hiring.

Question 10

The court appearance of an accused person at which the charges are read is called a(n)​

A) ​probable cause hearing.
B) ​arraignment.
C) ​preponderance of the evidence.
D) ​reasonable doubt appearance.

Question 11

According to Cole and Smith,what is the biggest barrier to effective justice for state courts?​

A) ​Lack of qualified judges
B) ​Too few courthouses
C) ​Not enough police officers
D) ​The fragmented structure of the judicial system

Question 12

According to the figure,why is Georgia considered to have an "unreformed" court structure?​
​

A) ​It has neither reduced the number of courts nor standardized their names.
B) ​It has fewer trial courts of limited jurisdiction than does Alaska.
C) ​It uses a nonstandard name for the appellate courts.
D) ​It uses a nonstandard name for the trial courts of general jurisdiction.

Question 13

In which role does the judge spend significant amounts of time behind closed doors talking to prosecutors and defense attorneys?​

A) ​Adjudicator
B) ​Administrator
C) ​Negotiator
D) ​Electoral candidate

Question 14

The criterion for deciding whether evidence is strong enough to uphold an arrest is called​

A) ​probable cause.
B) ​arraignment
C) ​preponderance of the evidence.
D) ​reasonable doubt.

Question 15

Which types of cases are heard in federal courts?​

A) ​Only criminal cases
B) ​Only civil cases
C) ​Both criminal and civil cases
D) ​Only murder cases

Question 16

Which of the following correctly lists the three levels of state courts?

A) ​Appellate, district, limited jurisdictional
B) ​Appellate, general jurisdiction, limited jurisdiction
C) ​Limited jurisdiction, commercial, appellate
D) ​General jurisdiction, limited jurisdiction, district

Question 17

An application to a court requesting that an order be issued to bring about a specified action is called a​

A) ​dismissal.
B) ​rejection at screening
C) ​guilty plea.
D) ​motion.

Question 18

Which of the following is the most likely to occur when a judge assumes the bench?​

A) ​Will base decisions on factors other than the law
B) ​Will take a pay cut in order to assume a position on the bench
C) ​Will make more money than the highest-paid private attorneys
D) ​Will go straight from law school directly into a judging career

Question 19

Which of the following statements best describes the method of judicial "nonpartisan election"?​

A) ​Judges are appointed by the governor.
B) ​Judges are selected by the legislator.
C) ​Judges are first appointed by a commission, then voters approve the appointment later.
D) ​Judges run for election and are not endorsed by political parties.

Question 20

Which of the following is not a responsibility performed by judges?​

A) ​Setting bail
B) ​Issuing search warrants
C) ​Making arrests
D) ​Scheduling hearings

Question 21

Which of the following is not a factor in how the judge determines the amount of the bail?​

A) ​Seriousness of the crime
B) ​Defendant's prior record
C) ​Defendant's family responsibilities
D) ​Admissibility of evidence gathered by the police

Question 22

Prospective judges receive special training in law school to become professional judges in an _______________.

Question 23

Which of the following is true about the bail system?​

A) ​Bail is sometimes set before the defendant has an attorney.
B) ​Bail bondspersons cannot deny bail to defendants if they can pay at least 10% of the entire bail amount.
C) ​Police officers are never allowed to influence the bail decision.
D) ​Bail bondspersons are nonprofit employees of the state.

Question 24

Upon which of the following principles should bail decisions be made?​

A) ​Accused offenders are entitled to release on their own recognizance.
B) ​Nonfinancial alternatives to bail should be avoided at all costs.
C) ​Reasons for bail decisions must not be made known to the parties involved.
D) ​Review of bail determinations can be made sporadically.

Question 25

A problem with state courts is the overlapping and conflicting____________________.

Question 26

In 1984,Congress passed the Bail Reform Act.This legislation authorized the use of

A) ​citations.
B) ​10% cash bail.
C) ​release on recognizance.
D) ​preventive detention.

Question 27

When judges work with attorneys outside of the public view,they are usually taking on the role of ____________________.

Question 28

The ____________________ system involves an active judge.

Question 29

In a(n)__________________,judges are openly endorsed by political parties.

Question 30

The practice by which judges grant releases if the defendant is employed and has roots in the community is called​

A) ​citation.
B) ​preventive detention.
C) ​release on recognizance.
D) ​preventive assumption.

Question 31

Judges have three major roles:adjudicator,negotiator,and _________.

Question 32

The facts upholding the belief that a crime has been committed constitute ____________________.

Question 33

In the case of United States v.Salerno and Cafero (1987),the Supreme Court decided that the use of preventive detention​

A) ​is constitutional.
B) ​violates offenders' constitutional rights.
C) ​is detrimental to offenders at trial.
D) ​is racially biased.

Question 34

Courts that do not try criminal cases but hear appeals are called ____________________ courts.

Question 35

When judges take on the role of ____________________,they are concerned with how their courtroom is running.

Question 36

Which statement best reflects valid criticism of the use of preventive detention?​

A) ​It always violates the offender's First Amendment rights.
B) ​It is always used unfairly, particularly for female offenders.
C) ​It is unfair to incarcerate someone when we assume all offenders are innocent until proven guilty.
D) ​The costs should not be considered.

Question 37

What have been referred to as the "ultimate ghetto"?​

A) ​American prisons
B) ​American jails
C) ​American courtrooms
D) ​American police departments

Question 38

The ____________________ makes the decision about whether to file charges for particular crimes and offenders.

Question 39

The United States has a ____________________ court system with separate federal and state court systems.

Question 40

When a judge oversees the "contest" between the defense attorney and the prosecutor,he or she has taken on the role of ____________________.

Question 41

Few efforts have been made to reform state courts in the twentieth century.

Question 42

All courts in the United States use a basic three-tiered structure.

Question 43

Bail will be _________ if the defendant does not appear in court.

Question 44

Most criminal cases are heard at the federal level.

Question 45

At the heart of reform of state courts is the goal of making the process more complex.

Question 46

The American legal system is based on a passive judge and jury seeking to find the truth as attorneys for each side argue vigorously.

Question 47

State courts have huge caseloads.

Question 48

Judges selected based on merit must eventually face public election.

Question 49

The amount of money specified by a judge to be paid as a condition of pretrial release is called ____________________.

Question 50

The geographic territory that defines a court's authority is called jurisdiction.

Question 51

Trial courts of limited jurisdiction have jurisdiction over all offenses,including felonies and appeals.

Question 52

It is easy for a poor person with little education to become a judge.

Question 53

The fragmented structure of state courts is the biggest barrier to effective justice.

Question 54

Defendants state their pleas (guilty or not guilty)at the ____________________.

Question 55

Judges have a variety of roles within the judicial system.

Question 56

After a suspect is arrested,he or she cannot be deprived of freedom until guilt is proven.

Question 57

The United States has a dual court system.

Question 58

The occupation of "bail bondsman" is a job unique to the United States.

Question 59

Trial courts of general jurisdiction handle only misdemeanors and lawsuits for small amounts of money.

Question 60

Appellate courts do not try criminal cases.

Question 61

Bail is typically determined within three hours after the arrest.

Question 62

Most felony cases are disposed of by dismissals.

Question 63

__________ had fewer opportunities to enter the legal profession prior to the 1960s and thus were seldom considered for judgeships.

A) ​Women
B) ​Men
C) ​The elderly
D) ​College-educated men and women

Question 64

Judges are typically white men with strong political connections.Do you see any problems with this in terms of fairness in sentencing?​

Question 65

The criterion for deciding if evidence is strong enough to uphold an arrest is called probable cause.

Question 66

Preliminary hearings provide an opportunity for defense attorneys to challenge the prosecution's evidence and make ________ to the court requesting that an order be issued to bring about a specified action.

A) ​objections
B) ​rulings
C) ​motions
D) ​sentences

Question 67

Should state judges be selected through elections? Why or why not?​

Question 68

The bail bondsperson is a nonprofit actor within the criminal justice system.

Question 69

What is one criticism of the bail system in the United States? How might you recommend that this problem be fixed?​

Question 70

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys can bring pretrial motions in court proceedings.

Question 71

Trial courts of _________ jurisdiction are criminal courts with jurisdiction over all offenses,including felonies.

A) ​general
B) ​limited
C) ​appellate
D) ​specific

Question 72

Judges have an enormous amount of discretion in making decisions about pretrial detention.In your opinion,is this harmful or helpful for defendants? Be sure to support your answer with facts from class and the textbook.

Question 73

What impacts do budget cuts have on the courts?​

Question 74

Why is it important that states develop standardized court structures?​

Question 75

As __________,all judges must deal with political actors such as county commissioners,legislators,and members of the state executive bureaucracy.

A) ​negotiators
B) ​adjudicators
C) ​administrators
D) ​enforcers

Question 76

The bail system discriminates against poor people.

Question 77

___________ is designed to remove politics from the selection of judges and to allow the voters to unseat judges.

A) ​Partisan election
B) ​Merit selection
C) ​Nonpartisan election
D) ​Community endorsement

Question 78

The Eighth Amendment to the U.S.Constitution forbids the use of excessive bail.

Question 79

The state court system is highly fragmented.Which of the following is not a solution to create a united court system?​

A) ​Eliminating overlapping and conflicting jurisdictional boundaries
B) ​Creating a hierarchical and centralized court structure with a chief justice
C) ​Having the courts funded by state government
D) ​Joining both civil and criminal courts together

Question 80

In many jurisdictions,judges are elected by the public.These elections are rarely publicized by the media.What does this imply for the election of judges? Is this a fair method for selecting judges in the United States?​