Deck 15: Legal Issues and the Death Penalty

Question 1

Which 1948 Supreme Court decision supported the hands-off doctrine?

A) Ruffin v. the Commonwealth of Virginia
B) Holt v. Sarver
C) Cooper v. Pate
D) Price v. Johnston

Answer 1

Price v. Johnston

Question 2

Which of the following is a reason that the Supreme Court cited in Ruffin v. Commonwealth of Virginia for what became known as the hands-off doctrine?

A) the Court's expertise in corrections and showing deference to the judgment of prison administrators
B) the status of American prisons as the most fair and efficiently run such institutions in the world
C) the need for separation of powers between the judicial and the legislative branches of government
D) a concern that accepting prisoner rights cases would flood the courts with prisoner lawsuits

Answer 2

a concern that accepting prisoner rights cases would flood the courts with prisoner lawsuits

Question 3

Which Supreme Court decision effectively ended the hands-off doctrine?

A) Ruffin v. the Commonwealth of Virginia
B) Bell v. Wolfish
C) Cooper v. Pate
D) Pell v. Procunier

Answer 3

Cooper v. Pate

Question 4

What was the decision in the 1970 Supreme Court case of Gittlemacker v. Prasse?

A) Muslim inmates are allowed to have a special meal to end Ramadan.
B) It is impractical to provide every inmate a member of the clergy.
C) Prison officials do not have to rearrange inmate work schedules to allow a Muslim inmate to attend Friday worship.
D) Jewish inmates must be provided kosher food as a part of the prison menu.

Question 5

In which 1979 case did the Supreme Court hold that there is no one-person, one-cell guarantee within a prison?

A) Johnson v. Phelan
B) Bell v. Wolfish
C) Holt v. Sarver
D) Gregg v. Georgia

Question 6

What did the Supreme Court develop in the 1983 Solem v. Helm decision?

A) punitive intent standard
B) hands-off doctrine
C) test of proportionality
D) balancing test

Question 7

What did the Supreme Court decide in Rhodes v. Chapman?

A) that uncomfortable prison conditions are a part of the penalty for criminal behavior
B) that double-celling does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment
C) that double-celling does constitute cruel and unusual punishment
D) that inmates cannot sue for "unnecessary or wanton pain"

Question 8

In which 1972 case did the Supreme Court hold that inmates be given a "reasonable opportunity" to practice their religion?

A) Kahane v. Carlson
B) Hamilton v. Schriro
C) Theriault v. Silber
D) Cruz v. Beto

Question 9

In which 1977 case did the Supreme Court disagree to adding steak and wine on the prison menu for inmates who practiced the new religion of the Church of the New Song (CONS)?

A) O'Lone v. Estate of Shabazz
B) Hamilton v. Schriro
C) Cruz v. Beto
D) Theriault v. Silber

Question 10

In which 1976 case did the Supreme Court determine that prison officials have a duty to provide medical treatment to inmates since inmates are dependent on them to provide for their medical needs?

A) Estelle v. Gamble
B) Ramos v. Lamm
C) Holt v. Sarver
D) Fernandez v. United States

Question 11

Which constitutional amendment is most related to the necessity of prison officials' control over the importation of dangerous contraband?

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

Question 12

In which 1974 case did the Supreme Court set forth that inmates had some due process rights when facing a prison disciplinary hearing?

A) Grummet v. Rushen
B) Bell v. Wolfish
C) Wolff v. McDonnell
D) Morrissey v. Brewer

Question 13

Which of the following is an inmate due process right in the area of prison disciplinary hearings?

A) the right to have at least one week to prepare a defense
B) the right to have a lawyer present when the circumstances of the case are complex or if the prisoner is illiterate
C) the right to receive advance written notice of the alleged infraction
D) the right to a jury trial

Question 14

Which of the following is one of the factors that have led to the recent reduction in the number of inmate lawsuits?

A) The courts have moved back toward the earlier hands-off doctrine.
B) Congress has made it easier for inmates to file successful suits against correctional agencies.
C) Less Supreme Court decisions appear to support prison administrators.
D) Declining law school enrollments have led to fewer attorneys being available to take on inmates' cases.

Question 15

When was the last public execution in the United States held?

A) 1936
B) 1880
C) 1968
D) 1902

Question 16

Which of the following is an element of a state's death penalty that must exist in order to be constitutional, according to the Supreme Court's decision in Gregg v. Georgia?

A) During sentencing, the jury will hear only evidence regarding the crime's aggravating circumstances.
B) The death penalty can be considered for all cases in which violence occurred.
C) The trial must have a stage to determine guilt and a stage to consider the sentence.
D) Appeal and review of a death sentence is dependent upon the crime committed.

Question 17

Which state has the death penalty?

A) Georgia
B) New Jersey
C) Michigan
D) West Virginia

Question 18

In which 2002 case did the Supreme Court determine that executions of mentally retarded criminals were "cruel and unusual" punishment?

A) Penry v. Lynaugh
B) Atkins v. Virginia
C) Sanford v. Kentucky
D) Ford v. Wainwright

Question 19

What did the Supreme Court decide in Roper v. Simmons?

A) The mentally ill can be executed if they are on antipsychotic medication.
B) Offenders who are under 18 when their crimes are committed cannot be executed until they turn 21.
C) Offenders cannot be executed for the crime of rape.
D) Offenders who are under 18 when their crimes are committed cannot be executed.

Question 20

What is a common serious concern regarding continuing the death penalty?

A) cost of the lethal injection drug
B) risk of a condemned inmate surviving the execution
C) the potential for error
D) increased risk of juror suicide

Question 21

The number of inmates filing suits against correctional agencies or prison staff has dropped in the last decade.

Question 22

Inmates lose all of their citizenship rights once they enter prison.

Question 23

Inmates are not allowed to solicit other inmates to join an inmate union and have union meetings.

Question 24

Inmates can only receive books and magazines directly from the publisher.

Question 25

The rights of inmates confined in correctional institutions have always been considered by the courts.

Question 26

Inmates do not have an expectation of privacy while in prison.

Question 27

Correctional agencies generally use same-sex staff to conduct searches, unless in an emergency.

Question 28

Prisons are legally required to provide sufficient legal materials to enable inmates to conduct legal research in order to have reasonable access to the courts.

Question 29

The Violent Crime Control Act of 1994 halted inmate lawsuits.

Question 30

The early North American colonies and England used capital punishment as a penalty only for murder.

Question 31

Furman v. Georgia effectively constituted a ban on capital punishment in the United States.

Question 32

Most prisons provide full due process rights for handling inmate discipline.

Question 33

Most death row inmates remain in their cells most of the time, as well as recreate and do almost everything by themselves.

Question 34

Conflict exists between some medical groups that oppose the use of licensed medical personnel to administer life-ending drugs and state requirements that such medical personnel oversee executions.

Question 35

Minorities are on death row at a rate well below their representation in the U.S. population.

Question 36

Courts use the totality-of-conditions test to determine whether the overall conditions within a prison constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

Question 37

In Baze et al. v. Rees, the Supreme Court stated that the lethal injection drug protocol for executions was unconstitutional.

Question 38

In recent years, public support for the death penalty appears to be getting stronger.

Question 39

According to the ________-of-the-state doctrine, inmates had no rights that were not granted them by the state.

Question 40

________ are the decisions of courts that come before and are therefore binding on later decisions of courts within the same jurisdiction.

Question 41

The source of all inmate rights is the ________ of the United States.

Question 42

The ________ and the Fourteenth Amendments are the primary amendments that are used as a basis of lawsuits by prison inmates.

Question 43

The finding that prison inmates retain those First Amendment rights that are not inconsistent with their status as prisoner or with legitimate penological objectives is the ________ test.

Question 44

The ________ Rights Act of 1871 guaranteed the rights of freed slaves and provided access to federal courts for violations of the act.

Question 45

Section ________ of the Civil Rights Act prohibits any person acting under the color of any statute, ordinance, or regulation from depriving another of his or her constitutional rights.

Question 46

The Americans with ________ Act prohibits any entity from discriminating against an individual with a disability in regard to employment, public services and transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications services.

Question 47

The ________ of conditions test examines the aggregate of circumstances in a prison to determine whether cruel and unusual conditions exist.

Question 48

Prison conditions are not unconstitutional unless prison administrators show ________ indifference toward inmates' basic needs.

Question 49

According to the ________ standards test, medical care for inmates must be reasonably commensurate with medical care they would receive if not imprisoned.

Question 50

________ trials are used in capital cases, with guilt first established at a traditional trial and, if found guilty, a second stage of sentencing considers between death or life imprisonment.

Question 51

The ________ Amendment states that no cruel or unusual punishment may be inflicted.

Question 52

The most frequently used method of execution is lethal ________.

Question 53

Match the Supreme Court case with the ruling.

-Price v. Johnston

A) Punitive intent standard
B) Reasonable sensitivity standard
C) Test of proportionality
D) Inmates can sue prison officials for violation of rights
E) Part of imprisonment involves loss of freedom

Question 54

Match the Supreme Court case with the ruling.

-Cooper v. Pate

A) Punitive intent standard
B) Reasonable sensitivity standard
C) Test of proportionality
D) Inmates can sue prison officials for violation of rights
E) Part of imprisonment involves loss of freedom

Question 55

Match the Supreme Court case with the ruling.

-Bell v. Wolfish

A) Punitive intent standard
B) Reasonable sensitivity standard
C) Test of proportionality
D) Inmates can sue prison officials for violation of rights
E) Part of imprisonment involves loss of freedom

Question 56

Match the Supreme Court case with the ruling.

-Solem v. Helm

A) Punitive intent standard
B) Reasonable sensitivity standard
C) Test of proportionality
D) Inmates can sue prison officials for violation of rights
E) Part of imprisonment involves loss of freedom

Question 57

Match the Supreme Court case with the ruling.

-Holt v. Sarver

A) Punitive intent standard
B) Reasonable sensitivity standard
C) Test of proportionality
D) Inmates can sue prison officials for violation of rights
E) Part of imprisonment involves loss of freedom

Question 58

Explain the importance of Section 1983 for inmates.

Question 59

Discuss what, if any, expectation of privacy inmates can have regarding their bodies.

Question 60

In your opinion, is Rhodes v. Chapman an appropriate ruling in regard to inmate constitutional rights?

Question 61

Discuss the importance of Cooper v. Pate on inmate religious rights.