Deck 6: The Juvenile Court

Question 1

Thomas F. Geraghty argues that ________.

A) a "get-tough" attitude is part of the problem with the future of juvenile court
B) the future of the juvenile court is very secure
C) the juvenile court should be abolished
D) adult courts can easily adapt to the needs of juveniles

Answer 1

a "get-tough" attitude is part of the problem with the future of juvenile court

Question 2

In which case did the Court first reason that "preponderance of evidence" is NOT a sufficient basis for a decision when youths are charged with acts that would be criminal if committed by adults?

A) McKeiver v. Pennsylvania
B) In re Winship
C) In re Gault
D) Kent v. United States

Answer 2

In re Winship

Question 3

The 2001 evaluation of the juvenile Court Improvement Program showed which of the following results?

A) an increase in time to permanency
B) an increase in the overall duration of cases
C) a decrease in the number of continuances granted
D) an increase in the number of out-of-home placements of children

Answer 3

a decrease in the number of continuances granted

Question 4

As a condition for states to continue receiving federal funding for juvenile justice programs, the JJDP Act required that ________.

A) the goals of permanence, well-being, and safety for children in foster care be emphasized
B) youths be subject to relatively specific statutes applying exclusively to juvenile behavior
C) youthful behavior that would not be a chargeable offense if committed by an adult be removed from the juvenile court's jurisdiction
D) status offenders be kept separate from delinquents in secure detention and institutionalization

Question 5

Who often hears juvenile cases in smaller cities?

A) parole officers
B) prosecutors
C) probation officers
D) judges of adult courts

Question 6

Which of the following is typically part of a circuit, district, county, superior, common pleas, probate, or municipal court?

A) private attorneys
B) general assembly
C) juvenile courts
D) probate commissioner assistant

Question 7

Which of the following would be considered inaccurate about informal sanctions?

A) Informal sanctions are voluntary.
B) Informal handling is more likely to take place in larger jurisdictions than in smaller ones.
C) Informal handling has become less common but still occurs in a large number of cases.
D) About half of the delinquency cases are handled informally.

Question 8

Which option of the intake process requires the child to agree to fulfill certain conditions in spite of the fact that he or she has not been found guilty?

A) consent decree
B) informal adjustment
C) petition
D) informal probation

Question 9

Which of the following would be an inaccurate statement about plea-bargaining?

A) Few guidelines exist to help direct prosecutors and defense attorneys in plea-bargaining.
B) A plea-bargain is a deal made between the defense attorney and the victim.
C) Plea-bargaining is increasingly emerging as an important issue in juvenile justice.
D) Critics of plea-bargaining are concerned with its fairness.

Question 10

Plea bargaining involves ________.

A) maintaining all original charges
B) a conference between the defense and the victim
C) the defendant pleading guilty to a lesser offense
D) an adjudication hearing

Question 11

Procedures used during the adjudicatory hearings for juveniles today are ________.

A) equivalent to sentencing hearings in adult courts
B) more formal than those in the adult courts
C) more likely to be open to the public now than they were in the past
D) the same in some jurisdictions today as they were in the past

Question 12

A judge may enter a predisposition at the time of accepting a plea bargain in what is called a(n) ________ hearing.

A) mandatory
B) dispositional
C) adjudicatory
D) sequential

Question 13

An advantage of a predisposition report is ________.

A) that a judge can base his or her sentence on more complete information
B) that it eliminates judicial bias totally
C) that it has the same evidentiary rules that are used in the single adjudicatory hearing
D) that a judge can decide upon guilt or innocence and impose a sentence at the same time

Question 14

The most important formal factors that influence decision-making at the dispositional stage are ________.

A) the social and racial background of the offender
B) the recommendation from the probation officer and information from the social study investigation
C) the presence or absence of defense counsel
D) the values and philosophy of the judge

Question 15

Youths most likely to be assigned to outpatient psychiatric therapy are ________.

A) lower class youths
B) status offenders
C) middle class youths
D) racial minorities

Question 16

Which of the following dispositions is the judge not allow to impose on a juvenile without a second opinion from the appropriate professional?

A) day treatment program
B) outpatient psychiatric therapy
C) foster home placement
D) institutionalization in a mental hospital

Question 17

Which is the most widely used disposition?

A) probation
B) dismissal
C) restitution
D) community-based residential programs

Question 18

What was officially launched in 1971 by a national planning committee under the chairmanship of Judge Irving R. Kaufman?

A) the anti-tough project standards
B) comprehensive guidelines for juvenile offenders basing sentences on the seriousness of the crimes
C) the Boston Boys and Girls Club
D) statutes of last resort

Question 19

Why did the commission attempt to limit the discretion of juvenile judges and to make them accountable for their decisions?

A) lack of arbitrariness
B) fear of legal actions
C) disparity in juvenile sentencing
D) get-tough backlash

Question 20

By the ________, nearly every state had enacted mandatory sentences for violent and repetitive juvenile offenders.

A) 1980s
B) 1960s
C) 1970s
D) 1990s

Question 21

Juveniles can receive jury trials in some jurisdictions.

Question 22

Thomas Geraghty believes that criminal courts will quickly adapt to the special needs of juveniles.

Question 23

Status offenders can be processed only through the juvenile justice system and cannot be handled separately from felons and misdemeanants.

Question 24

Offenders can be charged with a felony or misdemeanor under federal, state, and local statutes.

Question 25

The structure of juvenile courts is the same everywhere.

Question 26

A defense attorney is not an adversarial advocate for a child.

Question 27

The probation officer is expected to be a treatment agent as well as an agent of social control.

Question 28

Bail is a form of punishment.

Question 29

Critics of plea bargaining are concerned that truly violent and dangerous youths may be able to negotiate a release back into the community.

Question 30

The prosecutor is not allowed to drop charges to get a defendant to agree to a plea bargain.

Question 31

States generally spell out the requirements for juvenile court proceedings.

Question 32

If a judge accepts a plea bargain, the judge will issue a predisposition at that time, a process called a sequential hearing.

Question 33

A dispositional hearing requires "proof beyond a reasonable doubt."

Question 34

Recommendations of a probation officer are usually followed by a juvenile judge.

Question 35

Outpatient therapy is a treatment oriented decision and is often reserved for middle-class youths to keep them from being sent to "unfitting"placements.

Question 36

The Juvenile Justice Standards Project calls for indeterminate sentences.

Question 37

A youth of any age can be confined up to forty years in Texas.

Question 38

The In re Gault decision answered in the affirmative the question of whether a juvenile has the right to due process safeguards during ________.

Question 39

The Supreme Court ruled in the In re Winship case that juveniles are entitled to proof beyond a ________ doubt.

Question 40

Youths known to both the child welfare system and the juvenile justice system are frequently referred to as ________ youth.

Question 41

The deinstitutionalization of ________ offenders has received increased acceptance in the past couple of decades.

Question 42

Juvenile courts today are affected by a movement toward a single trial ________.

Question 43

Juveniles in smaller cities and rural areas are often tried by judges of the ________ courts.

Question 44

An ________ officer assesses the needs of youths, writes reports, and supervises youths in both probation and aftercare in some jurisdictions.

Question 45

The ________ process screens cases to determine whether children need the help of the juvenile court.

Question 46

Critics of plea bargaining are primarily concerned with its ________.

Question 47

A plea bargain is a deal made between the ________ and the defense attorney.

Question 48

A judge who accepts a plea bargain moves immediately to a ________ hearing.

Question 49

Youths are sent to juvenile courts today based on ________ petitions.

Question 50

The ________ report contains a description of the referral incident as well as the youth's past conduct, prior contacts with the police and courts, and family environment and relationships.

Question 51

The most disturbing informal factor that may influence judicial decisions relates to the social and ________ background of the youth.

Question 52

State ________ schools usually are reserved for youths who have committed serious offenses.

Question 53

Group homes are a type of community-based ________ program.

Question 54

One of the goals of the Juvenile Justice Standards project was to ________ the discretion of judges.

Question 55

The belief that ________ in juvenile sentencing must end was one of the fundamental thrusts of the recommended standards.

Question 56

Match each term with its description.

-McKeiver v. Pennsylvania (1971)

A) Minimum age for death penalty is set at 16.
B) Jury trials are not constitutionally required
C) Minimum age for death penalty is set at 18.
D) Age should be a mitigating factor on death penalty

Question 57

Match each term with its description.

-Eddings v. Oklahoma (1982)

A) Minimum age for death penalty is set at 16.
B) Jury trials are not constitutionally required
C) Minimum age for death penalty is set at 18.
D) Age should be a mitigating factor on death penalty

Question 58

Match each term with its description.

-Stanford v. Kentucky (1989)

A) Minimum age for death penalty is set at 16.
B) Jury trials are not constitutionally required
C) Minimum age for death penalty is set at 18.
D) Age should be a mitigating factor on death penalty

Question 59

Match each term with its description.

-Roper v. Simmons (2005)

A) Minimum age for death penalty is set at 16.
B) Jury trials are not constitutionally required
C) Minimum age for death penalty is set at 18.
D) Age should be a mitigating factor on death penalty

Question 60

Match each term with its description.

-Probation officer

A) Expected to protect society
B) Can be adversarial advocate for child
C) Acts as an intake officer
D) Some states use as primary hearing officer

Question 61

Match each term with its description.

-Prosecutor

A) Expected to protect society
B) Can be adversarial advocate for child
C) Acts as an intake officer
D) Some states use as primary hearing officer

Question 62

Match each term with its description.

-Referee

A) Expected to protect society
B) Can be adversarial advocate for child
C) Acts as an intake officer
D) Some states use as primary hearing officer

Question 63

Match each term with its description.

-Defense Attorney

A) Expected to protect society
B) Can be adversarial advocate for child
C) Acts as an intake officer
D) Some states use as primary hearing officer

Question 64

Match each term with its description.

-Detention hearing

A) This hearing is the equivalent to an adult trial
B) The decision to detain is made at this hearing
C) This hearing is the equivalent to the adult sentencing hearing

Question 65

Match each term with its description.

-Adjudication hearing

A) This hearing is the equivalent to an adult trial
B) The decision to detain is made at this hearing
C) This hearing is the equivalent to the adult sentencing hearing

Question 66

Match each term with its description.

-Disposition hearing

A) This hearing is the equivalent to an adult trial
B) The decision to detain is made at this hearing
C) This hearing is the equivalent to the adult sentencing hearing

Question 67

Describe what a normal written predisposition report contains?

Question 68

Describe the two types of disposition hearings and explain why they are separate hearings?

Question 69

If both a juvenile's attorney and the prosecutor agree upon a plea bargain, what are the next steps in the court process?

Question 70

An uneducated friend tells you he just finished with a hearing in juvenile court. You ask him what the hearing was, but he didn't know what it was called. You ask him to describe what happened in the hearing. He tells you that he remembers one of the people saying something about hearsay and how it wasn't allowed. He also remembered something said about cross-examination. Based on this information, what kind of hearing did your uneducated friend likely attend?

Question 71

Plea bargaining is a controversial issue. Evaluate the pros and cons and choose if you support it or not and explain your reasoning.