Deck 9: The Ethics of Criminal Justice Policy Making

Question 1

Which of the following is not one of Reamer's (1986)three grounds for policy making?

A)ideological
B)contingent
C)ethical
D)empirical

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The association between crime,minorities,and criminal justice policy making is underpinned by a substantial body of research that reveals that ______.

A)negative racial stereotypes and collective racial resentment are positively correlated with polices favoring punitiveness
B)negative racial stereotypes and collective racial resentment are negatively correlated with policies favoring punitiveness
C)racial and ethnic minorities are responsible for a substantial amount of violent crime therefore creating policies favoring punitiveness
D)racial and ethnic minorities are responsible for a substantial amount of property and drug crime therefore creating policies favoring punitiveness

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Cohen (1972)described ______ in terms of the emergence of a condition,event,or group of persons that becomes defined as a threat to the values and interests of
Society.

A)defining goals
B)social movements
C)moral panics
D)ideological grounds

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The rush to incarcerate has increase the rate of imprisonment from ______ per 100,000 in 1979 to ______ per 100,000 for U.S.residents of all ages in 2016.

A)220; 612
B)230; 612
C)230; 450
D)220; 478

Question 5

Federally funded "justice reinvestment" initiatives were enacted to improve state crime policies to reduce mass incarceration.Why do scholars think that U.S.
Incarceration rates have been largely unaffected?

A)Some states failed to adopt any policies or put money saved towards reinvestment
B)It was easier for states to focus efforts on nonviolent offenders and parole and probation violations,ignoring other classes of offenders
C)States have expanded sentences of life without parole while easing up on drug and non-violent offenders
D)all of these

Question 6

Morality policies share which of the following common features?

A)They are driven by public opinion.
B)They are driven by political concerns of prosecutors.
C)They are sometimes driven by inmates.
D)none of these

Question 7

Examples of moral panics include ______.

A)condemnation of pedophiles
B)enactment of mandatory minimum legislation
C)research on coercion of inmates
D)both condemnation of pedophiles and enactment of mandatory minimum legislation

Question 8

Nearly 2.5% of all black males living in the U.S were incarcerated on December 31, 2016,and black males from 18 to 19 were ______ times more likely to be imprisoned
Than white males of the same age.

A)two
B)three
C)seven
D)11

Question 9

Policy making on ethical grounds requires a calculated,philosophical analysis of the morality upon which the policy is based.This is not true for public policy making on
______ grounds.

A)due process
B)cost-benefit
C)political
D)ideological

Question 10

Researchers have identified the ideology of ______ as fostering punitive punishment policies.

A)punishment
B)neoliberalism
C)neolithical
D)fear

Question 11

______ have unlimited discretion to incarcerate and to act in concert with punitive local public opinion because they do not have to attend to the ultimate cost of offenders' stay in prisons.Local counties do not pay for state prisons; they are paid for by individuals' federal tax dollars.

A)Local Congressmen and Congresswomen
B)State Senators
C)Prosecutors and judges
D)All of these

Question 12

Tong (1986)explains that cost-benefit analysis comprises all of the following stages except ______.

A)social movements
B)defining goals
C)philosophical analysis
D)none of these

Question 13

In formulating criminal justice policy on issues of morality policy making,policy makers should ______,

A)act ethically
B)undertake formal policy analysis
C)avoid promoting ad hoc,arbitrary and irrational policy solutions
D)all of these

Question 14

Aviram (2015)traces concern about correctional costs to the financial crisis of______,when the country went into recession.

A)2002
B)2004
C)2006
D)2008

Question 15

What did Tonry (2011)identify as a major precipitator of the severity of modern criminal justice policies and the unfair burdens they place on Black Americans?

A)Jim Crow Laws
B)Southern Policy Laws
C)Southern Strategy
D)Black Laws

Question 16

Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994)stressed the level of popular participation in moral panics and believed they are founded on genuine public concern,which is picked up
And promoted by the media.This is known as the ______ model.

A)policy implication
B)justice
C)elite-engineered
D)grassroots

Question 17

Unethical legislation and policies can sometimes be the result of a moral panic.A "moral panic" is ______.

A)an irrational and exaggerated response by the public to a perceived problem
B)a public over-reaction caused by outdated public morals
C)when a small group of legislators panic and force through unethical legislation
D)when an individual legislator or policy maker over-reacts to a problem

Question 18

Which of Reamer's (1986)grounds relies on conclusions drawn from an analysis of what is "right and wrong" or "good and bad" in a moral sense?

A)ideological
B)contingent
C)ethical
D)empirical

Question 19

States have tended to follow the U.S.Sentencing Commission guidelines,which are currently ______ and which,until recently,set very lengthy sentences.

A)mandatory
B)under appeal
C)only advisory
D)none of these

Question 20

Which of Reamer's (1986)grounds relate to science and research and to what is known from that research about the likely outcome of a particular policy?

A)ideological
B)contingent
C)ethical
D)empirical

Question 21

The development what type of policies fixing minimum terms of imprisonment for certain offenses or types of offenders exemplify the expansion of punitive policies in the
Criminal justice system?

A)death penalty
B)drug
C)mandatory minimum
D)domestic violence

Question 22

Truth in sentencing laws have ______.

A)resulted in fairer sentences
B)decreased sentencing disparity
C)resulted in shorter sentences
D)resulted in longer sentences

Question 23

Public opinion on the "new" penal sanctions,like "three-strikes" sentencing laws, indicates that ______.

A)there is widespread approval of them
B)there is widespread disapproval of them
C)while they approve of it,they don't believe it should be applied indiscriminately to specific offenders under specific circumstances
D)the public is evenly divided on them

Question 24

To be eligible for federal funding,states under truth-in-sentencing laws must require those convicted of violent crimes to serve at least ______% of their court-imposed
Sentence.

A)55
B)65
C)75
D)85

Question 25

At yearend 2016,______ sentenced to more than one year in state or federal prison were aged 55 or older (Carson,2018: 13).

A)3% or a tenth of prisoners
B)5% or a tenth of prisoners
C)7% or a tenth of prisoners
D)11% or a tenth of prisoners

Question 26

A Time/CNN poll conducted in 1994 reported that ______% of adults favored mandatory life imprisonment for persons convicted of a third serious crime.

A)46
B)66
C)72
D)81

Question 27

While a majority of Americans supported "get tough" sentencing policies in the 1990s,support for this policy declined from 85% in 1994 to ______% by 2012.

A)59
B)62
C)65
D)77

Question 28

Ironically,in a departure from an era of policies of rehabilitation,the get-tough, sanctions of both the Nixon and Reagan Wars on Drugs resulted in such an increase in
The national prison population (where there was a disproportionately high number of
Blacks,Hispanics,and Women),that some states turned to ______.

A)three-strikes laws
B)sentencing guidelines
C)treatment programs to reduce jail and prison populations
D)work release programs to reduce jail and prison populations

Question 29

The ebb and flow of the social response to this category of crime continued until the 1980s,when the feminism movement brought increased attention to it,and greater legal
Restrictions resulted upon those found to have committed this type of crime.

A)kidnappings
B)homicides
C)drug crimes
D)sex offenses

Question 30

Mandatory minimum sentences are arguably unethical because they ______.

A)do not reflect the will of the majority
B)are not applied to all offenders convicted under such statutes
C)have no incapacitate effect
D)result in disproportionately severe sentences

Question 31

The War on Drugs is an example of morality policy making based on a moral panic which has led to ______.

A)unethical and discriminatory results and mass imprisonment
B)a decrease in the illegal consumption of drugs
C)growth of powerful drug lords in the U.S.
D)a drop in the supply of illegal drugs in the U.S.

Question 32

When given the choice of the death sentence or life imprisonment without parole (LWOP),a majority of those polled between 1985 and 1999 preferred the death
Sentence,but by 2011,the position had reversed with ______ % supporting the death
Penalty and ______% supporting LWOP.

A)47; 51
B)48; 50
C)49; 50
D)49; 51

Question 33

As well as increasing the size of the inmate population generally,the war against drugs has had the effect of disproportionately incarcerating ______ men and women.

A)White
B)African American
C)Asian
D)Hispanic

Question 34

Since the mid-1970s public opinion and public policy on punishment have reflected increasing support for ______.

A)rehabilitation
B)treatment
C)punitiveness
D)community-oriented corrections

Question 35

Who initially declared the War on Drugs/Crime?

A)President Taft
B)President Nixon
C)President Reagan
D)President Bush

Question 36

Which of the following is not one of the alternative positions provided by Roberts (2014)in summary of the arguments for public involvement in sentencing?

A)Allow the prosecutor to discuss sentencing options with the public.
B)allowing public views to determine sentencing policy and practice
C)permit some public input into sentencing but keep control of policy within a professional system relying on judges
D)to not permit any public participation in sentencing decisions

Question 37

In theory,three-strikes legislation is meant to target ______ and dangerous offenders for selective incapacitation.

A)drug
B)violent
C)first time
D)immoral

Question 38

According to Alexander (2010),mass imprisonment policies have functioned to create a black undercaste through ______.

A)a network of laws
B)a network of policies
C)a network of customs
D)all of these

Question 39

The PROTECT Bill passed in 2003 by Congress is known as ______.

A)The Adam Walsh Protection Act
B)Amber Alert
C)Megan's Law
D)none of these

Question 40

Of the 89,000 women serving sentences in state prisons in 2015,______% were serving sentences imposed for drug offenses.

A)24.9
B)29.5
C)34.7
D)42.1

Question 41

The Adam Walsh Act requires that juvenile sex offenders aged 14 and up be automatically ______.

A)excluded from registering as sex offenders because they lack adults' moral capacity
B)registered as sex offenders for life
C)registered as sex offenders for a short period
D)protected from the public knowing about their conviction

Question 42

Policy making based on ethical grounds focuses on what is right or wrong,or good or
bad in a moral sense.

Question 43

Research reveals that community attitudes toward ______ are more negative than attitudes towards offenders in general.

A)drug offenders
B)murderers
C)sex offenders
D)prostitutes

Question 44

There has been concern about miscarriages of justice in capital cases since at least ______.

A)the 1820s
B)the 1860s
C)the 1920s
D)the 1960s

Question 45

The primary method of policy analysis in the U.S.is cost-benefit analysis which often
overlooks ethical issues.

Question 46

Between 1993 and 2000,convictions for sex offenses increased by ______%.

A)50
B)150
C)300
D)400

Question 47

The characterization that "strangers" were of more concern was made despite the fact that only about ______% of sexual abuse offenses against children and about
______% of child murders are committed by strangers.

A)3; 6
B)5; 10
C)7; 14
D)9; 18

Question 48

Research suggests that religious fundamentalism and biblical literalism are positively related to ______.

A)opposition to the death penalty
B)support for life without parole over the death penalty
C)light sentences for offenders who show remorse
D)punitiveness in sentencing

Question 49

At the end of October 2015,the United States had the second highest prison
population rate worldwide,comprised of 698 per 100,000 persons.

Question 50

In the latest federal iteration of sex registration laws,______ classifies sex offenders into three Tiers - Tier 1 and II offenders must keep their registration up to date for 15
And 30 years respectively,and Tier III offenders must register for their lifetime.

A)The Amber Alert
B)The Adam Walsh Child Protection Act
C)Megan's Law
D)Jesse's Law

Question 51

In 2005,______ resulted in increased immigrant prosecutions as border patrol officers referred undocumented people to the DIJ for prosecution.

A)the Crime Bill
B)Operation Streamline
C)Effective Death Penalty Act
D)the Anti-Drug Abuse Act

Question 52

In the case of Kansas v.Hendricks (1997),the United States Supreme Court upheld the use of ______ laws that were nonpunitive.

A)death penalty
B)drug
C)vice
D)civil commitment

Question 53

What rhetoric was based on an increase in violence committed by and against youth during the late 1980s and early 1990s?

A)juvenile sex offenders
B)juvenile superpredators
C)juvenile property offenders
D)none of these

Question 54

Which court case held that the imposition of the death penalty for cases of child rape was unconstitutional?

A)Kennedy v.Louisiana
B)Furman v.Georgia
C)United States v.Quinones
D)Kansas v.Hendricks

Question 55

Which of the following is not a moral or ethical argument in opposition to the death penalty?

A)Innocent people are executed.
B)The death penalty is imposed in a racially discriminatory manner.
C)retribution
D)Capital punishment is degrading to human dignity.

Question 56

What form of punishment is clearly the preeminent morality issue within the category of punishment?

A)truth-in-sentencing
B)mandatory minimums
C)death penalty
D)fixed sentences

Question 57

Those who oppose the death penalty respond to the supporters' argument that it is justified by retribution by stating that ______ is sufficiently retributive.

A)the prosecution process
B)a life sentence
C)a criminal conviction
D)the court

Question 58

The "superpredator" form of moral panic erroneously predicted the emergence of a dangerous class of ______.

A)juvenile offenders
B)sex offenders
C)violent psychotics
D)armed robbers

Question 59

Moral panics usually result in rational and empirically based policy making.

Question 60

Why is there an absence of empirical data on the incidence of internet sexual solicitation?

A)Methodological problems involved in conceptualizing activities that do/do not amount to solicitation.
B)The anonymity of the internet.
C)Wide range (from 6.5% tp 21%)of self-reported youth victims.
D)all of these

Question 61

During the 1990s,which group emerged as a distinct and dangerous criminal class?

Question 62

The U.S.Supreme Court has stated that retribution is not a proper motive for criminal
punishment.

Question 63

Between 1993 and 2000,convictions for sex offenses increased by 400%.

Question 64

The issue of capital punishment is not a big moral issue within the category of
punishment.

Question 65

What is the outcome of the US Supreme Court decision in Roper v.Simmons (2005)?

Question 66

What common features do morality policies share?

Question 67

Scholars have identified the ideology of ______ as fostering punitive punishment
policies.

Question 68

The corrections industry has become a major state employer.One in 8 state
employees work in corrections.

Question 69

Briefly define "three-strikes" laws.

Question 70

Brutally remorseless,radically impulsive and extremely dangerous youngsters who
continually commit violent crimes are referred to as ______.

Question 71

Policy analysis that focuses on the plusses and minuses of the proposed policy (with
little or no concern about ethical issues)is called ______ analysis.

Question 72

The consequences of truth in ______ laws are often criticized on ethical grounds.

Question 73

Research suggests that punitive attitudes are associated with religious
fundamentalism and biblical literalism.

Question 74

Surveys demonstrated ______ among the public for locking up offenders from the
1970s to the mid-1990s,as crime rates were rising."Get tough" sentencing policies
enjoyed 85% approval rates in the 1990s but by 2012,approval ratings for "get tough"
policies had dropped to ______.

Question 75

Elderly inmates do not pose a concern for corrections.

Question 76

Habitual felony laws are also known as three-strikes legislation.

Question 77

An irrational,public hysteria over a problem which frequently results in unethical
polices is called a ______.