Deck 9: Section 2: Jury Selection and Trial Procedure

Question 1

Volitional capacity refers to the defendant's:

A) being unable to understand court proceedings.
B) showing a substantial cognitive deficit when tested.
C) being unable to control his or her behavior.
D) wishing he or she has not done what they did.

Answer 1

being unable to control his or her behavior.

Question 2

The idea of the insanity defense is based on the principle that:

A) people are not quite normal.
B) people should not be punished if they are not responsible for their behavior.
C) behavior of mentally ill people is irrational.
D) behavior is only criminal if the person had the intention to harm another human being.

Answer 2

people should not be punished if they are not responsible for their behavior.

Question 3

The Durham standard took into consideration:

A) mental disease or mental defect in a person.
B) the presumption that defendants are sane at the time of their alleged crime.
C) whether the defendant knew the nature and quality of their actions.
D) the defendant's criminal history.

Answer 3

mental disease or mental defect in a person.

Question 4

Mens rea refers to _____, whereas actus reus refers to _____.

A) committing a crime; a guilty mind
B) vicarious learning; a criminal act
C) specific deterrence; general deterrence
D) a guilty mind; a criminal act

Question 5

When determining insanity, the courts rely on:

A) clinical psychologists.
B) expert testimony.
C) expert witnesses.
D) defense attorneys.

Question 6

Today, there is general agreement that committing a criminal act without a guilty mind is:

A) enough to convict.
B) not enough to convict.
C) a way to deter crime.
D) retribution.

Question 7

Legal definitions of insanity are crafted by:

A) legislators and psychologists.
B) judges and psychiatrists.
C) social workers and psychologists.
D) legislators and judges.

Question 8

According to the text, postpartum psychosis that Andrea Yates suffered from includes all of the following EXCEPT:

A) severe depression.
B) feelings of overwhelming anxiety.
C) acute headaches.
D) being out of touch with reality.

Question 9

_____ is the concept that the punishment of criminals teaches others that criminal activities lead to penalties.

A) Specific deterrence
B) Retribution
C) General deterrence
D) Mens rea

Question 10

Insanity is considered a(n):

A) legal term.
B) psychological term.
C) opportunity for the guilty to escape punishment.
D) psychiatric diagnosis.

Question 11

The concept that a person who commits a crime, receives punishment for it through the workings of our legal system, and afterwards makes a decision to never commit a crime again, is called:

A) retribution.
B) deterrence.
C) mens rea.
D) actus reus.

Question 12

The M'Naghten rule lists three components to be used as a defense in criminal cases. One of the components is that at the moment of the crime, the accused must have:

A) been laboring under a defect of reason.
B) had an irresistible impulse.
C) been possessed by a demon.
D) been unable to exercise self-control.

Question 13

According to the text, the _____ is when the impulse is so overwhelming that the criminal would have committed the act even if a police officer stood beside the criminal at the time of the crime.

A) affirmative defense
B) the policeman at the elbow test
C) the policeman at the corner test
D) the "wild beast" test

Question 14

Mark has been suffering from schizophrenia for many years, and his delusions and hallucinations are sometimes hard to control even with medication. If he commits a crime, he:

A) will definitely be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
B) is likely to be committed to a mental institution instead of prison.
C) may not meet the legal definition of "insanity".
D) will be medicated against his will.

Question 15

The concept that individuals with issues relating to impaired cognitive understanding should not be held culpable was used as early as the Roman Empire. Roman law classified those individuals to be non compos mentis, or:

A) not quite all there.
B) mentally competent.
C) without mastery of mind.
D) mens rea.

Question 16

On several occasions, Andrea Yates tried to kill _____, and still the jury at her first trial found her _____.

A) her children; not guilty
B) herself; guilty
C) her husband; not guilty
D) her parents; not guilty

Question 17

The notion that the punishment for criminal activity should be proportionate to the harm that was committed is known as:

A) retribution.
B) deterrence.
C) mens rea.
D) actus reus.

Question 18

The Insanity Defense Reform Act (IDRA) of 1984 required that _____ prove _____ the insanity of the defendant at the time of the crime.

A) the defense; beyond a reasonable doubt
B) prosecution; beyond a reasonable doubt
C) prosecution; by clear and convincing evidence
D) the defense; by clear and convincing evidence

Question 19

Development of the insanity defense can be traced back:

A) 2 decades.
B) 50 years.
C) 100 years.
D) several centuries.

Question 20

According to the text, insanity:

A) refers to the defendant's state of mind at the time of the trial.
B) affirms the psychiatric diagnosis according to the legal standards.
C) refers to the criminal's state of mind at the time the crime was committed.
D) confirms the defendant's moral responsibility.

Question 21

Malingering refers to the _____ of psychological symptoms that might lead to the accused being termed incompetent to stand trial or insane.

A) faking or exaggeration
B) decrease or abatement
C) increase
D) real evidence

Question 22

A highly publicized 1978 trial in California brought up the influence of heavy ingestion of junk food on mental state. The defense of the accused, Dan White, was referred to as the:

A) Little Debbie defense.
B) Cinnabon defense.
C) Big Mac defense.
D) Twinkie defense.

Question 23

When applying diminished capacity, the _____ must prove mens rea.

A) defense
B) prosecution
C) clinical psychologist
D) forensic expert

Question 24

The guilty but mentally ill (GBMI) verdict assumes that people who are found guilty of a criminal act should receive _____ but most offenders go _____.

A) mental health treatment; to prison rather than mental institution
B) medication; free
C) counseling; to a psychiatric facility and not prison
D) mental health treatment; on without treatment because they are released shortly

Question 25

According to the text, those found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) generally spend _____ time in secure mental hospitals than they would have served in prison had they been found guilty.

A) less to equal
B) equal to more
C) less
D) more

Question 26

There are unique problems that are presented by insanity evaluations that make developing a test to evaluate insanity extremely difficult. All of the following are valid reasons for this EXCEPT:

A) a retrospective evaluation of a person's state of mind is involved.
B) the legal elements of what constitutes insanity are more vague than for CST.
C) CST and insanity can be evaluated using similar test instruments and techniques.
D) there are considerable variations from state to state in legal definitions of insanity.

Question 27

Regarding the insanity defense, one reason that jurors often disregard the instructions from judges about legal definitions is that jurors use their _____, whereas the various definitions are often _____.

A) commonsense notions of insanity; narrowly bound
B) narrowly bound concepts; based on common sense
C) complex concepts; based on common sense
D) constrained notions; intentional

Question 28

The psychiatric illnesses most commonly associated with successful insanity pleas include:

A) intellectual disability and neuroses.
B) psychosis and anxiety disorders.
C) psychosis and intellectual disability.
D) mood disorders and gender confusion disorder.

Question 29

The Insanity Defense Reform Act (IDRA) of 1984 eliminated the _____ from the definition of insanity.

A) burden of proof
B) mens rea
C) volitional capacity
D) cognitive test

Question 30

Research completed by Rita Simon (1967) found that, when different sets of jurors were given different definitions of insanity based on legal terminology, there was:

A) no impact on their verdicts.
B) some impact on their verdicts.
C) a great deal of difference in their verdicts.
D) None of the above have happened.