Deck 9: Court Issues and Practices

Question 1

The master calendar system pulls its cases for each judge out of a:

A) rotating file
B) master list
C) computer bank
D) central pool

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)is appropriate when:

A) new law is not being created.
B) the parties are not related.
C) a judge cannot be found to hear the case.
D) None of the above

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A major problem with enhancing courthouse security is:

A) the lack of technology for doing so.
B) its cost.
C) the lack of support by the Supreme Court.
D) the lack of an earmarked budget request by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The simplest procedure for scheduling cases for judges is the calendar system.

A) individual
B) rotating
C) master
D) logistical

Question 5

The Speedy Trial Act of 1974 (as amended)requires that federal prosecutors bring a case to trial within how many days from the point of arrest?

A) 30
B) 50
C) 100
D) 200

Question 6

Which of the following is not a typical problem when dealing with the master calendar system?

A) The distribution of work can be quite uneven.
B) The administrative burden on the chief judge is often great.
C) A significant backlog of cases may develop.
D) Judges are more vulnerable to attempted bribes.

Question 7

Which of the following is a major problem with speedy-trial time frames?

A) More complex cases legitimately take longer to prepare.
B) Time limits may be waived if the court has a congested docket.
C) The courts have physical problems that limit the rapid flow of cases.
D) More complex cases legitimately take longer to prepare, and time limits may be waived if the court has a congested docket.

Question 8

About how many states require cases to be dismissed if a defendant failed to receive a speedy trial?

A) 10
B) 35
C) All of the above
D) None of the above

Question 9

Which of the following is not a consequence of case delay?

A) Lengthy pretrial incarceration
B) Better prosecutor/defendant communication
C) Jail overcrowding
D) Denial of speedy trial

Question 10

It is helpful for the courts to view issues and practices through the lenses of the ________ model(s).

A) crime control
B) due process
C) social bond
D) crime control and due process

Question 11

Which one of the following is not a crime that would be tried in a problem-solving court?

A) Prostitution
B) Shoplifting
C) Manslaughter
D) Low-level drug possession

Question 12

Which of the following is the public most likely to perceive as a major problem in the courts?

A) Delay
B) Lawyers
C) Judges
D) Jurors

Question 13

_____________ violence involves one who expressly intends to engage in courthouse violence.

A) Targeted
B) Accidental
C) Nontargeted
D) Specific

Question 14

Which amendment guarantees defendants the right to a speedy trial?

A) First
B) Seventh
C) Sixth
D) Fifth

Question 15

Which of the following is not one of the three principles of a good threat assessment?

A) Distinguish between making an expressed threat and posing a threat.
B) Realize that the potential attacker's current situation and life stresses should not be considered in threat assessments.
C) Realize that targeted violence is the end result of an understandable process of thinking and acting.
D) Remember that the risk for violence is the product of an interaction between the potential attacker, his or her current situation, the target, and the setting.

Question 16

Under the Speedy Trial Act,how many days are allowed to pass from indictment to the trial?

A) 20
B) 50
C) 30
D) 70

Question 17

What can happen if one's right to a speedy trial is denied?

A) The case is dismissed and the defendant released.
B) The case may never be re-prosecuted.
C) The state is required to pay defendants' exorbitant fees.
D) The judge may be terminated.

Question 18

The decade of the served as a significant launching pad for court reform across the United States and led to the creation of a variety of different problem-solving courts.

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

Question 19

Which of the following is not an outside force that causes problems in scheduling people for trial?

A) Inaccurate mail delivery
B) An illegal or false address
C) Interference from interested politicians
D) Notices of court appearances arriving late

Question 20

Which of the following is not one of the CourTools set of trial court performance measures as listed by the National Center for State Courts?

A) Clearance rates
B) Trial date uncertainty
C) Time to disposition
D) Age of active pending caseload

Question 21

A program that is in widespread use to reduce costly litigation in the United States is:

A) alternative dispute resolution.
B) the expansion of expert witnesses.
C) an annual reduction of the numbers of lawyers graduating from college.
D) the refusal by the courts to hear any product-liability claims.

Question 22

About 700 courthouse shootings occurred during the past 25 years.

Question 23

_____________ is not binding or adversarial; instead,it encourages parties to resolve the dispute outside of court.

A) Arbitration
B) The juvenile court system
C) Mediation
D) A court decision

Question 24

Veteran's courts can create all but which of the following?

A) Better access to housing
B) Decreased educational opportunities
C) Better access to employment
D) An avoidance of the pains of prison and a criminal record

Question 25

Which of the following findings concerning courthouse shootings is false?

A) The killing of a courthouse judge or police officer was the motive in 90 percent of these shootings.
B) About 40 percent of the shooters died, being killed either by security forces or by their own hand.
C) The majority of shootings occurred during the past 25 years.
D) About three-fourths of the firearms that were used were brought in by the shooter.

Question 26

Types of disputes commonly resolved through arbitration include:

A) collective bargaining agreements.
B) construction and trademark disputes.
C) warranties and leases.
D) All of the above

Question 27

Both __________ and _________ oppose plea bargaining,but for different reasons.

A) police / judges
B) judges / prosecutors
C) police / civil libertarians
D) prosecutors / civil libertarians

Question 28

Veterans' courts are diversion programs where,in exchange for a guilty plea to crimes charged,the veteran consents to:

A) regular court visits.
B) counseling.
C) random drug testing.
D) All of the above

Question 29

A major January 2005 Supreme Court decision concerning the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 created the ____________ to establish federal sentencing policies.

A) U.S. Sentencing Commission
B) U.S. Reform Committee
C) Justice Reform Commission
D) Court Reform Committee

Question 30

The emerging agenda of court reform includes topics such as reducing trial court delay and:

A) creating alternative dispute resolution.
B) maintaining current court proceedings.
C) enhancing levels of punishment.
D) None of the above

Question 31

Whose criminal trial raised serious questions concerning whether cameras should be allowed in courtrooms?

A) Susan Smith
B) O.J. Simpson
C) Robert Blake
D) Michael Jackson

Question 32

A national study of drug courts by the federal Government Accounting Office found all but which of the following as outcomes?

A) Recidivism was reduced for participants who had committed different types of defenses.
B) Participants had higher recidivism events than those in comparison groups.
C) Lower percentages of participants than those in comparison groups were rearrested and reconvicted.
D) All of the programs that provided data yielded positive net benefits.

Question 33

The two most common forms of ADR used today are ___________ and _____________.

A) public / private
B) job-related / family-related
C) arbitration / mediation
D) binding / compulsory

Question 34

Which of the following is not a problem that the "CSI effect" could lead to?

A) Longer trials
B) Increased use of expert witnesses
C) Need for more attorneys
D) Unrealistic expectations held by jurors that are influenced by those shows

Question 35

___ states prohibit all forms of electronic coverage of criminal trial proceedings,while ____ states allow it.

A) Two / 35
B) Twenty-five / 13
C) Fifteen / 30
D) Six / 48

Question 36

___________ is considerably less formal and more "friendly" than __________.

A) Mediation / arbitration
B) Arbitration / mediation
C) A jury room / ADR
D) Suing / resolving

Question 37

Regarding federal sentencing guidelines,in late 2007 the U.S.Supreme Court went further and:

A) found that district court judges do have to justify their deviations from the federal sentencing guidelines.
B) do not have broad discretion to disagree with the guidelines and to impose what they believe are reasonable sentences.
C) decided two cases that together restored federal judges to their traditional central role in criminal sentencing, even if the guidelines call for different sentences.
D) None of the above

Question 38

The 2005 Supreme Court decision to establish sentencing policies and guidelines for the federal criminal justice system was rendered in ______________________.

A) U.S. v. Tarver
B) U.S. v. Brown
C) U.S. v. Powers
D) U.S. v. Booker

Question 39

Recent studies of the "CSI Effect" found all but which of the following?

A) Juries have come to expect more forensic evidence.
B) The use of forensic or expert witness evidence in trials has increased.
C) The public's perception of time needed to get forensic results has become distorted.
D) Shows like CSI have made it harder to convict defendants.

Question 40

Which of the following is not a basic premise of mental health courts?

A) They increase public safety.
B) They facilitate participation in treatment.
C) They make more effective use of criminal justice and mental health resources.
D) They improve the quality of life for people with mental illnesses who are not charged with crimes.

Question 41

A contributing factor to case delay in our courts is that there is little incentive to process cases speedily.

Question 42

The voir dire process is never altered so as to screen out potential jurors who might be influenced by the "CSI effect."

Question 43

Arbitration may be mandatory and binding,meaning that the parties abandon their right to go to court once they agree to arbitrate.

Question 44

Arbitration is similar to trial,though less formal.

Question 45

Two primary methods by which cases are scheduled by the courts are the general and master methods.

Question 46

ADR is normally much slower and more costly than a trial.

Question 47

Non-targeted violence involves an individual with a preexisting intention of engaging in courthouse violence.

Question 48

Juveniles cannot be tried as adults.

Question 49

Police use the crime control model when arresting any suspect.

Question 50

Herbert Packer developed the due process model.

Question 51

The number of problem-solving courts is declining due to their proven lack of effectiveness.

Question 52

Television programs are creating certain expectations about criminal cases in general and investigations in specific terms.

Question 53

The U.S.Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is believed to not have a media-friendly attitude.

Question 54

ADR proceedings are normally confidential,with only the final agreement being made public.

Question 55

A good starting point for enhancing courthouse security is the threat assessment approach.

Question 56

The delay in courts' processing cases is a long-standing problem.

Question 57

It is easier to pinpoint case delays with the individual calendar system.

Question 58

There are indications that courts using the individual calendar system experience the greatest difficulty.

Question 59

Problem-solving courts rely on the active use of judicial authority to change the behavior of the litigants.

Question 60

Judges become very experienced in one particular aspect of litigation with the master calendar system.

Question 61

_____________ __________ violence involves an individual who has no specific preexisting intention of engaging in violence but who,either during,at the conclusion of,or sometime shortly after the court proceeding becomes incensed.

Question 62

Unfortunately,the National Center for State Courts' listing of CourTools does not address the problem of cost per case.

Question 63

The simpler procedure for scheduling cases is the ___________ ___________ _________, where a case is assigned to a single judge who oversees all aspects of it.

Question 64

The phenomenon whereby television viewing influences people's perceptions,and is often referred to as ____________theory.has been labeled the potential "CSI effect."

Question 65

Several studies have found that ____________ ________reduced recidivism among program participants as compared to comparable probationers.

Question 66

Research indicates that courts using the __________calendar experience greater difficulty.

Question 67

One problem with enhancing courthouse security is its __________.

Question 68

The U.S.Supreme Court found that the U.S.Sentencing Guidelines violated the Sixth Amendment by allowing judicial,rather than jury,fact-finding to form the basis for the sentence in the case of ________________ _______________.

Question 69

Some people worry that veterans' courts perpetuate the stereotypes of veterans' problems and will lead to other specialized courts for groups like teachers,politicians,and so on.

Question 70

There are three ways that a juvenile can be waived to adult criminal court: _________,______________,and__________________.

Question 71

Veterans' courts are spreading across the United States to help veterans reintegrate into civilian life.

Question 72

_____________ _________violence involves an individual who expressly intends to engage in courthouse violence.

Question 73

The principle that "justice delayed is justice_________" says much about the long-standing goal of processing court cases with due dispatch.

Question 74

___________ ____________courts are special courts created to accommodate persons with specific needs and problems,such as drug,veteran,and mentally ill offenders.

Question 75

A key part of addressing case delays concerns the ability of the court administrator to set a ___________ for trial.

Question 76

The first veterans' court opened in____________,_____ _____ in 2008.

Question 77

Good media relations can also be very important for the courts,especially in ____________________cases.

Question 78

Lengthy pretrial incarceration pressures can cause a defendant to plead__________.

Question 79

Mental health courts have been discredited and are therefore not being considered as alternatives to traditional court proceedings.

Question 80

__________ _________ _________ can resolve disputes in a collaborative manner that allows parties' relationship to be maintained.