Exam 2

Question 1

__ and __ make up the dual court system of the US

Answer 1

trials

appellate

Question 2

trial and appellate courts make up the __ of the US

Answer 2

dual court system

Question 3

judge’s rulings are based heavily on __

Answer 3

public opinion

Question 4

__ are heavily based on public opinion

Answer 4

judge’s rulings

Question 5

courtroom workgroup

Answer 5

judges, prosecutors, defense attorney, court clerks, baliff, police, etc.

Question 6

the court system is free of __

Answer 6

racial bias

Question 7

the ____ system is free of racial bias

Answer 7

court

Question 8

the public is generally ___ in the court system

Answer 8

very confident

Question 9

due is classified under which amendment

Answer 9

5th, 14th

Question 10

there are __ forms of plea bargaining

Answer 10

4

Question 11

types of plea bargain (4)

Answer 11

charge
count (less # of crimes)
sentence
facts

Question 12

different types of problem solving courts

Answer 12

domestic violence,
gambling
truancy,
homeless,
public health, 
mental health
community courts
drugs
veteran
DWI
family
wellness

Question 13

police officers are allowed to __ in order to obtain a confession for a lesser sentence

Answer 13

intimidate a suspect

Question 14

police are allowed to intimidate a suspect in order to ___ for a lesser offense

Answer 14

obtain a confession

Question 15

career criminal prosecution is used to target

Answer 15

habitual, dangerous, and high rate criminals

Question 16

what are the three classifications of career criminals?

Answer 16

persistant
high rate
dangerous

Question 17

goals of career criminal prosecution

Answer 17

target repeat and high-rate offenders off the street

Question 18

how do courts define high-rate, dangerous offenders?

Answer 18

high # of crimes, injure others

Question 19

what influence do federal judges have on policy-making

Answer 19

how legal decisions and political factors come together

Question 20

identify 3 arguments in favor of judicial policy making

Answer 20

judges are insulated (no bias)
re-election is not an issue
political…

Question 21

What are the arguments against judicial policy making (7)

Answer 21

judges can't select area of policy emphasis
no experts on public policy
insulated from the environment
judges keep to self
policies are less comprehensive
doesn't address the larger problem
no comprehensive view on policy problem

Question 22

process of implementation and responsibilities of each actor

Answer 22

interpreters - judges interpret the people who carry the policy
implementation - success/failure = willingness to carry out policies
consumers - affected directly by court’s decisions; public
secondary group - gov’t officials, and media

Question 23

Does one branch of gov’t shape public policy more/”better” than another?

Answer 23

no

Question 24

which political party has embraced “get tough on crime”

Answer 24

democrats

Question 25

what are some unintended consequences of 3-strikes?

Answer 25

• not effective - lots of imates, costly, more funding and people, fewer plea bargains
• not always implemented/carried out - judges reluctant to follow the law, victims may not prosecute, juries may fail to convict, hidden discretion
• inmates age out of crime

Question 26

Methvin argues that 3-strike is an effective crime control strategy because __ (8)

Answer 26

• most serious comes from minority of predators
• minority of minority is extraordinarily violent
• psychopaths can be determined with scientific instrument
• police, prosecutors, & judges can identify and isolate high-rate and violent predators
• rehab is costly
• punishment works
• prisons work and bring in money
• prevents crime from those brought up in culture or “cradle of crime”

Question 27

What are Methvin’s strategies for reducing crime

Answer 27

• identify families that are “cradles of crime”
• keep permanent records
• family supervision and intervention
• jail serious offenders
• teach to identify repeat offenders (police, prosecution and judge)
• parole to keep off the streets

Question 28

Shicor claims that 3-strikes are inefficient, incalculable, unpredictable, and lack control. Why?

Answer 28

inefficient - clogs up courts from old crimes to incarcerate those who have 3 felonies; decrease plea bargaining; most are non-violent offenders
incalculable - not looking at misdemeanors or parole violations; severity of crime does not equal severity of punishment; not applied uniformly
unpredictable - low jail time b/c of overcrowding in prison
lack of control - doesn’t consider circumstance of crime, takes power away from judges