Finals

Question 1

According the Supreme Court decision in Miranda v Arizona, waiver of the Miranda rights may be presumed either by silence following warnings or from an eventual confession.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The idea that evidence that has been illegally obtained, but would have been eventually found through constitutional means should thus not be excluded by virtue of the exclusionary rule is ________.

Answer 2

Inevitable Discovery Exception

Question 3

Research by psychologists shows that jurors may give credit to confessions obtained during high pressure interrogation because of _______.

Answer 3

Fundamental attribution error

Question 4

When a suspect asks for an attorney during custodial interrogation police must __________.

Answer 4

Stop questioning until an attorney is present or the suspect initiates further conversation with them.

Question 5

Psychologists separate memory into three phases:

Answer 5

Acquisition, retention, and retrieval.

Question 6

Researchers recommend that officials present members of the lineup to the witness ______

Answer 6

one at a time

Question 7

_________ reduce the power of suggestion and reduce the possibility that the witness will pick the person who most resembles the perpetrator.

Answer 7

Sequential lineups

Question 8

One of the most important criminal law issues today is whether the Constitution establishes ________

Answer 8

a post conviction right to access previously produced forensic evidence so it can be DNA tested in order to establish innocence.

Question 9

The best known and most controversial consequence of illegal government action is _____.

Answer 9

The exclusionary rule.

Question 10

The US Supreme Court has relied on three justifications for throwing out good evidence:

Answer 10

deterrence, judicial integrity and constitutional right

Question 11

Many legal commentators suggest that one way to reform identification procedures would be to:

Answer 11

loosen the standards for admitting expert testimony on human perception and memory and the problems related to eye witness identification

Question 12

The _______ holds the illegally seized evidence can be introduced at trial if the poisonous connection between the illegal police actions and the evidence weakens sufficiently.

Answer 12

attenuation doctrine

Question 13

_____ actions are constitutional tort actions against federal offenders.

Answer 13

Bivens

Question 14

According to _______, involving a lawsuit by a mother against police officers and others for the death of her children in a fire, a duty to protect life can arise when the state restrains citizens from acting on their own behalf.

Answer 14

Pinder v. Johnson

Question 15

Identify the two elements of the qualified immunity defense and explain why the test is so easy for officers to pass.

Answer 15

1) The need to hold police officers accountable when they do something wrong
2) Protection for when officers actually do something right.

This is easy to pass because officers are judged more harshly when they do something wrong and so they are more careful. It is also their jobs to uphold the law and the majority want to keep with that theme.

Question 16

What goes on in interrogation occurs in ______ and is ______

Answer 16

Private; not widely known

Question 17

In _________ cases, prosecutors agree to drop the case before formal judicial proceedings begin, on the condition that suspects participate in and complete a program.

Answer 17

Diversion

Question 18

Nearly _________ people are locked up in a jail before they are convicted and released.

Answer 18

750,000

Question 19

Explain the difference between probable cause to detain a suspect and probable cause to go to trial.

Answer 19

Probable cause to detain a suspect: Probable cause means that a reasonable and cautious officer would believe that criminal activity is or was taking place.

Probable cause to go to trial: A court will hear a testimony to determine whether it is more likely or not that the defendant had committed these crimes. If it exists, the defendant will go to trial.

Question 20

Suits under the Civil Rights Acts are commonly called ______.

Answer 20

1983 actions

Question 21

The _________ guarantees jury trial in all criminal prosecutions excepting petty offenses.

Answer 21

Six amendment

Question 22

The ________ has ancient roots in European history and the English Bill of Rights

Answer 22

right to a jury trial

Question 23

An attorney’s address to the jury just before presentation of evidence is called _____

Answer 23

the opening statement

Question 24

According to the _________, a defendant must make objections at trail in order to preserve those issues for appeal. This is called ______.

Answer 24

raise or waive doctrine; judicial economy doctrine.

Question 25

_________ is not considered a mitigating circumstance in a death penalty case.

Answer 25

Killing to avoid arrest

Question 26

Concerning mandatory minimum sentencing laws, evaluations conducted by the US Sentencing Commission found that ________.

Answer 26

mandatory minimum sentences actually introduce disparity in sentencing.

Question 27

The government’s use of _______ can be used only when it is absolutely necessary and must be given up when the emergency is over.

Answer 27

extraordinary power

Question 28

Acts committed during wartime that inflict needless suffering and damage when pursuing a military objective are called __________

Answer 28

war crimes

Question 29

Courts that have allowed the state created danger exception apply in one of two ways:

Answer 29

1) require a special relationship between the government and the victim
2) a danger created by the state

Question 30

Attorneys for both sides can remove prospective jurors from the jury panel by ________.

Answer 30

peremptory challenges

Question 31

According the Supreme Court decision in Miranda v Arizona, waiver of the Miranda rights may be presumed either by silence following warnings or from an eventual confession.

Answer 31

False

Question 32

During the 30 years from Brown v. Mississippi to Miranda v. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court relied on various interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause to invalidate as involuntary 40 confessions in state trials.

Answer 32

True

Question 33

There are clear statistics indicating the number of false confessions per year.

Answer 33

False

Question 34

According to the Supreme Court, identification evidence is automatically inadmissible if the identification procedure was unnecessarily suggestive.

Answer 34

False

Question 35

Today, the United States Supreme Court relies exclusively on deterrence as the only justification for excluding valid evidence.

Answer 35

True

Question 36

The Supreme Court has ruled that stopping travelers at fixed checkpoints for brief questioning about their citizenship or immigration status is constitutional.

Answer 36

True

Question 37

Prosecutors have qualified immunity for their conduct as advocates in the judicial phase of the criminal process.

Answer 37

False

Question 38

Police are rarely charged or convicted of criminal misconduct.

Answer 38

True

Question 39

Sneak and peek warrants are a variation of no-knock entries.

Answer 39

True

Question 40

According to the Supreme Court in Mapp v. Ohio, leaving the Fourth Amendment’s protection from illegal searches and seizures to solutions other than the exclusionary rule had been effective.

Answer 40

False

Question 41

All dismissals because of speedy trial violations are with prejudice.

Answer 41

False

Question 42

It is not double jeopardy to prosecute and punish a defendant for the same act in separate jurisdictions.

Answer 42

True

Question 43

If a defendant wishes to plead guilty, but still not admit guilt, states are constitutionally required to let the defendant do so.

Answer 43

True

Question 44

Six member juries satisfy the requirements of the Sixth Amendment.

Answer 44

True

Question 45

By the early 1970s, there was a consensus among law enforcement officials, prisoners’ groups, reformers, and bureaucrats that indeterminate sentencing should be replaced with a more determinate sentencing system.

Answer 45

True

Question 46

Not every state has created a statutory right to appeal a criminal conviction.

Answer 46

True