American Government and the Legal System Solved Exam Questions - 856 Verified Questions
Chapter 1: An Introduction to Criminal Procedure
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Q1) The defendant's right to a trial by a jury of his/her peers is absolute.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The concept of precedent, central to Supreme Court decision making, is based on which legal principle?
A)Ex post facto
B)Ad hoc facto
C)Deus ex machina
D)Stare decisis
Answer: D
Q3) Where must one look when the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to answer a question regarding the U.S. Constitution?
A)The U.S. Congress
B)State legislatures
C)Trial court judges
D)State supreme courts
Answer: D
Q4) The lowest level of the federal court system is made up of 94 _____.
Answer: district courts
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Chapter 2: The Sources of Criminal Procedure
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Q1) The U.S. currently operates under the incorporation doctrine of total incorporation plus.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Powell v. Alabama, also known as the Scottsboro Boys case, was a major turning point in the change of focus from fundamental fairness to total incorporation.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) About one third of the states have laws giving detailed procedural instructions for essentially every step of the criminal justice process.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) What is the presumption of regularity?
Answer: Prosecutors are expected to use "judgment and common sense" in filing criminal charges, and courts will not second-guess a prosecutor's decision.
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Chapter 3: Searches and Seizures
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Q1) An officer stops a car for speeding. After approaching the vehicle, he detects the distinct scent of marijuana. He notices a baggy that appears to contain marijuana on the dashboard. Can he seize the bag?
A)Yes, officers can always seize drugs.
B)Yes, the officer has probable cause to believe the bag contains contraband.
C)No, he does not have a right to be there.
D)No the bag could contain other substances, such as oregano.
Answer: B
Q2) According to the Fourth Amendment, what remedy exists should a person's Fourth Amendment rights be violated?
A)A civil lawsuit may be filed
B)Departmental disciplinary action against the officer
C)Exclusion of tainted evidence from trial
D)The amendment does not address this issue
Answer: D
Q3) For which kind of police-citizen interaction do officers not need justification?
Answer: encounters
Q4) What level of expectation of privacy does an individual have for abandoned property?
Answer: no expectation
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Chapter 4: Stop and Frisk
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Q1) The key element that differentiates a Terry stop from an arrest is _____.
A)who can (and cannot) be stopped
B)the number of officers present
C)whether handcuffs are employed
D)the duration of the stop
Q2) In addition to weapons, what other type of item can be seized during a frisk?
A)Contraband
B)Narcotics
C)Wallets
D)Electronics
Q3) As a general rule, which common law enforcement item can an officer not use while making a Terry stop?
A)Flashlight
B)Handcuffs
C)Firearm (brandishing, not firing)
D)Drug dog
Q4) Explain why an officer may frisk a passenger in a vehicle who is not suspected of criminal activity.
Q5) The practice of law enforcement officials suspecting or detaining a person based purely on race is known as _____.
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Chapter 5: Probable Cause and Arrests
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Q1) As a general rule, defendants do not have a right to confront _____ at trial.
A)victims
B)witnesses
C)children
D)informants
Q2) Which of the following is not one of the three aspects of informant information to be considered, established in Illinois v. Gates?
A)Corroboration
B)Trustworthiness
C)Future action
D)Type of information
Q3) Which of the following is required for the police to act on a tip from an informant?
A)Independent corroboration
B)The name of the informant
C)The basis of the informant's information
D)None of the above
Q4) Probable cause may be based on either direct observations or hearsay.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Searches and Seizures of Property
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Q1) In which of the following scenarios is it most likely that voluntary consent to submit to a search will not be found?
A)A suspect is taken into custody and then consents to a search of his vehicle
B)A suspect grants permission after being asked once but is not informed that he can refuse
C)A suspect gives verbal permission to search his bag but then refuses to sign a consent form
D)A suspect with a moderately long criminal record is asked once for permission and grants it
Q2) Which of the following is not true regarding inventory searches?
A)Unlawful items found can be used as evidence at trial.
B)They cannot be used as a pretext for an investigative search.
C)Police departments must have standard policies in place to conduct them.
D)Officers are required to have reasonable suspicion to inventory the contents of a container.
Q3) The area that may be searched via a search incident to arrest is known as the _____.
Q4) What is the purpose of an inventory, and why is warrant not required in order for one to be conducted?
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Chapter 7: Inspections and Regulatory Searches
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Q1) If border patrol officers are functioning on the border's "functional equivalent" and not the physical border itself, they must possess reasonable suspicion in order to stop a vehicle and question its occupants.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is not a justification for warrantless searches of vehicles at driver checkpoints?
A)Drivers are informed of the checkpoints by signs as they approach so they aren't taken by surprise.
B)Drivers are surprised and subjected to unnecessary delay.
C)The stops are brief, and they minimize the stress and fear experienced by motorists.
D)Police do not single out particular motor vehicles for inspection.
Q3) Articulate the difference between and give examples of routine and nonroutine border searches and the differing levels of suspicion required by each.
Q4) Explain the evolution of the Court's approach to the rights of prisoners in correctional institutions ranging from the "hands-off" approach to Holt v. Hobbs.
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Chapter 8: Interrogations and Confessions
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Q1) Police may question a suspect who has invoked his/her Miranda rights about a different offense if the police have "scrupulously honored" the suspect's initial invocation.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The primary issue addressed by the McNabb-Mallory rule is _____.
A)the amount of psychological coercion police can use during an interrogation
B)the amount of time between arrest and first appearance before a magistrate
C)whether police can promise leniency to a suspect in order to obtain a confession
D)how long police can interrogate a suspect before informing him/her of his right to counsel
Q3) The Sixth Amendment right against self-incrimination applies to _____.
A)communicative evidence
B)the taking of blood samples
C)the examination of scars
D)all of the above
Q4) What does it mean to say we operate within an adversarial system instead of an inquisitorial legal system?
Q5) According to Inbau, many criminal cases can only be solved through _____.
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Chapter 9: Eyewitness and Scientific Identifications
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Q1) Which of the following is the primary cause of false convictions?
A)Blood-type tests from 1982 and earlier
B)Eyewitness misidentification
C)Jury racial bias
D)Faulty DNA tests
Q2) Which of the following is not one of the three goals established by the suggested identification process by the U.S. Justice Department and the American Bar Association?
A)Eliminate the possibility of police unintentionally influencing the eyewitness
B)Limit the pressure on the victim to select one of the people in a lineup as the offender
C)Increase the accuracy of eyewitness identifications
D)Minimize the possibility of one eyewitness influencing another eyewitness
Q3) What is the name of the method named after a Paris police officer, which worked to identify criminals by precise physical measurements and identification of unusual physical characteristics?
A)Bertillon method
B)Chiral method
C)Marsouin method
D)Peele method
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Chapter 10: The Exclusionary Rule and Entrapment
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Q1) The text lists several alternatives to the exclusionary rule. List some of these options and explain why you believe they would/wouldn't work. Can you come up with any alternatives?
Q2) Explain the process one might use to invoke the exclusionary rule.
Q3) Research conducted by Thomas Davies indicates that _____ of all felony arrests are either not prosecuted or result in nonconvictions at trial due to loss of evidence from the exclusionary rule.
A)less than 3%
B)just under 10%
C)about 15%
D)about 33%
Q4) A defendant is required to have standing in order to challenge the introduction of evidence at trial. In the following scenario, which party may assert the claim? An officer stopped a vehicle fleeing the scene of what was believed to be a robbery. In addition to the driver, there was a passenger in both the front and back seat. A search beneath the front driver's seat revealed significant amounts of narcotics and a firearm. The front passenger wishes to suppress this evidence at his criminal trial. What will be the result?
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Chapter 11: Civil and Criminal Remedies for Constitutional Violations
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Q1) The mechanism by which widespread patterns of police misconduct are addressed is known as a/an _____.
A)arrangement for improved conduct
B)federal oversight commission
C)injunctive relief
D)pattern-or-practice decree
Q2) Civilian review boards often have the power to act as mediators between police officers and civilians.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What is the difference between absolute immunity and qualified immunity?
Q4) The individual against whom a tort action is filed is known as a _____.
A)defendant
B)injunctee
C)tortfeasor
D)victim
Q5) Explain what an injunction is, its purpose, and the standard used when determining whether it is proper to be granted.
Q6) Prosecutors and judges are granted _____ from § 1983 suits.
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Chapter 12: The Initiation of the Legal Process, Bail, and the Right to Counsel
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Q1) What does it mean for an individual to act pro se?
A)He is represented by a public defender.
B)He is in contempt of court.
C)He is hiring a private lawyer.
D)He is representing himself.
Q2) By means of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, an indigent defendant charged with any nontraffic offense is entitled to counsel.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Supreme Court Justice Jackson observed that the _____ is likely the most powerful person in the criminal justice system.
Q4) Which of the following has a right to specifically select counsel?
A)A defendant who hires his/her own attorney
B)An indigent defendant
C)A defendant charged with a felony
D)A defendant charged with a capital offense
Q5) A defendant who is unable to reasonably afford counsel is said to be _____.
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Q6) An individual not held in pretrial detainment yet not required to post any monetary bail is said to have been released on _____.
Chapter 13: The Courtroom: The Pretrial and Trial Process
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Q1) One of the dangers in allowing jury nullification is that juries can both find guilty defendants not guilty and innocent defendants guilty.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In order for the exclusion of a certain group from jury venire to be unconstitutional, the exclusions must be systematic.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Should a judge or justice be unable to render a fair verdict/finding for whatever reason, that judge or justice should _____ him/herself from the case.
Q4) The U.S. Supreme Court has held that while states are not required to use juries of 12 members, any jury must have at least _____ members.
A)4
B)6
C)9 D)10
Q5) Explain the dual sovereignty doctrine and give an example in which it would apply.
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Chapter 14: Sentencing and Appeals
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Q1) List and explain the significant limitations on the ability of federal courts to grant habeas corpus review. Do you think such limitations make obtaining review too difficult?
Q2) In which case did the U.S. Supreme Court hold that the appellate court must find "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the harm inflicted on the defendant adversely affected the verdict to require the ordering of a new trial?
A)Chapman v. United States
B)Griffith v. Kentucky
C)Neder v. United States
D)United States v. Young
Q3) Which of the following was not one of the aggravating circumstances of murder upheld in Gregg v. Georgia?
A)Defendant committed the murder while engaged in another dangerous felony.
B)Defendant intentionally killed a law an on-duty law enforcement officer.
C)Defendant murdered a family member.
D)The murder was carried out for hire.
Q4) Defendants possess a due process right to a criminal appeal.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: Counterterrorism
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Q1) What is an enemy combatant for purposes of the CSRT process?
Q2) Expanded by Section 213 to cover all property, sneak-and-peek searches were originally limited to tangible property.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 is commonly known as the _____.
A)FISA Act
B)Homeland Security Act
C)Special Authorities Act
D)USA PATRIOT Act
Q4) Material witness warrants have been subject to criticism. Several reforms have been proposed. List and explain these reforms. Can you come up with any alternatives?
Q5) Sneak-and-peek searches are limited to terrorism investigations.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What is the purpose of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and what types of activities does FISA cover?
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