Final Exam Flashcards by Kelly Campbell

Whose job it is to supervise the preparation of the government’s Supreme Court briefs, petitions and other legal documents.

Solicitor general

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Whose official duty is to conduct criminal proceedings on behalf of the people against persons accused of committing criminal offenses. Also called a DA.

Prosecutor

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

This is to prosecutors as community policing is to police officers

Community prosecution

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

This case established that prosecutors who act vindictively also threaten their defendants due process rights

Blackledge v. Perry

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

No drop policies are __________, which is not surprising given that they result in more trials.

Expensive

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

T/F
The defense attorney’s provide defendants with a reality check, a knowledgable, objective perspective on what their situation is and what is likely to happen should their cases go to trial.

True

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Criminal defense attorneys became significant players in the criminal process around the _______

1730’s

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

This Supreme Court decision, requires that counsel be provided all criminal defendants, not just the wealthy ones.

Gideon v. Wainwright

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

An amount paid by a criminal defendant to his or her defense attorney in order to engage the attorney’s services

Retainer

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

T/F

Indigent defense systems vary by state. They are run by the same level of government

False. They may be run by different levels of government

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Those who are concerned more with efficient and consistent court operations than with the interests of their clientele

Creators and protectors of routine

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

The Supreme Court case that involved a Guantanamo bay detainee charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism.

Hamdam v. Rumsfeld

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Ethical dilemmas for the defense (4)

Confidential confession
Client perjury
Defense receipt of physical evidence
Problems with the defendants prior record

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

A phenomenon involving a death row inmate making a decision to stop appealing and let the sentence be carried out

Death row volunteering

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

At the state level, the _____________ is the chief legal officer

State attorney general

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Most criminal work is conducted at the ______ level

County

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

At the county level, the _____________ is in charge of bringing murder, rape and robbery cases to trial.

District attorney

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Most prosecutors are ___________

Elected

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

By the _______, it was clear the American prosecutor had reached a pinnacle of power

1920’s

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

A period in the evolution of the CJS that occurred in the early 30th century and marked by reform efforts aimed at removing corruption and political favoritism

Progressive era

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Factors affecting the prosecutors charging decision (4)

Strength of the evidence
Relationship b/w the victim and defendant
Defendants prior history
Facts of the case

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

The practice of not dropping charges against domestic violence victims that emerges as a response to the high rate of dismissals in domestic violence cases. Also called evidence based prosecution

No drop prosecution

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

An informal or programmatic method of steering an offender out of the CJS

Diversion

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

The two types of immunity applicable to prosecutors

Absolute

Qualified

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

The practice of having the same prosecutor represent the state from the point where the criminal charges are filed all the way to sentencing

Vertical prosecution

A recent survey revealed that ____ % of prosecutors' offices nationwide received work related threats towards a staff member or had one of their staff assaulted.

T/F | Prosecutors bad their charging decisions on legal and extralegal factors.

True

Prosecutors' offices follow a ____________ structure

Bureaucratic

The layer who advises, represents and acts for the defendant

Defense attorney

The number of lawyers surged after the _________________

American Recolution

Retaining an attorney for a criminal defense is expensive, generally costing upwards of __________

25,000

T/F | Plenty of research indicates that wealthier offenders end up worse off than their poorer counterparts

False

Assigned counsel is selected for indigent offender in two ways:

Ad hoc assigned counsel | Coordinated assigned counsel

The first public defender program in the US opened up in ___________

Los Angeles 1913

A client who receives a court appointed attorney

Public client

Some defense attorneys volunteer heir services by doing pro bono work for _________________

Death row inmates

The three ways to provide defense for the indigent

Assigned counsel Contract model Public defender

The process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval

Plea bargaining

A defendant agreement to plead guilty in exchange for a less serious sentence

Sentence bargaining

T/F | The overwhelming majority (60%) of criminal convictions result from trials

False, pleas

The prosecutor's ability to negotiate with the defendant in terms of the charges that could be filed

Charge bargaining

T/F | Plea bargaining has a long history

True

T/F | Plea bargaining benefits certain members of the courtroom workgroup

False, all members

This court case held that it is unconstitutional for the state to extend a benefit to a defendant who in turn extends a substantial benefit to the state

Brady v. US

T/F The only difference between a guilt plea and a nolo contendre plea is that nolo contendere can not be used in a civil case

True

T/F | The sixth amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure

False. 4th

This court case protects even the lowest leek offender from corrupt or manipulative practices by over zealous prosecutors

Santabello v. NY

T/F | Innocent people plead guilty to crimes they did not commit

True

In short, guilty pleas resulting from inducements from prosecution, like confessions in police interrogations cannot be _____________

Involuntary

A ______________ guarantees a day in court, but does not allow for a demand of a trail by jury

Jury waiver

The prosecutor's go-to plea offer is a ______________

Lighter sentence

A negotiated arrangement whereby, a defendant can sometimes preserve certain rights following a plea agreement

Conditional guilty plea

Plea bargaining was first recognized during the _____________

19th century

The Supreme Court condoned plea bargaining in ...

Brady v. US

T/F | Once a plea is reached, the court must then approve of the deal

True

T/F | The occasional defendant who elects a public trial is punished for not taking a plea.

True Ex. Kelly Garrett

Positive view of plea bargaining (4)

Quick resolution Sort serious and non serious cases Trials are risky and time consuming Attorney's still negotiate

The rating system consists of __ categories from not serious and not protected to serious and vigorously protected.

Extralegal factors that influence a prosecutors charging decision (4)

Prior criminal history Age Health Marital status

In FL ultimate sentence responsibility rests with ...

The trial judge

In NY these laws attempted to limit the prosecutors ability to plea bargain

Rockefeller laws

T/F | Plea bargaining is supported by contract law

True

A trail in which the judge is both the trier of law and the trier of fact.

Bench trial

A statutorily defined number of persons selected according to law and sworn to determine, in accordance with the law as instructed by the court, certain matters of fact based on evidence presented in trial to render a verdict

Trial jury

Who conquered England in 1066 and also set up procedures that set the stage for modern juries.

The Normans

In 1215, England's King John signed the _____________. It's article 39 provides some basis for modern juries.

Manga carta

T/F | The right to a jury trial has always been recognized on both state and federal levels.

False. Always recognized federally, not extended to the states until 1968 (Duncan v. Louisiana)

A term that literally means "to see what is said" it refers to the jury selection process

Voir Dire

Three main steps to the voir dire process

Questioning by the judge Challenges for cause Peremptory challenges

T/F | A peremptory challenge cannot be used to excuse a juror based on race.

True

T/F | A 12 person jury is a constitutional requirement

False

The court case that concluded that a 5 member jury was unconstitutional

Ballew v. Georgia

The appropriate size for a jury is anywhere between __ and __ members

6, 12

Juror characteristics refer to all manner of individual demographics such as ___, ______, and _________________.

Age, race and employment status

The tendency for jurors to fall back on their own guy instincts when presented with evidence that is vague

Liberation hypothesis

The practice of either ignoring or misapplying the law in a certain situation

Jury nullification

The return of a jury verdict that reflects prejudiced or bigoted community standards and convicts when the evidence does not warrant it

Jury vilification

The court case that defendants argued that the government had know their identities for 3 years prior to indictment and in turn was denied a speedy trial

US v. Marion

The US Supreme Court holding that the 6th amendment's guarantee of the right to a speedy trial attaches only after a person has been accused of a crime

Accusation rule

When media coverage of crime is extensive and presumed to have influence members of the jury panel, This type of voir dire can be used to detect possible media bias

Special voir dire

T/F | Courts have experimented with gag orders on trial participants

True

Trails begin with ...

Opening statements

The standard of proof in a criminal case

Beyond a reasonable doubt

The standard of proof in a civil trial

Preponderance of evidence

Proof beyond a reasonable doubt amounts to ___ % certainty and reasonable doubt amounts to ___%

95, 5

Evidence that proves a fact without the need for the juror to infer anything from it

Direct evidence

Evidence that seeks to demonstrate a certain point

Demonstrative evidence

A question that does not call for a narrative

Specific question

When the posing attorney questions the witnesses

Cross examination

T/F Once final motions and closing arguments have been made, the judge will give his or her instructions to the jurors before they head off to deliberate

True

A jury that is so irreconcilably divided in opinion after deliberations that they are unable to reach any verdict

Hung jury

A set of instructions given to jurors after they become deadlocked that instructs them to reexamine their opinions in a effort to reach a verdict

Allen Charge

T/F | Juries convict defendants 5 times as often as they acquit them

True

T/F | Some differential treatment is desirable and necessary, but most is not.

True

A legitimate reason for differential treatment

To speed up the administration of justice

T/F | The most well known form of differential treatment is based on sex

False, based on race or ethnicity

A difference in how a person or group is treated that does not necessarily involve discrimination

Disparity

This type of discrimination occurs at all stages of the CJS as well as all times and places

Systematic discrimination

When there is no racial or ethnic discrimination at all

Pure justice

T/F The rush to judgement is about striving to satisfy the demands of a public that wants it's government to be tough on crime

True

This was first introduced by Lawrence Friedman and Robert Percival in their book The Roots of Justice

The wedding cake model

Name the layers of the wedding cake model from top to bottom (4)

Celebrated cases Serious felonies Not so serious felonies Misdemeanors

The term _____ refers to disturb physical characteristics such as skin color. While _______ refers to a shard national, religious or cultural heritage

Race, ethnicity

T/F | Minorities are arrested more that whites

True

One California study found that __% of black men were likely to be arrested by age 30.

The median family income for white families tends to be roughly __% percent higher than it is for black families and __% higher than it is for Hispanic families.

60, 35

This court case now defines articulable standards for conduct of warrant less stop and frisk searches

Terry v. Ohio

T/F There is a wealth of evidence suggesting that indeed prosecutors use their peremptory challenges to screen out minorities from trials involving minority defendants

True

In sheer numbers, African Americans are convicted ____ than whites

Less

As far back as ______ researchers began to explore possible racial/ethnic bias in sentencing

1935

On the whole, evidence suggests that African American and Hispanic offenders are _____ likely to be sent to prison.

More. And for longer

Amount of probationers | Amount of parolees

4 million | 800,000

Laws enacted after Furman v. Georgia aimed at curbing the discretion of judges and jurors in death penalty cases to ensure fairness and evenhanded ness in the process

Guided-discretion laws

A term coined by Brian Forst to describe the many types of mistakes the CJS can make

Error of justice

The decade when DNA testing entered the mainstream

1980's

An organization that seeks to exonerate wrongfully convicted persons through DNA testing in accordance with Cordozo Law school in NY

Innocence project

A subsequent declaration by the appropriate legal authority that a person who was wrongfully convicted of a crime is not guilty of having committed that crime

Exoneration

T/F | Plea bargains should take an executive role, rather than a legislative one.

True

Final Exam Flashcards

(118 cards)