cj 335

What is a central feature of criminal law in a constitutional democracy?

The constitution limits the government's ability to create law and punish offenders.

Under retribution theory, blaming an offender is justified if the offender ________.

chooses to commit the crime

What protects speech guaranteed by the First Amendment by invalidating laws written so broadly that the fear of prosecution creates a "chilling effect" that discourages people from exercising that freedom?

void-for-overbreadth doctrine

A guilty verdict means the ________.

d. government proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt

Which burden of proof is the highest standard of proof known to the law?

beyond a reasonable doubt

Who or what creates administrative crimes?

administrative agencies

According to retributionists, criminal punishment benefits ________.

both society and the offender

The ban on ex post facto laws is so important that it is contained in __________.

the U.S. Constitution

Which U.S. Supreme Court decision applied the ban against making laws that abridge the freedom of speech

Gitlow v. New York

The right to privacy is created by __________.

Griswold v. Connecticut

Which U.S. Supreme Court decision applied the clear and present danger doctrine as a restriction to freedom of speech?

Schenck v. U.S.

In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the __________.

Second Amendment allows citizens to use guns to defend their homes

The U.S. Supreme Court held in Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) that, other than the fact of prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be __________.

Submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt

In the 2007 case of Gall v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the __________.

Trial court could go outside the guidelines if it provided an explanation

The burden of persuasion requires defendants to prove their defenses by what? (civil law)

a preponderance of the evidence

The test of void-for-vagueness involves both a citizen's ability to understand what is prohibited by the law, and government restrictions on what kind of application of a vague law?

arbitrary and discriminatory

Which burden of proof is the highest standard of proof in civil law?

clear and convincing evidence

Since the right to privacy is a constitutional right and fundamental right, what type of interest is the government required to prove to justify invading it?

compelling

Which of the following agrees with the conclusions of either the majority or the dissenting opinion but provides different reasons for reaching the conclusion?

concurring opinion

Which of the following is the legal rule the court has decided to apply to the facts of the cases?

court's holding

Which of the following create(s) criminal law by interpreting state and municipal criminal codes?

criminal court opinions

What do mala in se crimes require?

criminal intent

Which of the following create(s) criminal law through informal discretionary law making to decide how the criminal law process works on a day-to-day basis?

criminal law enforcement agencies

The contributions of law, history, philosophy, the social sciences, and sometimes biology to explain the moral desires we wish to impose on the world best describes what?

criminal law imagination

The principle of legality means that an individual cannot be convicted of, or punished for, a crime unless the law __________.

defined the crime and punishment before the person engaged in the crime

Rational human beings won't commit crimes if they know that the pain of punishment outweighs the pleasure gained from committing crimes best describes which theory?

deterrence

In Ewing v. California (2003), the U.S. Supreme Court specifically held that a three strikes sentence of 25 years to life __________

did not violate the Eight Amendment because it was not grossly disproportionate punishment

Which type of speech does the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protect?

expressive conduct

In many states, those convicted of what type of offenses can't vote, can't serve in public office, can't work in certain occupations and professions, and can't be attorneys (this type of conviction can also be a ground for divorce)?

felony

The principle of legality is called the what of criminal law?

first principle

The principle of proportionality requires that the punishment __________.

fit the crime

The use of the threat of punishment in order to prevent the general population who haven't committed crimes from doing so is the primary purpose of ________.

general deterrence

What form of social control is criminal liability?

harshest and most expensive

Under our legal system, a criminal defendant is presumed __________.

innocent

Which of the following is the law of the case; the opinion of the majority of the justices on the court who participated in the case?

majority opinion

Offenses that are crimes only because a specific statute or ordinance prohibits them are ________.

mala prohibita offenses

Which type of crime is punishable by fine and/or confinement in the local jail for up to one year?

misdemeanor

The test of whether a statute or law is void for vagueness is whether a __________.

person of ordinary intelligence understands the law

Which of the following is an opinion that represents the reasoning of the greatest number (but less than a majority) of justices?

plurality opinion

All punishment intentionally inflicts pain or other unpleasant consequences on the recipient. To qualify as criminal punishment, penalties must also ________.

prescribe a punishment in the same law that defines the crime

Which of the following permits only the minimum amount of pain necessary to prevent the crime?

principle of utility

In Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), the U.S. Supreme Court held that there is a constitutional right to __________.

privacy

In Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court reversed its position and banned the use of the death penalty for murderers with intellectual impairment because of a change in the __________.

public opinion opposing the death penalty for individuals with intellectual impairment

The dual nature of U.S. criminal law divided into two categories—a small number of serious, core offenses and a large number of lesser crimes, or "everything else"—best describes what?

social reality of U.S. criminal law

A "not guilty" verdict reflects the jury's conclusion that the ________.

state did not prove all the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt

Who or what creates most criminal codes?

state legislatures and city and town councils

A tort is a noncriminal wrong where an individual can ________.

sue for monetary damages

The "evolving standards of decency" analysis espoused by the U.S. Supreme Court in Trop v. Dulles (1958) has subsequently been used by the Court to decide whether what is cruel and unusual punishment for certain groups of offenders?

the death penalty

In addition to the freedom of speech, the First Amendment also protects __________.

the freedom of associations

In a constitutional democracy, who can't make a crime out of what the Constitution protects as a fundamental right?

the majority