Exam 1
The Texas Legislative Budget Board estimates that community health mental services cost about ______ per day, as compared to the $137 per day that incarceration costs.
$12
Sedition Act of 1798
*Terms:* Made it illegal to defame or criticize the president or the government; aimed at war newspapers critical of the Federalist policies; Jeffersonians viewed it as proof that individual liberties were threatened if the central government was too strong. *Historical Significance:* Led to the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions; contributed to the debate concerning constitutional rights in times of war.
Which groups have historically lacked equality in the United States?
-Asian Americans -women -Catholics
Which of the following accurately describes Native Americans today?
-Casino gambling has raised Native Americans' average income level, but it is still far below the national average. -They are less than half as likely as other Americans to have completed college.
Which of the following are among the legacies of the practice of redlining?
-Hispanics and African Americans still have difficulty obtaining mortgages (compared to whites). -Segregated neighborhoods still exist.
Which of the following Native American nations have a majority who speak native languages at home?
-Pueblo -Navajo
Asian Americans are more likely than other minority groups to ______.
-have a high median income -be college educated
According to data, which of the following factors have contributed to the growth in Texas's prison population?
-increases in state population -rising crime rates -recidivism
Southern states used a number of devices to prevent African Americans from voting, including which of the following?
-literacy tests -whites-only primaries -poll taxes
Before the Fair Sentencing Act, a first-time offender who was convicted of simple possession of crack cocaine faced a mandatory minimum sentence of ______.
5 years
Which statement best describes the political engagement of most Asian Americans in the 1960s? Multiple choice question.
Asian Americans were not politically active to any great extent.
Which of the following is a major problem with civil asset forfeiture?
Assets are taken without due process.
Which of the following was the 1954 landmark case that ended segregation in public schools?
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
True or false: In all cases in Texas, in order to be convicted of a crime, the accused must have intent or prior knowledge of doing something wrong.
FALSE
True or false: The right to appeal after conviction is guaranteed in the Constitution.
FALSE
True or false: The idea that "all men are created equal," as stated in the Declaration of Independence, has always been understood to include all people in the United States.
FALSE Reason: Even Thomas Jefferson, the author of the phrase and a slaveholder, did not believe that it had a precise meaning. The promise embodied in the phrase has bolstered civil rights movements to this day, however.
Which of the following statements is true regarding freedom of the press?
Freedom of the press receives strong judicial protection.
19th Amendment (1920)
Gave women the right to vote
Which of the following counties had the most custodial deaths in Texas in 2005-2015?
Harris
In 1964, how did the federal government respond to demands for equal rights for African Americans?
It passed the Civil Rights Act, which entitles all persons to equal access to public accommodations.
Which of the following is true of the granting of parole to prisoners in Texas?
It results in considerable cost savings to the state.
About half of all Hispanics in the United States were born in ______.
Mexico or have Mexican ancestry
Mens rea or guilty mind
Must be proven by the state in all criminal cases, beyond a reasonable doubt
Which 2015 Supreme Court decision removed the ban on same-sex marriage, citing it violated the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection and due process clauses?
Obergefell v. Hodges
Civil Rights
Question whether specific groups are treated equally by the government (EX racial, sexual, religious)
In a 1947 case, the Supreme Court ruled that because they had no law school for Black students, the University of Oklahoma was ______ to admit Ada Sipuel to its law school. Multiple choice question.
Required
The right to legal counsel is a ______ Amendment protection.
Sixth
In recent years, Texas's criminal justice system has relied less on incarceration and more on rehabilitation.
TRUE
True or false: Although it is a core principle for most Americans, the right to privacy is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.
TRUE
Roe v. Wade
The Supreme Court decision that determined that the right to privacy extended to include abortion is ______.
The Supreme Court decision in Schenck v. United States established which principle?
The federal government can restrict free expression but it does not have unlimited authority to do so.
What unique circumstance existed at the time of the Korematsu v. United States decision? Multiple choice question.
The nation was at war
Why was the National Security Agency's collection of Americans' phone records, as revealed by Edward Snowden in 2013, ruled unlawful by a Federal appellate court?
The program had not been authorized by Congress.
Which of the following organizations is responsible for oversight of the approximately 350 municipal jails throughout the state?
There is no regulatory body to oversee their operations.
Which of the following views of criminal justice would be held by citizens in a traditionalistic political culture?
To maintain order and protect the status quo, punishment and incarceration should be emphasized for those who break the law.
rue or false: "Juvenile justice" in Texas applies not only to those minors charged with wrongdoing, but also those who are wards of the state.
True
What Sioux village has been the site of both a U.S. cavalry massacre of Native Americans and a modern protest?
Wounded Knee
The importance of listing individual rights in the Constitution is that it gives individuals who feel that their rights have been violated ______.
a basis for taking the alleged violation into a court of law for a ruling by a judge Reason: Individuals would be more likely to seek protection of their rights in the court system.
freedom of expression
a fundamental right affirmed in the First Amendment to speak, publish, and protest
In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot lawfully ______.
ban sexual relations between consenting same-sex adults
The landmark case of Lau v. Nichols (1974) resulted in many states offering ______ education in their public schools.
bilingual
suspect classification
category or class, such as race, that triggers the highest standard of scrutiny from the Supreme Court
Among the laws giving women greater equality in the workplace were laws prohibiting ______.
certain employers from paying women less than men for doing the same job
Despite the state's reputation as tough on crime, which of the following justice reform efforts recently emerged?
changes to the juvenile justice system
Which term refers to the rights and privileges guaranteed to all citizens under the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments?
civil rights
Asian Americans emphasize _____ as a means of achieving upward mobility.
education
Which of the following is a provision of the federal Fair Sentencing Act (FSA)?
elimination of a mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine
Which of the following are considered civil liberties?
freedom of speech right to a fair trial freedom of religion
Studies specifically comparing recidivism in public and private prisons ______.
have been criticized for design flaws
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which of the following are reasons for the higher death rate for Black Americans?
higher housing density higher incidence of comorbidity factors such as hypertension more limited access to medical care
As a result of changes in sentencing policies, the U.S. prison population, per capita, ______.
is the largest in the world
Which of these groups is typically more protective of individual rights?
judges
For most individuals, their first and often only point of contact with the criminal justice system is through ______.
law enforcement
clear and present danger test
law should not punish speech unless there was a clear and present danger of producing harmful actions
The trend for police departments to increasingly use military vehicles, weapons, gear, and tactics is referred to as police ______.
militarization
The Timothy Cole Act addresses the issue of ______.
monetary compensation for wrongfully incarcerated people
In the case of New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), the Supreme Court ruled that ______.
prior restraint is unconstitutional without a compelling argument for the restriction
Education Amendment Act of 1972 Title IX
prohibits sex discrimination in education
Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
prohibits sex discrimination in salary and wages by some categories of employers
Equal Credit Act of 1974
prohibits sex discrimination in the granting of financial credit
free-exercise clause
prohibits the government from interfering with individuals' practice of their religion
The 1964 Civil Rights Act banned ______.
public accommodations
Which legal test gives government considerable leeway in treating people differently, such as imposing a higher tax rate on upper-income Americans?
reasonable-basis test
Any law that treats individuals differently based on race is subject to the ______ test.
strict-scrutiny
Gitlow vs NY
supreme court applied protection of free speech to the states through the due process clause of the 14th amendment
According to the Supreme Court, laws that discriminate between people based on their race or ethnicity are laws that make use of ______.
suspect classifications
The Supreme Court has ruled that the right of free assembly ______.
takes precedence over the mere possibility that the exercise of the right might have undesirable consequences
What 2013 Texas legislation requires that all evidence pertaining to a criminal case (whether or not it is perceived as relevant to guilt or punishment) is disclosed to the defense?
the Michael Morton Act
What Texas agency coordinates border security?
the Texas Rangers
reasonable basis test
the courts require government only to show that a particular law is reasonable
Which of the following resulted in a change in jail practices in Waller County?
the death of Sandra Bland while in police custody
In Texas, who can grant a pardon to someone convicted of a crime?
the governor, on recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Paroles
The 1977 Supreme Court case that provided guidance on the allowable restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly upheld which of the following?
the right of an American Nazi Party group to hold a parade in Skokie, a city with a large Jewish population that included Holocaust survivors
What are comparable worth policies?
those that give women and men equal hourly pay for jobs that require similar training and education
The USA Patriot Act was passed in order to:
to combat terrorism
Identify a purpose of the Texas Forensic Science Commission.
to ensure that the most up-to-date scientific knowledge drives the investigation and analysis of evidence
What was the intention of the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling?
to maintain segregation while claiming equality
The Supreme Court consistently ruled that the George W. Bush administration's practice of denying constitutional and legal protections to enemy combatants was ______.
under the jurisdiction of the United States courts
Schenck v. United States(1919)
was a United States Supreme Court decision that upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 and concluded that a defendant did not have a First Amendment right to express freedom of speech against the draft during World War I. Ultimately, the case established the "clear and present danger" test, which was used sporadically until 1969 when protection for speech was raised in Brandenburg v. Ohio to "Imminent lawless action". The bad tendency test would be used just months later in Abrams v. United States 1919.
Libel
written defamation
Which of the following constitutional protections were at issue in the Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona (1966)?
-the right to remain silent -the right to an attorney
Which of the following actions are examples of legal misconduct?
-using intimidation tactics to steer witness testimony -intentionally denying or hiding evidence from the defense -encouraging or coaching witnesses to lie under oath
Of the 500 largest U.S. corporations, about ______ percent are headed by women.
5%
Women make up approximately half of the Texas population. They account for ______ percent of the state's prison population.
6.9%
How many people did the state of Texas execute in 2019?
9
Despite the Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, by the 1970s ______ percent of Black children were still attending schools that were mostly or entirely Black.
95%
US Patriot Act
A U.S. federal act that broadens the surveillance of law enforcement agencies to enhance the detection and suppression of terrorism
Which of the following correctly describes the reality of the Texas courts' use of poverty assessments?
A disturbing number do not make these assessments.
What has the Supreme Court ruled concerning police use of modern technology, such as listening or thermal-imaging devices, to investigate a subject?
A search warrant is required, just as it would be for other circumstances.
What was the first result of the national boycott of California lettuce and grapes that was launched by Cesar Chavez?
California passed a law giving migrant workers the right to bargain collectively.
Which influential figure began civil rights work by organizing strikes by farmworkers to attain basic labor rights for migrant workers?
Cesar Chavez
Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
Death penalty is not "cruel and unusual punishment" in cases of murder
Act of Tolerance
England's Blank______ gave members of Protestant sects the right to worship freely and publicly. The first Amendment reflects this tradition.
Which proposed amendment to the Constitution was passed by the Congress in the early 1970s but failed to receive the necessary three-fourths majority?
Equal Rights Amendment
Which sociologist authored the book An American Dilemma?
Gunnar Myrdal
1968 Civil Rights Act
Prohibited discrimination in housing
1917 Espionage Act
Prohibited forms of dissent, including anti-war leaflets during World War 1.
15th Amendment (1870)
Prohibited voting restrictions based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude (slavery)
Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)
Struck down state bans on same sex marriage. The 14th Amendment requires States to license a marriage between two people of the same sex. States must recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State. (Roberts Court)
The Supreme Court ruled that the forced busing of children for the purpose of achieving racially integrated schools was constitutional in ______.
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Reason: In Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, the Supreme court ruled that busing children out of their neighborhoods to achieve racially integrated schools was permitted.
True or false: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned segregation in public accommodations such as restaurants and movie theaters, is based on Congress's power to regulate commerce.
TRUE
Which of the following is true of legal aid services for low-income Texans?
Ten of thousands of low-income Texans do not receive adequate legal aid.
strict scrutiny test
The law is unconstitutional unless a government can provide a compelling reason for it
What happened when the privately run Willacy County Correctional Center, also known as "Tent City," was shut down after reports of physical and sexual abuse and inmate rioting?
The resulting budget shortfall in Willacy County required layoffs of county employees.
What is the purpose of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments?
They provide that no person can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
Which type of discrimination is based on the law?
de jure discrimination
A ______ is a reduction in punishment for an individual convicted of a crime (but not an erasure of the criminal record).
commutation
Which of the following is a type of juvenile offense in Texas that if committed by an adult would be either punishable by a fine or not considered a violation at all?
conduct indicating a need for supervision (CINS)
According to state statute, each ______ in Texas is required to provide a "safe and suitable" jail.
county
In Texas, ________ law applies when the government seeks punishment on behalf of society or a victim.
criminal
Which of the following is a type of juvenile offense in Texas that if committed by an adult would result in imprisonment?
delinquent conduct
Which clause of the U.S. Constitution was at the center of the argument in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka?
equal-protection clause Reason: The equal-protection clause forbids states from denying equal protection of the laws to anyone within its jurisdiction.
In Engle v. Vitale (1962), the Supreme Court ruled against the reciting of prayers in public schools on grounds it violates the ______.
establishment clause Reason: The free-exercise clause would have been used against the Court's ruling; another part of the First Amendment is vital to their verdict.
Compared to their numbers in the total population, ______ make up a disproportionate percentage of the prison and jail population.
ethnic minorities
The official absolution of a false criminal conviction, which may involve release from prison or jail, is referred to a(n) ______.
exoneration
American television crime dramas present the investigation and prosecution of criminals ______ as compared to the realities.
in an unrealistic way
Which of the following refers to the power of the state to act in the place of the parent to protect the interests of a child?
in loco parentis
1964 Civil Rights Act
outlawed segregation in public places; banned discrimination in employment
What chronic problem faced by the state prison system was addressed in the case of Ruiz v. Estelle?
overcrowding
Which of the following refers to the inherent power of the state to protect persons legally incapable of protecting themselves before the law?
parens patriae
Under Texas law, judges are required to perform a(n) ______ assessment to determine a defendant's financial situation.
poverty
Which of the following is the solution forwarded by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to attempt to lower its prisoner suicide rate?
pre-incarceration "health tagging"
At one time, banks engaged in a practice known as ______, refusing to grant mortgage loans to people who lived in certain neighborhoods, especially those neighborhoods with large Black populations.
redlining
establishment clause
requires government neutrality toward religious institutions
Freedom of expression or speech
right of individual Americans to hold and communicate thoughts of their choosing.
imminent lawless action test
rule used by the courts that restricts speech only if it is aimed at producing or is likely to produce imminent lawless action
A Texas citizen is no longer considered a juvenile once which of the following birthdays is reached?
seventeenth
Despite the persisting issues of institutional racism, one area in which African Americans have made significant gains is in ______.
winning elective office
Freedom of expression, provided by the First Amendment, allows Americans to ______.
write or publish almost anything, with some limits communicate thoughts of their choosing
the right to privacy
Griswold v. Connecticut was a case dealing with ______.
In what year did Texas reinstate the death penalty after a national moratorium on this type of punishment?
1976
Which of the following statements are true concerning the right of assembly?
-Individuals cannot hold an assembly at a busy intersection during rush hour. -Regulations of public assemblies must be applied fairly to all groups. -Public officials can regulate the time and place of assemblies.
What percentage of prison admissions were attributable to individuals whose sentence of probation had been revoked?
30 percent
According to one source, how many federal regulatory offenses are there, in addition to 4,000 federal criminal laws and 1,700 state crimes in Texas?
300,000
civil liberties
Constitutional guarantees that protect citizens from arbitrary government action are known as ______. - Reason: Civil rights refer to whether people who are part of a group—such as African Americans—are afforded the same rights as others, whereas civil liberties are guarantees that protect individual citizens from arbitrary government action.
Civil liberties
Indiviual rights
Furman v. Georgia (1972)
State death penalties (as then applied) are arbitrary and violate equal protection of 14th Amendment.
Texas's incarceration rate is one of the highest in the nation.
TRUE Reason: In part because of its high crime rate and in part because of the strictness of its criminal justice policies, Texas has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country.
In Texas, which entity determines if an offender has been sufficiently rehabilitated to be paroled?
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
The ______ is the chief law enforcement agency in Texas.
Texas Department of Public Safety
Which of the following accurately describes Texas's prison population?
Texas has the largest prison population of any state.
In Schenck v. United States (1919), Justice Holmes used which analogy in upholding the government's right to restrict speech that poses a clear and present danger?
The First Amendment does not permit a person to falsely yell "Fire" in a crowded theater.
A company that has a contract with the federal government to construct a road on federal land institutes policies that ensure that its hiring practices are fair and do not exclude members of minority groups. In this way, the company is complying with _____ requirements.
affirmative action
Which of the following is likely to convince a judge that police should be issued a search warrant?
establishing probable cause for believing a crime has been committed
Under the Fifth Amendment, suspects charged with a ______. Multiple choice question.
federal crime cannot be tried unless indicted by a grand jury Reason: The Fifth Amendment does not apply to state crimes.
Fair Sentencing Act of 2010
narrowed the sentence disparities for crack and powder cocaine offenses.
Law enforcement officials sometimes controversially rely on the practice of _________ __________, the assumption that certain groups of people are more likely to commit particular crimes.
racial(racially)profiling
What demographic group is most likely to support same-sex marriage?
younger adultsyounger adults
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby
In which 2014 case did the Supreme Court rule that companies that are "closely held" (only a few owners) are not required to provide their employees with birth control if they object on religious grounds?
Bill of Rights
-Ratified in 1791 -1st amendment: freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion -2nd amendment: right to bear arms -4th amendment: Protection against unreasonable search and seizure -5th amendment: protection against self-incrimination and double jeopardy -6th amendment: right to a jury trial, an attorney, and to confront witnesses -8th amendment: protection against cruel and unusual punishment
Which of the following continue to impede progress toward equality for Black Americans?
-The jobless rate of African Americans is two times that of white Americans. -About a third of African American children live below the poverty line. -The median net worth of households heading by retired African Americans is about 10 percent that of retired white people.
Which of the following statements are accurate representations of the Hispanic population in the United States? (Choose every correct answer.)
-The majority are immigrants from Mexico and the Caribbean islands. -Their numbers have more than doubled in the past twenty years.
Which of the statements below are true of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program?
-The program was established by the Obama administration in 2012. -The Trump administration's attempt to rescind the program was invalidated by the Supreme Court.
Which of the following are examples of de jure discrimination?
-Women are not allowed to vote in federal elections. -A state requires separate public bathrooms for Black and white people.
Which practices were banned as a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1968?
-discriminatory practices in mortgage lending -discriminatory real estate practices such as steering African American families to certain neighborhoods -discriminatory practices in housing
In 1968 Congress passed a law, the ______, that granted Native Americans constitutional rights similar to those held by other Americans.
Indian Civil Rights Act
In the case of Korematsu v. United States (1944), the courts ______.
allowed government polices during wartime that would not be allowed in times of peace
In order to expand employment opportunities for traditionally disadvantaged groups, the federal government requires agencies and businesses that receive federal funds or contracts to ______.
establish policies aimed at ensuring that all job applicants are treated fairly
The Supreme Court has upheld a law banning what is termed a "partial-birth abortion." In her dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg maintained that the law ______.
risks women's lives and health
Slander
spoken defamation
The movement of mentally ill individuals out of large, state-run psychiatric hospitals in the latter half of the twentieth century has been termed ______.
deinstitutionalization
Miranda v. Arizona
established that law enforcement officers must advise detainees of their rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney, before beginning questioning in a criminal investigation?
Hispanics who have immigrated to the U.S. are generally concentrated ______.
in their states of entry
Which of the following are current policy issues for Native Americans?
-preventing casino gambling from eroding tribal traditions -obtaining economic self-sufficiency -preserving their culture and languages
Which of the following are duties of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice?
-oversight of parolees and those on probation -detention and supervision of inmates -operation of state prisons and jails
Which of the following are purposes served by the Texas criminal justice system?
-promotion of public safety -punishment of criminal activity -compensation of victims -deterrence of potential criminal activity -rehabilitation of offenders
A 2016 Harvard Law School study that examined Texas counties with a high output of death penalty sentences for people of color laid the blame on ______.
-racial bias -inadequate defense -overzealous prosecutors
Which of the following would be considered an element of the Texas criminal justice system?
-the Texas courts -policies enacted by the legislature -correctional facilities and programs
The Supreme Court has recently employed the Eighth Amendment to ban which of the following?
-the death penalty for juveniles -the death penalty for the mentally ill -life sentences without parole for juveniles
In following the Eighth Amendment, the Supreme Court has used which of the following tests to determine if an action constitutes cruel and unusual punishment?
1)determining whether a punishment is "disproportionate to the offence" 2)determining if a punishment violates "fundamental standards of good conscience and fairness" 3)determining if a punishment is "unnecessarily cruel"
As of April 2018, how many operational units were under the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice?
106
Legal aid services for low-income Texans often use ______ percent of the federal poverty threshold as their guidelines for free legal services. (The federal policy threshold for a single person under the age of 65 was $12,752 in 2017.)
125
The Texas ______ describes the rules associated with the criminal justice process in Texas.
Code of Criminal Procedure
The Supreme Court has generally held that those convicted in state courts and who appeal on the grounds that their federal constitutional rights were violated are limited to ______. Multiple choice question.
one appeal
As of 2019, approximately what portion of the Texas population was under 18 years of age?
one-quarter