Quiz 5 GOVT-2306-73743, Quiz 6 GOVT-2306-73743, Quiz 7 GOVT-2306-73743, Quiz 8 GOVT-2306-73743

Which of the following is a restriction placed on broadcasters by the FCC with respect to political campaigns?

They cannot censor anything said by a candidate given air time.

Which of the following is true of typical grand juries?

They ideally serve to prevent arbitrary excesses by prosecuting attorneys.

What would Maxwell McCombs likely say about most of the articles alleging media bias in traditional media over the last decade?

They lack the proper methodology to truly study the issue.

Which burden of proof is used in criminal matters?

"beyond a reasonable doubt"

In 2005, the Texas legislature passed a bill adding which change to the sentencing phase of capital cases?

"life without parole"

What is the "age of majority" in Texas with regard to civil and criminal responsibility before the law?

*wrong answer: "16" and "18"*

Which of the following is a major criminal justice reform that Texas recently implemented?

*wrong answer: "increased reliance on mandatory minimums for drug crimes" and "a substantial reduction in the use of the death penalty"*

The highest number of states' courts use which method for selecting trial court (including municipal level) judges?

*wrong answer: "partisan election" and "nonpartisan election"*

Children under what age cannot be prosecuted for a crime in Texas?

10

Voter turnout in City of Austin municipal elections is usually about

15 %

How many elections must a judge win prior to being seated on the bench under the Texas partisan election system?

2

For incorporation to proceed in Texas, first a minimum population of ________ citizens must be living within a two-square-mile area.

201

In a strong mayor city, the mayor

appoints major department heads.

Municipal elections in Texas

are technically nonpartisan.

All of the following are at-large election systems EXCEPT

at-large multiple places.

Texas uses ________ to review the facts and decide whether enough evidence exists to try cases

both grand juries and administrative hearings

The Texas Government Code allows jurisdictions to draw upon which source(s) for jury selection?

both registered voters and licensed drivers

Most voters go to the election booth with scant knowledge about the qualifications of judicial candidates, and they often end up voting

by name familiarity

Persons under the age of 18 who commit crimes

cannot be sentenced to death or tolife in prison.

Under the council-manager form of government, how is the city manager selected?

city council appointment

If you selected any city in Texas at random, which governmental form would you definitely not find?

commission

In which type of city government do voters elect people directly to oversee city departments?

commission

What core characteristic defines the "public" as described in the text?

communication in the public sphere

What are the two kinds of county courts?

constitutional county courts and county courts at law

Most court cases in Texas deal with

controversies between individuals

If you selected any city in Texas at random, what governmental form would you most likely find?

council-manager

In which type of city government does the city council hire a person to be city manager?

council-manager

George Lakoff argues that once the media has framed a story for the audience,

counterarguments become less effective in swayingthe audience

Which is the oldest type of local government, adapted from a British unit of government, that is used in the United States?

county

Who is responsible for overseeing the collecting and disbursing of county funds?

county auditor

Who is responsible for maintaining property records and issuing marriage licenses?

county clerk

Who is responsible for collecting revenue for the state and county?

county tax assessor

Who is responsible for receiving, maintaining, and disbursing county funds?

county treasurer

Courts differ from legislatures in that

courts cannot initiate policy changes

Justices of the peace (JP courts) in Texas can do all of the following EXCEPT

create records of proceedings for county courts to review

One strategy that Texas has used to alleviate prison populations is

creating a new category of felony offenses.

What voting system is preferred by voting rights activists as a means of increasing minority representation?

cumulative voting

If there are six seats up for election and a voter is allowed to cast up to six votes, this is an example of

cumulative voting.

In Texas, appellate courts

decide whether procedure was followed

What is the most important difference between trial and appellate courts?

deciding points of fact versus points of law

Although the lines are blurring, the "many-to-many" media transmission function is largely the domain of

digital content transmitted online and through social media networks.

Enhanced punishments are intended to

discourage recidivism.

A murder case would most likely first be tried in a(n)

district court

Based on emerging patterns in where civil lawsuits are heard, what kind of court is most likely to hear a civil suit over a divorce settlement?

district court

From what agent of socializationare peoplemost likely to gaintheirfirst understanding of civics?

education

In what manner are county sheriffs chosen for service?

elected by county voters for a four-year term

Which method of judicial selection is a system left over from colonial America?

election by the legislature

The 2014 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that struck down the FCC's Open Internet Order had what effect at that time?

ending network neutrality requirements for ISPs

Applying stricter sentences to those defendants who have been convicted previously is called

enhanced punishment.

In criminal cases, the state is required to share with the defense any information or evidence that could assist the accused. This evidence is called

exculpatory evidence

Which of the following types of polls would be considered somewhat legitimate but controversial and of relatively low scientific rigor?

exit poll

Which of the five broad definitions of public opinion involves "rhetorical construction"?

fiction

Which of the following processes occurs first when media bring news to an audience?

gatekeeping

A local news outlet decides that it is important for the public to be informed about an upcoming vote on property taxes. It replays a short segment about the vote three times a day until voting day arrives. What processes are represented here?

gatekeeping, agenda setting, and priming

Most cities in Texas are chartered under

general law.

Which of the following is preferred by all age groups?

getting news directly from the reporting source

What has been a broad result of the 1996 Telecommunications Act?

greater concentration of media outlets under fewer owners

The legislation HB 2003 passed by the Texas legislature, amending the Texas Penal Code, prohibited which of the following?

harassment through various online mediums

A teenager living near the U.S.-Mexico border has a sense that immigration is a bad thing. After watching several local news reports, he believes this even more strongly. This suggests that the news reports

have high resonance.

The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) uses federal funding to

help elementary and secondary schools filter Internet materials harmful to children

Texas's incarceration rate is

higher than that of most other states.

Opponents ofexcessive bail and pretrial confinement believe it conflicts with what core justice principle?

innocent until proven guilty

According to a 2006 Texans for Public Justice study, the Texas Supreme Court

is more than seven times more likely to hear cases filed by large contributors

In most states, which courts hear major criminal and civil cases

All of these answers are correct.

Which of the following bodies or individuals has some power to remove a Texas judge from office?

All of these answers are correct.

The authority to establish and maintain a free public school system is contained in which article of the Texas Constitution?

Article 7

Which of the following statements about television viewing patterns is accurate?

Between 2017 and 2018, viewership of most major networks declined.

What is a problem with some of the news shared through YouTube by citizen journalists?

Citizen journalists sometimes present dubious information and claim it to be based on facts.

________ refers tothe reduction in punishment for an individual convicted of a crime.

Commuted sentence

________ courts determine whether a person is guilty, and ________ courts determine if the victims are entitled to damages.

Criminal; civil

________ is the political principle that assigns different functions to different levels of government.

Federalism

San Antonio ran slates of candidates using a "nonpartisan organization" known as the

Good Government League.

What accurate prediction was made in 1969 by Paul Baran about the coming effects of "electrical communications"?

Greater choice of information would lead to a decline in dialogue within communities.

Which is the largest county in Texas in terms of population?

Harris

Which of the following is the key distinction between general law cities and home rule cities?

Home rule charters are created by the citizens.

What is one reason estimates of the cost of private prisons per inmate might not be accurate?

Inmate medical care is paid for by the state of Texas.

How is a story in a news magazine likely to differ from a story covering the same subject in a print newspaper?

It would provide more in-depth coverage.

Which Supreme Court decision declared "life without parole" cruel and unusual punishment for juveniles?

Miller v. Alabama

In which case was it argued that the Texas Youth Council violated theEighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment?

Morales v. Turman

What link between education and recidivism was demonstrated in a study of the Windham educational programs?

Most who participated in the educational programs did not reoffend for at least two years after release.

Which of the following statements about declining news readership is accurate?

Only just over 1200 newspapers are still in circulation across the United States.

________ refers tothe granting of forgiveness by the state for a conviction.

Pardon

The Texas ________ grades criminal offenses based on severity.

Penal Code

Which of the following is NOT a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety?

Public Safety Commission

Which of the following was illustrated by the actions of Public Opinion Strategies against 1996 Texas Attorney General Dan Morales in 1996?

Push polls can affect public opinion even though they can't measure it.

________refers toa temporary (30 day) stay of execution the governor of Texas may grant.

Reprieve

Which Supreme Court decision barred the death sentence for juveniles?

Roper v. Simmons

What describes the rules associated with the criminal justice process in Texas?

Texas Code of Criminal Procedures

What institution replaced the Texas Youth Council and Texas Youth Commission?

Texas Juvenile Justice Department

A 2010 Supreme Court decision held that corporations and unions have a First Amendment right to spend unlimited funds on campaign advertisements under what condition?

The ads cannot be coordinated with any candidate.

Which of the following statements about citizens' levels of trust in the media is accurate?

The overall level of trust has decreased in most Western democracies.

Which of the following statements about special district governments in Texas is accurate?

The primary reason for their existence is to fill service gaps left by other units of government.

Texas has two Supreme Courts because

it divides its courts of last resort between criminal and civil cases.

County governments in Texas

lack general ordinance authority.

In the Carnegie Mellon survey, what did respondents indicate to be the biggest problem with tweets they considered to be useless?

lack of context

The lowest number of states select appellate court judges through

legislative election.

Bexar County, Texas, is an example of which category of local government?

limited-purpose

A justice of the peace court is a(n)

magistrate court

The strict procedural rules that govern courts

might disallow evidence gathered in an illegal manner

Scandals such as evidence tampering in crime labs prompted calls for Texas to pass reforms that address which of the following problems?

misconduct in the justice system

What kind of criminal case is a county court most likely to hear?

misdemeanor

Judges appointed by governors are typically

more competent and less responsive

Which of the following types of Texas judges are NOT selected by partisan elections

municipal judges

Which of the following media sources is subject to the most regulation by the FCC?

network television

The danger of the "echo chamber" effect is most prominent in

news shared through social media.

Which of the following methods of judicial selection leads to the highest degree of judicial responsiveness?

nonpartisan election

What is the most often called-for fix to the problems caused by straight-ticket voting in Texas?

nonpartisan elections

Judges must base their decisions only on the federal and state constitutions, statutes, and earlier court decisions. This concept is called

objectivity

What authority do city governments have that in counties is quite limited?

ordinance passage

Where did most polling take place prior to the 1920s and 1930s?

outside polling stations

A proliferation of mens rea convictions would likely be the result of

overcriminalization

Which phraserefers to the inherent power of the state to protect persons legally incapable of protecting themselves?

parens patriae

How are appellate court judges selected in Texas

partisan election

How are trial court judges selected in Texas?

partisan election

Which method of judicial selection leads to the lowest degree of judicial independence?

partisan election

Which method of judicial selection leads to the lowest level of judicial competence?

partisan election

Which burden of proof is used in civil matters?

preponderance of evidence

There are federal laws that prevent print media from

printing false information.

Civil law has to do with

private relationships.

Free or reduced-fee legal representation is known as

pro bono

The primary source of revenue for counties is

property tax.

The vast majority of crime in Texas involves

property.

TheTimothy Cole Act was passed to

provide compensation for wrongfully incarcerated individuals.

What are the three broad functions that the media serve within their communities?

provide information, shape perception, link elected representatives and their constituents

Comparing changes in the public opinion of Texans regarding the legal status of marijuana with the actions of legislators and the judicial system in Texas indicates that

public opinion can lead the political elite to alter government policy.

By the end of WWII, media consumption in the U.S. was marked by

radio ownership of almost 95 percent of households; but television was beginning to affect theradio listener base.

Under the new Juvenile Justice Code, what is the primary goal?

rehabilitation

Which method for removing judges for misconduct is used by only a single state, New Hampshire?

removal by the governor after a hearing

County government was designed to meet the needs of and provide services to a(n) ________ population.

rural

What does creation of a Facebook page help a political candidate do that she would be less able to do through advertising in the traditional media?

save money

In Texas, education is primarily the responsibility of

school districts.

Which of the following is carried out by County Sheriff's Offices but is not considered a "traditional law enforcement function"?

serving warrants

If a court makes a ruling based on a principle established in a previous ruling from another court,it is an example of

stare decisis

In which type of city government does the mayor control the budget?

strong mayor

If most of the power rests with the mayor, that city is said to have a

strong mayor government

What change was noted when cities in Texas were forced to change to single-member districts for at least some city council seats?

substantial increase in minority city council members

Use of the Internet by politicians has increased the importance of

technically-trained campaign consultants.

According to recent research, what medium is the most effective for acquisition of political information?

television news

What is the highest court for criminal cases in Texas?

the Court of Criminal Appeals

In Texas, criminal appeals involving the death penalty are heard by

the Court of Criminal Appeals.

The merit system used to identify and select judges is also known as

the Missouri system

A "system of prohibitions, penalties, and correctional measures to deal with conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably causes or threatens harm to those individual or public interests for which state protection is appropriate" describes

the Texas Penal Code.

In merit systems, appointed judges rarely lose retention elections because

the appointed judge does not run against an opponent

In a council-manager government, who is responsible for preparing the budget?

the city manager

What is the composition of the county commissioner's court?

the constitutional county judge and four county commissioners

Why does the U.S. have a dual court system

the federal system of government

What is an effect of self-selection of media sources by individuals based on their own ideological biases?

the formation of larger ideological gaps among citizens

The weak mayor's formal powers most resemble those of which other government official in Texas?

the state governor

In smaller counties, state law allows the sheriff to act as

the tax assessor/collector.

Criminal justice reforms such as drug courts and closing prisons may appeal to some conservatives because

these reforms can save the state money.

A person sues Starbucks because they were burned by it's hot coffee. This is an example of

tort law

Asample is determined and a poll conducted for that sample, but many respondents choose not to answer all the questions asked in the poll. This contributes to what type of error?

total versus actual sample size

Texas has all of the following types of local government EXCEPT

townships

All of the following are concerns about Texas judicial selections EXCEPT that

vacancies from death or resignation require expensive special elections

Which of the following would qualify as traditional media?

a billboard sign

According to public policy theorists Matthew Baum and Philip Potter, the traditional view of the media suggests thattheir primary purpose is to serve as

a linkage mechanism.

Of the following, who is most likely to be appointed to his or her initial seat on the court in Texas?

a municipal court judge

Which of the following news reports would be considered soft news?

a news story about how the mayor of a local town got into politics

Which of the following is a weakness of the council-manager form of city government?

ability of the city manager to manipulate information to control council decisions

San Antonio wants to expand and add new territory to the city and broaden its tax base by doing what, with regard to an upscale subdivision that borders the city?

annexing it