CHAPTER 14: CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY AND DEFENSES
20. Under the English common law, one who committed murder had to be charged within a year and a day after the victim died.
F
5. A defendant who pleads duress admits commission of the alleged criminal act but denies any criminal intent.
F
10. Although entrapment was not a defense at common law, it may now be pled as a defense in all federal and state jurisdictions.
T
12. While the prosecution always carries the burden of proving the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, courts generally require a defendant to prove an affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence.
T
4. The concept of a defendant being allowed to plead the statute of limitations as a defense is derived from the common law.
T
6. A homeowner may under all circumstances use deadly force for self-protection in his or her dwelling.
T
7. At common law, a person had the right to use reasonable force to prevent commission of a felony or to protect members of his household who were endangered.
T
8. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted to require that courts must grant transactional immunity to a witness who testifies after invoking the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination.
T
9. The defense of double jeopardy does not preclude the state from retrying a defendant who has been granted a new trial on a defendant's appeal claiming an error occurred during the trial.
T
8. Which one of the following statements concerning a person's use of force is INCORRECT? a. The trend of American law is to allow a person to "stand in the shoes of the victim." b. A police officer may use deadly force to prevent any felon from escaping custody. c. A person is generally justified in using reasonable force to protect personal and real property from theft or destruction. d. In general, the use of deadly force is restricted to situations involving a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a potential victim.
b. A police officer may use deadly force to prevent any felon from escaping custody.
18. Under the __________ Rule, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know what he was doing was wrong. a. Durham b. M'Naghten c. ALI d. Freeman
b. M'Naghten
21. In some states where insanity is classified as an affirmative defense, the defendant bears the burden of proof of insanity, usually by ______________. a. a preponderance of the evidence b. clear and convincing evidence c. a showing of probable cause d. substantial capacity
b. clear and convincing evidence
13. There are four defenses asserting the lack of capacity to commit a crime: intoxication, ________, insanity and automatism. a. alibi b. infancy c. infirmity d. duress
b. infancy
1. Karen is browsing around a public library. She has no library card nor does she have permission to borrow books, yet she leaves with several books under her arm. At Karen's trial for petit theft, she claims that she had an "irresistible impulse" to take the books. In a state that follows the M'Naghten Rule, Karen has a good defense of ______. a. mistake of law b. insanity c. mistake of fact d. None of these
b. insanity
4. Which of the following has been judicially recognized as a defense to criminal conduct? a. television intoxication b. necessity c. premenstrual syndrome d. victim's negligence
b. necessity
2. Which of the following statements is incorrect? a. At the time the United States was founded, juvenile offenders were adjudicated separately from adults. b. As a result of courts handling youthful offenders in nonadversarial proceedings many youthful offenders were not rehabilitated, nor were they afforded even the most basic constitutional rights accorded adults in the criminal justice system. c. Although juvenile courts remain a part of the judicial scene, statutes commonly provide that for certain offenses a juvenile may be tried as an adult. d. Under federal law, a juvenile is a person who has not attained age 18 at the time of the commission of an offense.
c. Although juvenile courts remain a part of the judicial scene, statutes commonly provide that for certain offenses a juvenile may be tried as an adult.
17. Few cases have caused as great a concern as the verdict finding __________ not guilty by reason of insanity in his trial for the 1981 shooting of President Ronald Reagan. a. Robert Peel b. John David Chapman c. John Hinckley d. Edward Teach
c. John Hinckley
22. A defendant who claims to have been at a place other than where the crime charged occurred would likely assert the defense of __________. a. infirmity b. mistake of fact c. alibi d. entrapment
c. alibi
25. Which one of the following defenses is based on constitutional authority? a. diplomatic immunity b. insanity c. double jeopardy d. alibi
c. double jeopardy
23. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? a. Courts generally recognize a mistake of fact defense in general-intent crimes only if the mistake is a reasonable one. b. An unreasonable mistake may be asserted as a defense to a specific-intent crime. c. A bona fide mistake of fact is generally considered a defense to a strict liability offense. d. At common law a defendant who made a bona fide mistake of fact could defend on that basis.
d. At common law a defendant who made a bona fide mistake of fact could defend on that basis.
11. If consent negates the element of force, it may in some instances be a defense to ___. a. forcible rape b. murder c. statutory rape d. None of these
d. None of these
10. Which of the following statements is INCORRECT? a. The defense of duress is recognized in American law either by statute or court decisions. b. The defense of necessity has been successfully employed in some instances in American courts. c. Some jurisdictions now permit a female charged with aggravated assault of a male to show that even though she did not face immediate harm, her plea of self-defense should be recognized because her actions were in response to being constantly battered by the man with whom she lived. d. The right of a person to defend his or her personal property is based on the same standard as the right of a person to defend his or her home.
d. The right of a person to defend his or her personal property is based on the same standard as the right of a person to defend his or her home.
3. Which one of the following defenses does not relate to a defendant's capacity to comprehend his or her actions? a. Infancy b. Intoxication c. Insanity d. duress
d. duress
15. In most jurisdictions, voluntary intoxication may be considered in determining whether a defendant can formulate the ___________ required to prove such crimes as larceny, burglary, and premeditated murder. a. general intent b. actus reus c. culpability d. specific intent
d. specific intent
24. Which one of the following defenses was not based on English common law? a. duress b. necessity c. mistake of fact d. statute of limitations
d. statute of limitations
11. An affirmative defense is one in which the defendant denies committing the crime or claims that the prosecution lacks sufficient evidence of the defendant's guilt.
F
14. The English common law excused from criminal responsibility persons who became voluntarily intoxicated before committing criminal acts.
F
2. Voluntary intoxication is recognized as a defense to all statutory crimes.
F
1. At common law, a child under age seven could not be held responsible for any crime.
T
13. Statutes or court rules commonly require that to assert alibi as a defense, a defendant must notify the prosecution in advance of trial and furnish the names of witnesses the defendant intends to use to support the alibi.
T
15. Where a mistaken view of the law negates the specific-intent element of a crime, mistake of law can be a defense.
T
16. Some states provide for verdicts of guilty but mentally ill, while others have abolished the defense of insanity altogether.
T
17. At common law, a person attacked had no duty to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense.
T
18. The law has traditionally applied an objective test for the use of deadly force, but today many courts apply a subjective standard of reasonableness to determine whether circumstances are sufficient to induce an honest and reasonable belief that force must be used.
T
19. The common law "castle doctrine" permits the use of deadly force against an intruder into a dwelling, but does not justify using deadly force in taking a life to repel a mere trespass.
T
3. In American courts, a mistake of fact can be a defense only to negate the defendant's specific intent.
T
6. Which one of the following statements is CORRECT? a. Although juvenile courts remain as part of the judicial scene, statutes commonly provide that for certain offenses a juvenile may be tried as an adult. b. The only defenses that are based on a defendant asserting an excuse or justification: are mistake of law and mistake of fact. c. A person who violates a statute based on advice of counsel has a valid defense for violating the law. d. Federal and state courts hold threats of future harm can be sufficient to constitute the defense of duress.
a. Although juvenile courts remain as part of the judicial scene, statutes commonly provide that for certain offenses a juvenile may be tried as an adult.
12. A defense that must be specifically pled is classified as a (an) _______ defense. a. affirmative b. negative c. arraignment d. novel
a. affirmative
16. Involuntary ___________ rarely occurs, but when it does, it can negate criminal intent. a. intoxication b. manslaughter c. solicitation d. confession
a. intoxication
14. The common law regarded a child under age ______ as incapable of forming criminal intent. a. seven b. ten c. twelve d. eighteen
a. seven
5. Which one of the following statements is INCORRECT? a. Most courts reject the common-law doctrine that requires a person to retreat to the greatest extent possible before meeting force with force. b. When there is evidence that a child has been abused continually over an extended period, there is a movement today to allow assertion of the battered child syndrome (BCS) in defense of a child accused of assaulting or killing a parent. c. If someone is killed or injured as a result of a spring gun or similar mechanical device, the party who set a spring gun is not criminally responsible for any resulting death or injury caused by the spring gun. d. The privilege against self-incrimination guaranteed by the federal constitution is a personal one that applies only to natural persons and not corporations.
c. If someone is killed or injured as a result of a spring gun or similar mechanical device, the party who set a spring gun is not criminally responsible for any resulting death or injury caused by the spring gun.
20. The "_________________" standard of proof is higher than the usual civil evidentiary standard of "preponderance of the evidence" but somewhat lower than the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt" that pertains to the criminal trial. a. totality of circumstances b. reasonable suspicion c. clear and convincing evidence d. probable cause
c. clear and convincing evidence
19. Under the American Law Institute's standard, a person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, that person lacks ______________ either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. a. rudimentary ability b. thorough capability c. substantial capacity d. any means whatsoever
c. substantial capacity
9. To sustain the defense of selective prosecution, a defendant must establish ________. a. that he or she is a member of a minority group b. actual malice by the police c. that he or she was selected for prosecution for reasons such as race, religion, or exercise of First Amendment rights d. that the police intended to use the criminal law in a discriminatory fashion
c. that he or she was selected for prosecution for reasons such as race, religion, or exercise of First Amendment rights
7. The Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 provides that in federal courts _________. a. the ALI "substantial capacity" test for insanity must be followed b. the "irresistible impulse" test may be applied at the discretion of the trial judge c. the defendant has the burden of proving insanity by clear and convincing evidence d. the government must prove the defendant's sanity at the time of the crime
c. the defendant has the burden of proving insanity by clear and convincing evidence
