Quiz 4-6 Gov 2306
Unlike most other statewide governing offices, what governing body has varied greatly in form and structure over the years?
State Board of Education
What tool is used to forecast state economic growth, keep track of business cycles, and generally provide information on the health of the economy of Texas?
State of Texas Econometric Model
Which state leads the nation in the number of prisoners executed?
Texas
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
The secretary of state publishes the ________, which is the source of official notices or rules, meetings, executive orders, and opinions of the attorney general that are required to be filed by state agencies.
Texas Register
Which of the following is true of typical grand juries?
They ideally serve to prevent arbitrary excesses by prosecuting attorneys.
Which of the following statements about race and gender in the criminal justice system is accurate?
Women commit crime at a lower rate than men.
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 individuals would NOT be eligible to run for governor?
a person who is only twenty-eight years of age
In most instances, the adoption of articles of impeachment results in
a trial in the senate.
Which of the following juvenile individuals is most likely to be placed in the custody of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department?
an ethnic minority male
About how many deaths occurred between 2005 and 2015 in city and county jails in Texas?
around 1,100
Which executive-level office serves as legal counsel to the governor, the legislature, and state agencies?
attorney general
The Texas governor gains strength from his or her ability to
be continually reelected.
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
Which of the following types of crime is/are most common in Texas?
burglary and theft
A former governor would be most likely to hold which of the following jobs?
business executive
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.
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
The voters of Wisconsin voted to not recall Governor Walker in 2011 because they
did not like the idea of using a recall to remove a governor.
Enhanced punishments are intended to
discourage recidivism.
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
Cases heard in trial de novo courts can be appealed
for any reason.
Which of the following informal qualifications for governor is nearly universal in Texas?
having previously held elected office
Which state government sector has the largest number of employees?
higher education
Texas's incarceration rate is
higher than that of most other states.
Opponents of excessive bail and pretrial confinement believe it conflicts with what core justice principle?
innocent until proven guilty
When the incarceration rate is adjusted for the violent crime rate, Texas's rank in terms of sentencing policies and prosecutorial eagerness and success
is above the national average.
In Texas, the lieutenant governor
is elected separately from the governor but succeeds the governor should the office be vacated.
Texas has two Supreme Courts because
it divides its courts of last resort between criminal and civil cases.
About how many inmates, parolees, and individuals on community supervision are supervised by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice?
just over 500,000
Based on Table 6.4, which group is most likely associated with the greatest pressure to transition populations to other alternatives?
juveniles in state residential facilities
The lowest number of states select judges through
legislative election.
If the office of governor is vacated in Texas, the order of succession is
lieutenant governor, president pro tempore, speaker of the house.
A justice of the peace court is a(n)
magistrate court.
According to Figure 5.5, what is the most common way of selecting appellate court judges?
merit plan
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.
The Frontline program entitled "Justice for Sale" highlighted how eight justices on the Texas Supreme Court in 1994 had received
more than $9 million in donations.
According to Map 4.1, about what proportion of states had a woman governor at one point?
more than half
Which of the following types of Texas judges are selected by partisan elections?
municipal judges
Which method 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.
Which phrase refers 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
The highest number of states' courts use which method for selecting trial court (including municipal level) judges?
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
When a governor acts as head of his or her political party, he or she is fulfilling the role of
party chief.
The largest expenditure of state funds is for
personnel.
Why is the Texas governor's power exceptionally weak as compared to that of the governors of some other states?
plural executive system
Texas is an example of a plural executive system because
power is divided among several elected officials.
Civil law has to do with
private relationships.
Free or reduced-fee legal representation is known as
pro bono.
The Timothy Cole Act was passed to
provide compensation for wrongfully incarcerated individuals.
What is currently the Texas Railroad Commission's primary function?
regulation of the oil and gas industry
Which method for removing judges for misconduct is used by the fewest states?
removal by the governor after a hearing
Compared to 2015, the crime rate in Texas in 2016 was
somewhat lower.
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 1984, many incumbent Democratic judges lost their seats in large urban counties to unknown Republican challengers because of
straight-ticket voting.
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.
In Texas, the state budget is submitted by
the Legislative Budget Board.
The merit system used to identify and select judges is also known as
the Missouri system.
According to Table 6.3, what region of the country has the highest incarceration rates?
the South
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.
Which office created in 1876 functions as the chief fiscal and revenue forecasting office and is responsible for investing state funds?
the comptroller of public accounts
Why does the U.S. have a dual court system?
the federal system of government
In states without a lieutenant governor, who is usually next in succession to the governor's office?
the leader of the state senate or secretary of state
A person sues Starbucks because she was burned by its hot coffee. This is an example of
tort law.
In most states, the legislature can override the governor's veto with a ________ vote in each house.
two-thirds
The Texas legislature can override the governor's general veto with a ________ vote in each house.
two-thirds
The Texas legislature can override the governor's line-item veto with a ________ vote in each house.
two-thirds
All of the following are concerns about Texas judicial selections EXCEPT that
vacancies from death or resignation require expensive special elections.
The power of the Texas governor to remove government officials is
very weak.
Children under what age cannot be prosecuted for a crime in Texas?
10
How many states, including Texas, do not limit how long a person can serve as governor?
14
What is the "age of majority" in Texas with regard to civil and criminal responsibility before the law?
17
How many elections must a judge win prior to being seated on the bench under the Texas partisan election system?
2
As of 2017, ________ of Texans identify as Hispanic or Latino, while ________ of all judges in the state identify as Hispanic.
39.1 percent; 17 percent
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.
Since the end of World War II, Texas had one female governor:
Ann Richards.
Which state leads the nation in the number of death row inmates waiting to be executed?
California
________ refers to the 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
Persons under the age of 18 who commit crimes
cannot be sentenced to death or to life in prison.
What U.S. Supreme Court case in 1972 effectively suspended the death penalty because it was unfairly applied to many crimes and because of the lack of safeguards in place in many states?
Furman v. Georgia
What office was created under the 1836 constitution to administer state-owned land?
General Land Office
According to Map 4.1, which of the following states has NOT had a woman governor?
Georgia
Why is it very difficult to hold a specific person in Texas government responsible for anything?
Government is fragmented and policy responsibility is divided.
In 2015, ________ took office as governor of Texas.
Greg Abbott
By recommending policy initiatives to state legislators and coordinating with state agencies that administer programs and implement policies, the governor is demonstrating his or her role as
chief legislator.
When a governor has and pursues an active policy agenda, he or she is fulfilling the role of
chief legislator.
Most of the work of the attorney general involves ________ rather than ________.
civil law; criminal law
Which executive-level officer promotes agricultural products and production?
commissioner of agriculture
Which executive-level officer administers state-owned land and protects the environmental quality of coastal lands?
commissioner of the General Land Office
Texas must maintain enough space for its prison population because courts have ruled that overcrowding
constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
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.
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.
When a governor takes action to respond to a natural disaster in the state, he or she is fulfilling the role of
crisis manager.
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.
In what way has civil asset forfeiture been abused by police departments?
It has been used as a means of funding police departments.
Which state has the lowest incarceration rate?
Maine
Across all fifty states, the most common method for selecting state Supreme Court judges is
Missouri plan
In which case was it argued that the Texas Youth Council violated the Eighth 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 states does NOT have a process for impeachment?
Oregon
________ refers to the granting of forgiveness by the state for a conviction.
Pardon
The Texas ________ grades criminal offenses based on severity.
Penal Code
Which state pays its governor the highest salary?
Pennsylvania
How can Texas's prioritization of drug crimes be characterized?
Police departments in Texas prioritize drug crimes.
Which of the following is NOT a division of the Texas Department of Public Safety?
Public Safety Commission
Who was the first Texas governor to be elected to three consecutive four-year terms?
Rick Perry
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"
The governor of Texas's salary is ________ per year.
$150,000
