Chapter 9: Sentencing Quiz

The just deserts model of sentencing emphasizes ________.

A) the use of fines

B) retribution

C) restitution

D) restoration

B) retribution

Which goal of sentencing focuses on separating offenders from society to reduce opportunities for further criminality?

A) Incapacitation

B) Deterrence

C) Retribution

D) Rehabilitation

A) Incapacitation

General deterrence attempts to ________.

A) prevent individual offenders from engaging in future criminal acts

B) make the victim whole again

C) discourage potential offenders from committing crimes

D) separate offenders from the community to reduce opportunities for future criminality

C) discourage potential offenders from committing crimes

Which of the following is a characteristic of restorative justice?

A) Crime is seen as an act against the state and a violation of the law.

B) Crime control is the responsibility of the criminal justice system.

C) Victims tend to be peripheral in the process of resolving a crime.

D) Crime has individual and social dimensions of responsibility.

D) Crime has individual and social dimensions of responsibility.

A sentence of 8 to 15 years in prison is an example of ________ sentencing.

A) consecutive

B) concurrent

C) indeterminate

D) structured

C) indeterminate

Under the indeterminate sentencing model, what is the primary determinant of the amount of time served?

A) The leniency of the judge

B) The inmate's behavior while incarcerated

C) Pressure from politicians

D) The leniency of the parole board

B) The inmate's behavior while incarcerated

Proportionality means that ________.

A) caseloads must be distributed equally among the available judges

B) there should be a direct relationship between the severity of the sanction and the seriousness of the crime

C) the offender's criminal history should be objectively considered at sentencing

D) similar crimes are punished with similar sentences

B) there should be a direct relationship between the severity of the sanction and the seriousness of the crime

________ is a sentencing principle that holds that an offender's criminal history should be taken into account in sentencing decisions.

A) Equity

B) Proportionality

C) Social debt

D) Good time

C) Social debt

Which of the following is a form of structured sentencing?

A) Indeterminate sentencing

B) Contemporary sentencing

C) Quasi-independent sentencing

D) Determinate sentencing

D) Determinate sentencing

Which of the following is a mitigating circumstance?

A) The offender induced others to participate in the crime.

B) The crime was committed for hire.

C) The offender acted under strong provocation.

D) The offender possessed a deadly weapon during the crime.

C) The offender acted under strong provocation.

Federal sentencing guidelines ________.

A) provide a range of punishments for a specific crime

B) eliminate judicial discretion completely

C) tend to be uniform across states

D) do not permit departures from the guidelines

A) provide a range of punishments for a specific crime

________ is a type of sentencing plan that allows no leeway in the imposition of a sentence for a person convicted of a crime.

A) Mandatory sentencing

B) Indeterminate sentencing

C) Presumptive sentencing

D) Truth in sentencing

A) Mandatory sentencing

________ involves suspending criminal proceedings before sentencing and referring the offender to a private agency.

A) Diversion

B) Presentence investigation

C) Deterrence

D) Three-strikes

A) Diversion

What appears to be the most dramatic result of the recent emphasis on the use of mandatory sentencing and other get-tough policies?

A) Crime rates have fallen dramatically.

B) The average length of prison terms has decreased.

C) The use of incarceration as a sentencing option has increased significantly.

D) Offender rehabilitation programs have become increasingly successful.

C) The use of incarceration as a sentencing option has increased significantly.

The biggest drivers of rising incarceration rates in the United States are ________.

A) state and federal budgets

B) crime rates

C) birth rates

D) sentencing policies

D) sentencing policies

Community service and home detention are examples of ________ sentencing.

A) determinate

B) alternative

C) proportionate

D) concurrent

B) alternative

What is the main priority of justice reinvestment?

A) Prioritizing the use of alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders

B) Increasing the use of fines as a punishment to create a sustained revenue stream for the criminal justice system

C) Developing an investment portfolio to eventually allow the criminal justice system to be self-supporting

D) Expanding the use of mandatory sentencing policies

A) Prioritizing the use of alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders

If a judge requests information on a convicted defendant's background, the probation or parole office will conduct a ________ investigation.

A) probation

B) presentence

C) presumptive sentencing

D) general deterrence

B) presentence

What is the main limitation of the Crime Victims' Rights Act?

A) It only provides rights to victims of federal crimes.

B) It does not require courts to ensure that victims are afforded their rights.

C) It does not give victims the legal authority necessary to assert their rights in court.

D) The Act does not have any limitations.

A) It only provides rights to victims of federal crimes.

Research into victim-impact statements has found that ________.

A) they have a significant impact on judicial sentencing decision-making

B) juries are not required to consider victim-impact statements

C) sentencing decisions are rarely affected by them

D) oral impact statements have more impact than written documents

C) sentencing decisions are rarely affected by them

Offenders convicted of felonies in state court are most likely to receive which traditional sanction?

A) Imprisonment

B) Capital punishment

C) A fine

D) Probation

A) Imprisonment

Which of the following is an advantage of the imposition of fines as a criminal sanction?

A) Fines are expensive to administer.

B) Fines can be made proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.

C) Fines can reduce offender recidivism through incapacitation.

D) Fines contribute to increased prison overcrowding.

B) Fines can be made proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.

What effect did the USA PATRIOT Act have on the death penalty in the U.S.?

A) It abolished the use of the death penalty abolished for federal crimes.

B) It eliminated the requirement of a mandatory appeal in cases involving a capital sentence.

C) It standardized the method of imposing death throughout the U.S.

D) It expanded the list of federal crimes punishable by death.

D) It expanded the list of federal crimes punishable by death.

Which of the following arguments regarding the death penalty is a retentionist rationale?

A) Just deserts

B) Lack of proven deterrence

C) Arbitrariness

D) Discrimination

A) Just deserts

The Innocence Protection Act of 2004 provides federal funds to help eliminate ________.

A) the misinterpretation of forensic evidence at trial

B) witness misidentification

C) the backlog of unanalyzed DNA samples in crime labs

D) withholding of evidence by prosecutors

C) the backlog of unanalyzed DNA samples in crime labs

The protectionist argument justifying capital punishment is fairly weak because the underlying social interest can also be met by which other sentencing option?

A) Severe fines

B) Incarceration

C) Probation

D) The use of alternative sanctions

B) Incarceration

In which case did the Supreme Court approve a two-step procedure that separates the determination of guilt from the determination of the sentence?

A) Furman v. Georgia

B) Woodson v. North Carolina

C) Wilkerson v. Utah

D) Gregg v. Georgia

D) Gregg v. Georgia

The Supreme Court's decision in the case of Furman v. Georgia was a statement against ________.

A) the use of capital punishment by the criminal justice system

B) giving a jury the authority to impose a capital sentence

C) the manner in which statutes permitted the death penalty to be imposed

D) the disproportionality of the death penalty for crimes other than first degree murder

C) the manner in which statutes permitted the death penalty to be imposed

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that ________ must decide the facts that lead to a death sentence.

A) juries, not judges

B) high courts

C) appellate courts

D) judges, not juries

A) juries, not judges

Based on the Supreme Court's ruling in Woodson v. North Carolina, when is a mandatory death sentence for first degree murder constitutional?

A) When there are aggravating circumstances that make the crime even more serious

B) When the victim was a police officer who was killed during the performance of his or her duty

C) When the murder was committed by a prison inmate already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole

D) Never—mandatory application of the death penalty is unconstitutional.

D) Never—mandatory application of the death penalty is unconstitutional.

True or False: Specific deterrence focuses on reducing recidivism by convicted offenders.

True

True or False: Rehabilitation depends on a fear of the consequences of violating the law.

False

True or False: A sentence of "four years in prison" is an indeterminate sentence.

False

True or False: The severity of an inmate's crime is the primary determinate of the actual amount of time served under an indeterminate sentence.

False

True or False: The indeterminate sentencing model can result in judicial discrimination based on the offender's race or social class.

True

True or False: The concept of social debt would suggest that an offender with a prior criminal record should receive a more severe punishment than a first-time offender committing the same offense.

True

True or False: The U.S. Supreme Court has made the federal sentencing guidelines merely advisory.

True

True or False: Three-strikes laws are a form of mandatory sentencing.

True

True or False: The rising crime rates in the U.S. are the biggest drivers of rising incarceration rates.

False

True or False: Justice reinvestment emphasizes the use of alternative sanctions for nonviolent offenders.

True

True or False: Presentence investigations are conducted by the court.

False

True or False: At the federal level, victims' rights have been included in the U.S. Constitution.

False

True or False: Research suggests that victim-impact statements have a significant effect on judicial sentencing decisions.

False

True or False: The use of fines can help reduce the problem of prison overcrowding.

True

True or False: The automatic review of death sentences by appellate courts helps to reduce the delay in carrying out sentences of execution.

True

True or False: According to the Supreme Court, a simple showing of racial discrepancies in the application of the death penalty constitutes a constitutional violation.

False

True or False: The death penalty may not be imposed on an adult offender if he was under the age of 18 at the time the crime was committed.

True

True or False: Support for the use of the death penalty in the U.S. has declined overall since the mid-1990s.

True