Tarrant County College Northwest Campus Texas Government 2306 Final Fall Exam

Reasons for punishment?

Punishment can be used to deter others from criminal behavior, retributive justice, incapacitation (locking them up), and rehabilitation

Recidivism rate?

Rate in which something repeats, one half of the people that have been imprisoned will return to prison three years

Voter ID in Texas

In Texas you must show motor ID card and government issued picture ID, issue is in front of the U.S. Supreme Court

Fines

Financial punishment (tickets)

Restrictions/removals

Of your liberties such as where you can go, restraining orders, prison, etc.

Cpl. punishment

Whipping, caning, other physical punishments

Capital punishment

Allowing the government to take someone's life, death sentence automatically gets an appeal, a felony and a death occurring during the crime warrants a capital punishment

Protected classes

A certain group of people that if you kill them it warrants capital punishment, children under the age of six, policemen, judges, etc.

Executions in Texas

Texas kills more people than any state and the federal government, or people in one year than all the other states combined

How are death penalty cases punished?

By bad acts are punished, not thoughts

How do people challenge the death penalty?

People sometimes use the fourth amendment argument which is seldom successful, death is not unusual

What is the uniform crime report?

Index/records of eight major crimes per 1000 people for states, cities, and neighborhoods

What are the eight major crimes?

1. Rape

2. Robbery

3. Aggravated assault

4. Burglary

5. Theft

6. Auto theft

7. Arson

8. Murder

What is robbery?

The taking of property of another in an attempt to permanently deprive through fear or force

What is burglary?

Entering into buildings and stealing

What is theft?

Dishonestly appropriating property in an attempt to permanently deprive

Who are the Texas rangers?

They have 100 to 115 people on staff, they cover multi-jurisdictional crimes and they investigate the police

Who is the County Sheriff?

He is elected to a four-year term, he provides police services for unincorporated areas that are out side the city limits and he runs the county jail

Who is the county constable?

He is elected to a four-year term he serve subpoenas, evictions and court orders

What is due process?

One set of rules and everyone goes through that, it is applied to everyone, it is constitutionally guaranteed for everyone to be treated the same

What are warrants?

Something that has been issued only when probable cause has been established

What is probable cause?

Reasonable grounds to suspect a particular person has committed a particular crime, more than a "bear suspicion" (more than a hunch)

What is a judge/unbiased magistrate?

Police go to this person the present their case to them as to why someone needs to be arrested in order to get a warrant

What is search?

Police have a right to search anyone at any time without violating your constitutional rights. Only within their personal sphere of influence meeting backpacks pockets not cars and houses. They must have "reasonable suspicion" to search.

What is seizure?

Property that can be seized or taken without a warrant

What are fruits of the crime?

The stuff the criminal stole, police doesn't need a warrant to reclaim these items

What are "tools of the crime"?

Things used to commit a crime, phones, computers, etc. can be seized

What is contraband?

Anything that's illegal to possess; illegal drugs, gambling equipment, etc., Don't need a warrant to seize

What is "mere evidence"?

Things that have no intrinsic value and are only mere evidence; DNA, blood, hair, fingerprints, etc. Can be seized without a warrant

What is bail?

A cash deposit made with the court that you will show up for the trial, if you show up you get it back, set by the judge, depending on the crime, defendant's behavior, defendants at worst, bail is for everything except murder

What is a bond?

A loan to the people who couldn't go alone anywhere else, a high interest high-risk loan, that is used for bail; must give up a whole lot of collateral, house, car, etc.

What is a grand jury indictment?

12 people that serve a three to six month timeframe (once a week usually) Who decide whether or not to have a trial, district attorney presents the info to them and the defendant doesn't get to present any info, the typical juror is unemployed older or self-employed, must must have nine of the 12 to get a "true bill" or trial otherwise there's "no bill" (no trial)

What is an indictment?

It is a formal written accusation of a crime, or a formal charge of a crime; the trial follows after this

What are the requirements for jury duty?

You have to be 18 years old, not convicted or indicted of a felony, be a US citizen, and must be of "sound mind" or able to show up to ct.

What are the exemptions for jury duty?

You must be over 70 years of age, a caretaker of a child less than 10, or a full-time student

What is the process for a juror on jury duty?

You are called to the court/main clear clearinghouse, your ass for reasons not to be there, more dire throwing out who you wouldn't one on the jury, Batson challenges, whoever's left is the jury (12 jurors and six alternatives out of the 20 or 30), in a trial the prosecution's first and the defense is second, guilt must be a unanimous decision by the jury, then punishment phase or deciding the punishment

How many people are in prison in Texas?

Around 1 million and there are 25 million people in Texas, cheaper to keep them locked up than death penalty

In 2005, jurors now have...

The option to keep prisoners locked without parole rather than choosing the death penalty or Life in prison with possibility of parole

What is the current Texas budget for two years?

$196.9 billion, The vast majority of which are from sales tax

How does each level of government get his money?

The federal government yet it's money from income taxes and payroll deductions, The state government gets income from sales taxes, and the local government gets his money from property taxes

What are sin taxes?

Taxes on things like tobacco alcohol, they make up half of the prices on those items

The estimated percentage annually paid in taxes by a US citizen is...

60%

Non-tax-based revenue

No taxes involved, licensing fees and lottery

What was amended to prohibit deficit spending?

The Texas state constitution in 1978 except in emergencies

Who is the Comptroller of public accounts?

Susan Combs, is the state accountant who estimates the revenue for the state for the next two years

What are dedicated funds?

Money that goes directly to a place, 80% of the Texas budget is locked up, there are 200 dedicated funds total, it is money that can't be moved around, revenue for much of a particular place is dedicated to a particular expense

What is the budgeting process (The Texas two-step)?

The governor makes a budget and the legislative budget board makes a budget, on the legislative but it budget board there are 10 people on it half of the Senate and half from the House of Representatives, The lieutenant governor is in charge of the Senate and this board, from the Senate there is the state of affairs chair, the finance chairperson, and two other senators, from the House of Representatives has the speaker the Ways and Means chair appropriations chair and two other reps

What is the ranking of spending in Texas?

Number one expense is public schools, number two is Health and Human Services (Chips, WICK, medicare, Medicaid etc.), and the number three expense is business and economic development (infrastructure, roads, business, communication, electricity, airports, etc.)