Test Bank For Criminal Law for the Criminal Justice Professional 4Th Ed By Norman Garland

Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility Chapter 03 Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility Multiple Choice Questions 1. Which of the following is NOT one of the special rights and protections that the U.S. Constitution affords to those accused of crimes? A. the Eighth Amendment's protection against excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment B. the Sixth Amendment's right to a speedy and public trial, trial by jury, cross- examination of witnesses, and counsel C. the Fourteenth Amendment's right to due process of law, which requires that the federal government grant all of the rights to every defendant and state governments grant most of them D. the First Amendment's right to freedom of expression that gives a defendant the right to tell his or her version of events in a public courtroom 2. A _____ is defined as a wrongful act that results in injury and leaves the injured party entitled to compensation. A. tort B. misdemeanor C. felony D. petty offense 3. Which of the following is an important aspect of crime? A. compensating an individual B. paying damages C. punishment D. possessing a prohibited article 3-1 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 4. One essential characteristic that distinguishes criminal from civil wrongdoing in AngloAmerican law is the A. method of compensating an individual. B. possibility of loss of life or liberty in a civil suit. C. condemnation and stigma that accompanies the conviction of a crime. D. type of contract or trust that is breached. 5. Which of the following is a criminal act? A. possessing questionable moral character, such as a morbid interest in violent crime that may lead to the commission of such acts B. writing detailed stories about imagined criminal acts and thus inspiring others to commit them C. committing an omission such as neglecting to take care of a sick child, leading to that child's death D. thinking about a criminal act and planning it extensively 6. Civil liability differs from criminal liability in that in civil liability, _____. A. a wrong is done against a community B. the consequences of the harm done are less severe C. the government takes action against individual defendants D. there is a possibility of punishment, such as loss of liberty or life 3-2 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 7. _____ are NOT a major category of crime. A. Felonies B. Public order offenses C. Misdemeanors D. Petty offenses 8. Misdemeanors differ from felonies in that misdemeanors are A. punishable by more than a year of imprisonment. B. classified under tort liabilities. C. more serious than felonies. D. offenses for which sentences must be served in a county jail. 9. In homicide cases, under some jurisdictions, a person may be charged with A. third-degree murder. B. first-degree murder. C. reflexive manslaughter. D. simple manslaughter. 10. Identify a true statement about felonies. A. A crime has to be violent against a specific individual victim to constitute a felony. B. They are divided into categories in order to show the severity of certain offenses. C. They are punishable by less than a year of imprisonment or by fines. D. Offenses classified as felonies consist of violations or infractions against public welfare. 11. Modern law defines a _____ as a crime that is less serious than a felony and is usually punishable by fines, penalties, or incarceration of less than one year. A. petty offense B. felony C. misdemeanor D. wobbler 3-3 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 12. Which of the following would NOT be considered by a prosecutor in deciding whether to charge an offense as a felony or a misdemeanor? A. prior offenses committed by the perpetrator B. the age of the perpetrator when the crime was committed C. the seriousness of the offense committed D. the neighborhood in which the perpetrator resides 13. A criminal's _____ is different from a hope, desire, or wish. A. mens rea B. actus reus C. purpose D. culpability 14. A(n) _____ usually consists of a voluntary action. A. omission B. purpose C. intent D. actus reus 15. Situations that can diminish a person's criminal responsibility include A. extreme youth, such as being too young to be tried as a juvenile offender. B. being forced at gunpoint to steal a car. C. mental infirmity, such as mental retardation or mental illness. D. All of the answers are correct. 16. Which of the following is an example of a specific intent crime? A. larceny B. bigamy C. statutory rape D. breaking and entering 3-4 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 17. The purpose of making possessory offenses a crime is to A. raise arrest rates. B. arrest criminals without having to catch them red-handed. C. deter further criminal activity. D. show other criminals that they cannot escape the law. 18. The guilty mind requirement for the conviction of a crime is known as _____. A. voluntas necandi B. actus reus C. mens rea D. animus nocendi 19. Motive is important as a matter of proof because A. it is a form of mens rea and thus is an element of proof required for criminal culpability. B. a criminal actor is liable for the emotions that motivated him or her to commit the crime. C. it may help to identify the perpetrator of a crime or explain why a suspect may have acted in a particular way. D. it means the emotion that prompted a person to act is actually the same as intent. 20. The intention to commit an act _____ is an example of specific intent. A. for the purpose of atoning for some past act B. to achieve a particular criminal result C. to achieve some further consequences beyond the conduct or result that constitutes the actus reus of the offense D. with the awareness of a statutory attendant circumstance 21. _____ is an example of a general intent crime. A. Assault with an intent to kill B. Statutory rape C. Receiving stolen property with the knowledge that it is stolen D. Larceny 3-5 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 22. _____ holds a person criminally liable even when the consequence of his or her action is not what the person actually intended. A. General intent B. Specific intent C. Mens rea D. Transferred intent 23. To determine whether an act caused a specific result, _____. A. there must be at least one eyewitness B. the victim's actions need to be the proximate cause of the result C. the accused person's act must be the cause-in-fact of the result D. the police must obtain a confession indicating the accused person's guilt 24. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an accused was the but-for cause of a social harm in order to hold him or her criminally responsible, unless A. there were two independent causes that operated simultaneously, either of which could have caused the result. B. the victim was a possible criminal who was escaping the custody of a citizen's arrest. C. the accused person was not aware that he or she had committed a social harm. D. later incidents, not in the accused person's control, caused further harm to the victim. 25. If two people shoot a victim and hit the victim's vital organs simultaneously, _____. A. both can be viewed as the cause-in-fact B. only the principal actor is viewed as the cause-in-fact C. the victim needs to provide testimony before dying D. one of them will be viewed as an accomplice, regardless of the circumstances 26. Which of the following makes a defendant liable for a resulting social harm as they are largely foreseeable or related to the defendant's conduct? A. motivational requirements B. dependent intervening causes C. independent intervening causes D. temporal requirements 3-6 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 27. Causes that are deemed separate from a defendant's actions and for the results of which it would be unfair to hold the defendant responsible are called A. independent interrupting causes. B. dependent intervening causes. C. independent intervening causes. D. dependent interrupting causes. 28. The requirement for criminal liability that an accused performed a voluntary act accompanied by the required mental state that actually and proximately caused the prohibited social harm is known as a A. dependent intervening cause. B. strict liability. C. cause-in-fact. D. concurrence of elements. True/False Questions 29. A civil offense is prosecuted by government attorneys who represent the community as a whole. FALSE 30. The definitions of "immoral" and "deserving of punishment" are extremely flexible, depending on who defines them and when. TRUE 31. Misdemeanors are often offenses that violate the public welfare. FALSE 32. In plea bargaining, a defense attorney will often attempt to reduce a misdemeanor to a felony when the option exists. FALSE 3-7 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 33. Criminal liability requires a concurrence of the actus reus and the mens rea. TRUE 34. An actus reus is any act or omission containing the ingredients of causation and social harm. TRUE 35. If a person who has committed a crime voluntarily later regrets the act, he or she will not be held equally responsible. FALSE 36. Numerous judicial decisions hold that a person is criminally liable when he or she stands by and does nothing to help someone else in jeopardy. FALSE 37. A person can be guilty of possession of certain items or substances without any further act than possession of the prohibited article. TRUE 38. General intent is the intent only to commit the actus reus of a crime. TRUE 39. Bigamy is a specific intent crime. FALSE 40. Proximate cause is that cause, from among all of the causes-in-fact that may exist, that is the legally defined cause of a social harm. TRUE 3-8 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 41. A person cannot be convicted of a crime unless the prosecution proves beyond a reasonable doubt a concurrence of a voluntary act and the required mental state that actually and proximately caused the prohibited social harm. TRUE Matching Questions 42. Match the following mental states with their definitions. 1. When a perpetrator acts with this mental state, it is his or her voluntary wish to act in a certain conduct or produce a certain result. 2. Since the determination of this mental state can be vague, juries are required to look at the perspective of a defendant when determining whether the actions he or she took created this mental state. Peculiar characteristics of the defendant may be taken into account; for example, physical traits such as blindness may compel a person to act differently than someone with sight, and a jury can be instructed to take that into account. 3. If a perpetrator fires 50 rounds into a crowd of people and kills five persons, he or she knowingly killed the victims. If the perpetrator is aware or practically certain that firing the weapon would likely result in one or more deaths, he or she possesses this mental state. 4. A person is guilty of this mental state if he or she knows or is practically certain that his or her conduct will cause this result. 5. The MPC states that a person shows this mental state if he or she voluntarily ignores a substantial and unjustified risk that a certain circumstance exists or will result from reckless conduct. 6. When determining this mental state, a jury is required to look at the perspective of the accused individual to decide whether he or she should have known that the omission involved created a substantial and unjustifiable risk. 7. When a person acts with this mental state, he or she is aware of the conditions that will make the intended crime possible, or believes or hopes that they exist. Acting negligently 6 Purposely with respect to result or conduct 1 Purposely with respect to attendant circumstances 7 Knowingly causes a result 4 Knowingly with respect to conduct and attendant circumstances 9 Knowingly with respect to conduct and attendant circumstances 11 Acting recklessly 2 3-9 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 8. A perpetrator who buys a gun and ammunition, points the gun at a victim, and fires the gun has manifested a purpose to kill the victim, and thus is Acting showing this mental state. recklessly 5 9. A person acts with this mental state if he or she knows that his or her actions are criminal, or that Purposely with attendant circumstances made an otherwise legal act a respect to attendant criminal one. circumstances 10 10. If a perpetrator enters an occupied dwelling in order to commit a felony inside, he or she shows this mental state if he or she is aware that it is occupied, believes it Knowingly is, or hopes it is. causes a result 3 11. Sometimes, people will engage in "willful blindness" by not asking questions in highly suspicious circumstances and then claiming a lack of this mental state due to a lack of knowledge. To avoid such manipulation, the MPC provides that knowledge is established if a person knows that there is a high probability that such an attendant circumstance exists. Purposely with respect to result or conduct 8 Short Answer Questions 43. Do criminal defendants have more legal safeguards than civil defendants? Why, or why not? Criminal defendants have more protections than those who commit civil wrongs because they have considerably more to lose through criminal punishment. Only criminal punishment includes the possibility of loss of life or liberty. This is why the burden of proof in a criminal trial is "beyond a reasonable doubt," but in civil trials it is either "clear and convincing evidence" or a "preponderance (majority) of the evidence." 3-10 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 44. Explain what a felony was under common law and its modern definition. Under common law, felonies were the most serious class of criminal offenses and were uniformly punishable by death; all other offenses were considered misdemeanors and thus were not punishable by death. Today, the modern definition of a felony is any serious crime that can be punishable by more than a year of imprisonment and death. Felonies currently include, but are not limited to, various degrees of homicide, rape, robbery, possession or distribution of illegal narcotics, and arson. A crime does not have to be violent or even be perpetrated against a specific individual victim to constitute a felony. One example of a felony is white-collar crime, a term that covers several types of generally nonviolent felonies relating to dishonesty in commercial matters. 45. Name the five elements of criminal responsibility. Criminal responsibility has the following five elements: · The actus reus · The mens rea · A unity of actus reus and mens rea · Causation · Resulting social harm 46. Give two examples of speech that can be considered criminal acts and do not fall under the protection of the First Amendment. Answers can include any of the following: · Falsely yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theatre · Fighting words · Obscenity · Threatening the president 3-11 Copyright ©2018 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education. Chapter 03–Classification of Crimes and Basic Elements of Criminal Responsibility 47. Name the four mental states that comprise malice aforethought. Malice aforethought, a form of mens rea, can exist in four different mental states: · A specific intent to kill · An intent to inflict serious bodily injury · A wanton disregard for human life · The commission of a dangerous felony