Test Bank For Criminal Law and Procedure
CHAPTER 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
Chapter 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
TRUE/FALSE:
1. Our legal system regards crimes as offenses not just against individual victims, but against
society as a whole.
ANS: T REF: 7 LO: 5
2. A “tort” is a very serious crime for which one may be incarcerated in a prison for more than
one year.
ANS: F REF: 9 LO: 2
3. A misdemeanor is considered more serious than a felony.
ANS: F REF: 5 LO: 2
4. In certain instances, a person may be held criminally responsible regardless of intent.
ANS: T REF: 5 LO: 2
5. In the American legal system, there can be no crime, and no punishment, except as
provided by law.
ANS: T REF: 4 LO: 1
6. American criminal law is derived largely from the English common law.
ANS: T REF: 10 LO: 4
7. The federal government has adopted the common law of crimes.
ANS: F REF: 11 LO: 4
8. Appellate courts perform an error correction function, but they do not perform a lawmaking
function.
ANS: F REF: 14 LO: 7
9. The most important constitutional principle relative to criminal procedure is “due process of
law.”
ANS: T REF: 15 LO: 9
1
,Test Bank For Criminal Law and Procedure
CHAPTER 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
10. A defendant in a criminal case is presumed innocent and to obtain a conviction the
prosecution must establish the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
ANS: T REF: 16 LO: 9
11. The framers of the Constitution invested Congress with “police power” so that it would have
unlimited authority to enact criminal laws.
ANS: F REF: 12 LO: 7
12. Congress created the Model Penal Code to replace the common law.
ANS: F REF: 12 LO: 4
13. The Bill of Rights was adopted by Congress prior to the ratification of the Constitution.
ANS: F REF: 13 LO: 6
14. In Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a state law prohibiting
“criminal syndicalism.”
ANS: T REF: 13 LO: 6
15. “Decisional law” is the body of law developed by appellate courts.
ANS: T REF: 14 LO: 7
16. The presumption of innocence in a criminal case flows from the broader principle of strict
liability.
ANS: F REF: 16 LO: 7
17. The Supreme Court has struck down the practice of plea bargaining because it violates due
process of law.
ANS: F REF: 17 LO: 7
18. All criminal sanctions must be consistent with the 8th Amendment prohibition of cruel and
unusual punishments.
ANS: T REF: 19 LO: 10
19. Community service can never be imposed as a condition of pretrial diversion.
ANS: F REF: 19 LO: 10
2
,Test Bank For Criminal Law and Procedure
CHAPTER 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
20. Retribution refers to an order that an offender compensate his or her victim financially.
ANS: F REF: 19 LO: 10
MULTIPLE CHOICE:
1. Mala in se offenses include __________.
a. rape
b. arson
c. murder
d. All of these
ANS: D REF: 9 LO: 2
2. Which of the following crimes is a misdemeanor?
a. grand theft
b. sexual battery
c. disorderly conduct
d. burglary
ANS: C REF: 6 LO: 2
3. The reasonable doubt standard that applies to criminal prosecutions differs markedly from
the ______________ standard that applies to civil cases.
a. preponderance of evidence
b. clear and convincing evidence
c. totality of circumstances
d. compelling interest
ANS: A REF: 16-17 LO: 9
4. Which of the following offenses is an example of a strict liability crime?
a. robbery
b. forgery
c. selling alcoholic beverages to a minor
d. grand theft
ANS: C REF: 5 LO: 2
3
, Test Bank For Criminal Law and Procedure
CHAPTER 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
5. The procedural criminal law is promulgated both by legislative bodies, through enactment
of statutes, and by the courts, both through judicial decisions and the development of
__________.
a. regulations
b. consent decrees
c. extraordinary writs
d. rules of court procedure
ANS: D REF: 12 LO: 3
6. In contrast to Roman law systems, which are based on legal codes, the English common
law developed primarily through _____________.
a. judicial decisions
b. statutes
c. administrative orders
d. royal edicts
ANS: A REF: 10 LO: 4
7. In early days of the American republic, ___________ became something of a “legal bible.”
a. Magna Charta
b. the Napoleonic Code
c. Blackstone’s Commentaries
d. the Twelve Tables
ANS: C REF: 11 LO: 2
8. As most new states came into the Union, generally their legislatures adopted _________
incorporating the common law to the extent that it did not conflict with the federal or their
respective state constitutions.
a. reception statutes
b. writs of mandamus
c. bills of attainder
d. precedents
ANS: A REF: 11 LO: 4
9. When authorized by state constitutions or acts of state legislatures, cities and many counties
may adopt _________ that define certain criminal violations.
a. charters
b. statutes
c. regulations
d. ordinances
ANS: D REF: 11 LO: 4
4
CHAPTER 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
Chapter 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
TRUE/FALSE:
1. Our legal system regards crimes as offenses not just against individual victims, but against
society as a whole.
ANS: T REF: 7 LO: 5
2. A “tort” is a very serious crime for which one may be incarcerated in a prison for more than
one year.
ANS: F REF: 9 LO: 2
3. A misdemeanor is considered more serious than a felony.
ANS: F REF: 5 LO: 2
4. In certain instances, a person may be held criminally responsible regardless of intent.
ANS: T REF: 5 LO: 2
5. In the American legal system, there can be no crime, and no punishment, except as
provided by law.
ANS: T REF: 4 LO: 1
6. American criminal law is derived largely from the English common law.
ANS: T REF: 10 LO: 4
7. The federal government has adopted the common law of crimes.
ANS: F REF: 11 LO: 4
8. Appellate courts perform an error correction function, but they do not perform a lawmaking
function.
ANS: F REF: 14 LO: 7
9. The most important constitutional principle relative to criminal procedure is “due process of
law.”
ANS: T REF: 15 LO: 9
1
,Test Bank For Criminal Law and Procedure
CHAPTER 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
10. A defendant in a criminal case is presumed innocent and to obtain a conviction the
prosecution must establish the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
ANS: T REF: 16 LO: 9
11. The framers of the Constitution invested Congress with “police power” so that it would have
unlimited authority to enact criminal laws.
ANS: F REF: 12 LO: 7
12. Congress created the Model Penal Code to replace the common law.
ANS: F REF: 12 LO: 4
13. The Bill of Rights was adopted by Congress prior to the ratification of the Constitution.
ANS: F REF: 13 LO: 6
14. In Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a state law prohibiting
“criminal syndicalism.”
ANS: T REF: 13 LO: 6
15. “Decisional law” is the body of law developed by appellate courts.
ANS: T REF: 14 LO: 7
16. The presumption of innocence in a criminal case flows from the broader principle of strict
liability.
ANS: F REF: 16 LO: 7
17. The Supreme Court has struck down the practice of plea bargaining because it violates due
process of law.
ANS: F REF: 17 LO: 7
18. All criminal sanctions must be consistent with the 8th Amendment prohibition of cruel and
unusual punishments.
ANS: T REF: 19 LO: 10
19. Community service can never be imposed as a condition of pretrial diversion.
ANS: F REF: 19 LO: 10
2
,Test Bank For Criminal Law and Procedure
CHAPTER 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
20. Retribution refers to an order that an offender compensate his or her victim financially.
ANS: F REF: 19 LO: 10
MULTIPLE CHOICE:
1. Mala in se offenses include __________.
a. rape
b. arson
c. murder
d. All of these
ANS: D REF: 9 LO: 2
2. Which of the following crimes is a misdemeanor?
a. grand theft
b. sexual battery
c. disorderly conduct
d. burglary
ANS: C REF: 6 LO: 2
3. The reasonable doubt standard that applies to criminal prosecutions differs markedly from
the ______________ standard that applies to civil cases.
a. preponderance of evidence
b. clear and convincing evidence
c. totality of circumstances
d. compelling interest
ANS: A REF: 16-17 LO: 9
4. Which of the following offenses is an example of a strict liability crime?
a. robbery
b. forgery
c. selling alcoholic beverages to a minor
d. grand theft
ANS: C REF: 5 LO: 2
3
, Test Bank For Criminal Law and Procedure
CHAPTER 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
5. The procedural criminal law is promulgated both by legislative bodies, through enactment
of statutes, and by the courts, both through judicial decisions and the development of
__________.
a. regulations
b. consent decrees
c. extraordinary writs
d. rules of court procedure
ANS: D REF: 12 LO: 3
6. In contrast to Roman law systems, which are based on legal codes, the English common
law developed primarily through _____________.
a. judicial decisions
b. statutes
c. administrative orders
d. royal edicts
ANS: A REF: 10 LO: 4
7. In early days of the American republic, ___________ became something of a “legal bible.”
a. Magna Charta
b. the Napoleonic Code
c. Blackstone’s Commentaries
d. the Twelve Tables
ANS: C REF: 11 LO: 2
8. As most new states came into the Union, generally their legislatures adopted _________
incorporating the common law to the extent that it did not conflict with the federal or their
respective state constitutions.
a. reception statutes
b. writs of mandamus
c. bills of attainder
d. precedents
ANS: A REF: 11 LO: 4
9. When authorized by state constitutions or acts of state legislatures, cities and many counties
may adopt _________ that define certain criminal violations.
a. charters
b. statutes
c. regulations
d. ordinances
ANS: D REF: 11 LO: 4
4
