JUSTICE PRE-TEST answer key

1. true -- since the Supreme Court's 2005 decision in Roper v. Simmons, it is unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment" to execute a person who committed a crime while under the age of 18


2. false -- since the Supreme Court decision in 1968 in the case of In re Gerald Gault, the Bill of Rights criminal procedural rights are incorporated into juvenile court proceedings, but not all rights are included (such as the right to a jury)


3. false -- once a person reaches the age of majority, the same privacy rights at home under the 4th Amendment apply as to other adults


4. true -- a crime requires more than a criminal thought, but a conspiracy is considered a step toward carrying out the crime


5. false -- since the case of Affleck v. New Jersey, solitary confinement of a juvenile in a juvenile prison as punishment violates the 8th Amendment if it is 10 days or longer in duration


6. false -- In Nelson v. Heyne, it was ruled that corporal punishment in a juvenile prison is not necessarily cruel and unusual punishment


7. false -- although she may be able to prove coercion; it is a question of fact for the jury to decide


8. false (in Maine, but not all states) -- as a federal system, states have leeway in how they define the elements of crimes



9. false -- again, the answer varies in different jursidictions, but in Maine parents are not always held responsible for a child's acts of vandalism


10. false -- the crime of trespass does not require as an element of the crime causing a disturbance


11. false -- unlawful detention does not require proof of physical harm


12. true -- criminal threatening does not require proof of actual ability to ause physical harm


13. true


14. true in Maine, but not in federal court or in a handful of states


15. false -- a 13 year old cannot legally consent to a sexual act


16. false -- misappropriation of property does not require intent to keep the property nor knowledge of the taking by the victim. However, intent to keep the property permanently aggravates the crime.


17. true, but only if there is a imminent threat to the boy's health. Otherwise, the 4th Amendment right to privacy cannot be waived by a parent


18. true, so long as the spanking is not excessive as defined by state child abuse statutes


19. true -- the 5th Amendment right not to incriminate oneself


20. false -- the 6th and 14 Amendments due process clauses require an independent determination of the death penalty versus life in prison


21. false -- since the Supreme Court decision in New Jersey v. T.L.O., a search in school requires only a reasonable suspicion


22. true


23. true -- in all jurisdictions, a child under the age of 6 years is considered incapable of forming a criminal intent


24. false -- the 6th Amendment double jeopardy prohibition applies only to criminal prosecutions


25. false -- appeals courts cannot reverse findings of fact, only findings of law


26. true


27. false, in Maine but not in all states; deadly force can only be used when there is a threat of harm to the person, not to property alone


28. true


29. false, so long as the crime isn't against her, her minor children, or was committed before the marriage took place


30. false -- homicide is the killing of one person by another person; in some circumstances the killing can be excusable or justifiable