Name: __________________
1
Class:
Date: _____________
In Texas, the codified body of laws which covers crime and its punishment is known as the
a. State Correct.ions Authority.
b. legislative agenda.
c. criminal justice system.
d. Penal Code.
2
People who engage in organized criminal activity, repeat offenders, and those who commit hate
crimes in Texas are punished as though they had committed the next higher degree of felony.
This practice is called
a. capital felony.
b. recidivism.
c. enhanced punishment.
d. penal punishment.
3
What method does Texas primarily use for dealing with drug offenses?
a. fines
b. incarceration
c. drug counseling and rehabilitation
d. community service
4
Robin has been accused of manslaughter and the prosecutor has told Robin if she pleads guilty
he will make sure she gets a shorter prison sentence. If Robin were to agree to this deal, she
would be participating in
a. gerrymandering.
b. a mistrial.
c. blackmail.
d. a plea bargain.
5
After an African American man was chained by his ankles and dragged to his death in East
Texas in 1998, the legislature enacted a ________ law.
a. hate crimes
b. racial profiling
c. heinous crimes
d. minority protection
PAGE 1
Name: __________________
6
Class:
Date: _____________
Which of the following would be considered a capital felony?
a. killing a 25-year-old man in a drunk driving accident
b. killing an 18-year-old man in a bar fight and then leaving the country
c. shooting and killing a police officer while robbing a bank
d. killing a 40-year-old woman and then lying about it in court
7
In 1982, Texas became the first state to use ________ as method of implementing the death
penalty.
a. electrocution
b. hanging
c. lethal injection
d. firing squads
8
How does Texas compare to the rest of the country when it comes to executing capital felons?
a. Over the past three decades, Texas has executed less capital felons than any other
state.
b. Over the past three decades, Texas has executed more capital felons than 25 other
states.
c. Over the past three decades, Texas has executed more capital felons than any other
state.
d. Over the past three decades, Texas has remained on par with the most other states in
regard to the execution of capital felons.
9
In 2013, several death row inmates in Texas filed a federal civil complaint against the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice because ________ , which they argued constituted cruel and
unusual punishment.
a. department officials had been accused of raping death row inmates immediately before
their execution
b. they believed the department was using untested drugs from unregulated pharmacies
to administer lethal injection
c. department officials had refused to comply with federal regulations abolishing the use
of lethal injection
d. they believed the department was intentionally using inhumanely low amounts of lethal
injection drugs in order to save money
PAGE 2
Name: __________________
Class:
Date: _____________
10 The American Bar Association has encouraged states with death-penalty laws to implement a
moratorium. How have Texas legislators responded to this suggestion?
a. After years of prodding, they have begrudgingly decided to place a moratorium on the
death penalty.
b. They have remained neutral and undecided about it.
c. They have completely embraced this suggestion and placed a moratorium on the death
penalty.
d. They have consistently rejected it.
11 What caused Texas's prison population to decline in 2010 and 2011 after years of continued
growth?
a. the redirection of funds to expand treatment and counseling services
b. the construction of two new prisons
c. the redirection of funds to the salaries of law enforcement staff
d. the state's continued emphasis on providing public safety
12 What are staff members of the Correctional Institutions Division of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice responsible for?
a. enforcing state law and arresting criminal offenders
b. providing information to crime victims about any change in the offender's status, as well
as notification of pending parole hearings
c. supervising the operation and management of state prisons, state jails, and other
specialized facilities
d. reintegrating offenders back into mainstream society
13 Commonly referred to as solitary confinement, ________ isolates an inmate in a separate cell
as punishment, typically for a violent or disruptive behavior.
a. an adjudication hearing
b. enhanced punishment
c. administrative segregation
d. a moratorium
PAGE 3
Name: __________________
Class:
Date: _____________
14 Most county jails operate under the direction of the
a. county sheriff.
b. lieutenant governor.
c. FBI.
d. Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
15 Texas now has more ________ prisons than any other state.
a. county
b. maximum security
c. juvenile
d. privately operated
16 Children that commit noncriminal acts such as running away from home, failing to attend school,
or violating a curfew established by a city or county are designated by the juvenile justice
system as
a. status offenders.
b. future offenders.
c. jurisdictional delinquents.
d. delinquent children.
17 In 2011, the Texas legislature abolished the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile
Probation Commission. What agency did the legislature create to replace them?
a. the Texas Division of Juvenile Crimes
b. the Texas Juvenile Justice Department
c. the Texas Department of Correct.ions
d. the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
18 Trials in juvenile courts are called
a. misdemeanor trials.
b. adjudication hearings.
c. sealed record trials.
d. jurisdictional hearings.
PAGE 4
Name: __________________
Class:
Date: _____________
19 Approximately ________ percent of juveniles charged with serious crimes stand trial and are
punished as adults.
a. 15
b. 1
c. 5
d. 10
20 Who investigates charges of negligence and misconduct related to DNA evidence?
a. the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
b. the FBI
c. the Texas Forensic Science Commission
d. the Texas Rangers
21 Which part of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that no state can "deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property without due process of law"?
a. the 1
st
st
amendment
th
amendment
th
amendment
b. the 21
c. the 19
amendment
d. the 14
22 Tina was wrongfully incarcerated for a murder she didn't commit. She was imprisoned for two
years and then exonerated. How will the state of Texas award her financially?
a. She will not receive any financial compensation.
b. $80,000 for each year she was wrongly incarcerated
c. $25,000 for each year she was wrongly incarcerated
d. She will receive a lump sum of $50,000.
23 How does the state determine wrongful conviction in Texas?
a. It established an innocence commission.
b. It doesn't do anything to determine wrongful convictions.
c. It provides funds to county sheriff's departments.
d. It funds innocence projects at its public law schools.
PAGE 5
Name: __________________
Class:
Date: _____________
24 How have changes in Texas's demography begun to affect its justice system?
a. The ethnicity of both those enforcing the law and those against whom the law is being
enforced has become increasingly diverse.
b. As more minorities fill leadership roles, fewer minorities enter the criminal justice
system as offenders.
c. The ethnicity of those enforcing the law is consistently different from those against
whom the law is enforced.
d. As women begin to outnumber men in population, the state has opened more women's
prisons.
25 In Texas, the ________ has the authority to ask the courts, on behalf of the state, to take
someone's life, liberty or property.
a. district attorney
b. prison warden
c. attorney general
d. governor
PAGE 6
ANSWER KEY
Copy of
1. d
10. d
19. b
2. c
11. a
20. c
3. b
12. c
21. d
ANSWER KEY - Page 1
4. d
13. c
22. b
5. a
14. a
23. d
6. c
15. d
24. c
7. c
16. a
25. a
8. c
17. b
9. b
18. b