Questions and Answers of Criminal Law

Define each of the following as proposed by Hare: primary psychopath, secondary psychopath, dyssocial psychopath, and criminal psychopath.
Why is psychopathy so difficult to treat? What are some of the controversies regarding the treatment of psychopathy?
Identify some of the ethical problems created as a result of labeling a child a “psychopath.”
What are the two temperaments involved in psychopathy according to the dual process model?
How is the psychopath different from the nonpsychopath on psychophysiology? Thoroughly discuss all relevant features.
How is incompetency to stand trial evaluated? What is the consequence of being deemed incompetent to stand trial?
How do symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder contribute to violent behavior? Provide examples.
Describe the nature of violent crimes that are committed by people with schizophrenia.
What is the difference between structured professional judgments and actuarial approaches to assessing violence risk?
Describe fully and evaluate any three of the unique defenses.
Explain why a disproportionate amount of attention is paid by the news and entertainment media to criminal homicides.
Many general altercation offenders possess a strong hostile attribution bias. Discuss the psychological factors that explain this behavior.
Review research findings on juvenile murderers.
Describe some of the psychological characteristics of domestic abusers.
Highlight the primary motivation behind non-stranger and stranger child abductions. Where and how are these abductions likely to happen?
What is the cycle-of-violence hypothesis?
Compare and contrast abusive head trauma and Munchausen syndrome by proxy as specific forms of child abuse.
Discuss eldercide as a form of family violence, including its prevalence, perpetrators, and victims.
Define investigative psychology.
Describe some of the important features of offender behavior at crime scenes.
Briefly describe the difference between an organized and disorganized crime scene, focusing on the characteristics of the offender.
List and define the types of multiple murder, and provide an illustration of each.
Who are the commonly reported victims of female serial killers?What are some of the motivations of female serial killers?
Discuss the key features of classic and family mass murders, with an example for each.
Who are the victims of workplace violence? What are the warning signs for workplace violence?
Describe the psychological characteristics of offenders who commit authority homicide.
Why is NBC terrorism considered to be especially dangerous?How does NBC terrorism affect the psyche of humankind as a whole?
What are some of the reasons that terrorists volunteer for suicide missions? Why are fail-safe procedures developed by terrorist organizations?
Describe the characteristics of leaders of terrorist organizations.
Discuss the psychosocial context of terrorism.
How does Kohlberg’s theory provide a framework for understanding the morality of the leadership and followers of terrorist organizations?
What do you understand by statutory rape and rape by fraud?
Discuss why female students may not want to report rape and other kinds of sexual victimization to the police.
Review and discuss vulnerability factors for sexual assault.
What does crime scene analysis involve? Can we predict sexual recidivism?
Define and provide example of rape myths.
Explain why some men misconstrue women’s verbal and nonverbal communications.
Analyze the personality traits that are associated with juvenile and adult sexual offenders.
Discuss the research on sexual burglary in this chapter. What are the three types of sexual burglars?
What is the distinction between pedophilia and child sex offending?
Discuss the long-term interpersonal, social, and psychological effects on victims of child sexual abuse.
What are the factors that predict recidivism for CSOs?
What does the cognitive distortion hypothesis state about CSOs? Explain the neurocognitive functioning of CSOs.
Define online sexual offending. Give a brief description of online sexual offenders who are interested in adolescents.
Discuss research findings on female sex offenders.review Questions
Discuss the surveillability and occupancy cues studied by Bennett and Wright.
Enumerate the psychological effects experienced by victims of burglary. When is the distress level likely to be more pronounced in the victims?
Define motor vehicle theft. Describe the cognitive state of most active carjackers.
Describe the characteristics of shoplifters with an emphasis on their moral development.
Briefly describe Green’s occupational crime typology. Give an example of each. Contrast Green’s typology to that of Clinard and Quinney.
Describe and illustrate any five neutralization techniques or strategies used by corporate criminals.
Discuss the various motives for street robbery with reference to research done on the subject.
Define and provide examples of cybercrime, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and cyber harassment. Is it important to make distinctions between these terms to form a psychological perspective? Why or why
Define stalking. Describe the psychological trauma experienced by victims of stalking.
What is a barricade situation? Discuss the various strategies for dealing with hostage takers.
Give an account of the psychological problems associated with children and juveniles involved in firesetting.
What are the psychological antecedents of female arsonists?
Discuss the categories of firesetters as described by Canter and Fritzon.
Discuss the drug associated with the highest percentage of juvenile arrests. Sketch a profile of juveniles who sell drugs.
What factors are important to deciphering the connection between drugs and crime? What are the stages that drug popularity and epidemics undergo?
What is drug tolerance? Describe secondary psychological dependence.
Discuss the factors that determine the psychological effects of cannabis.
Why is heroin more closely associated with crime than any other drug?
Does research support the premise that alcohol instigates aggressive conduct in some individuals? Discuss alcohol use and violent behavior in delinquents.
Which of the three defendants is entitled to the defense of ignorance of law? Support your answer with the information in your text regarding mens rea, ignorance and mistake generally, and the
Should morality, in and of itself, be considered a sufficient basis for defining particular conduct as criminal?
What are the chief distinctions between the civil and criminal law? Why do the criminal and civil law sometimes overlap?
To what extent is the English common law significant in contemporary American criminal law?
What is the essential difference between substantive criminal law and procedural criminal law? Can you give examples of each?
What means of punishment for criminal offenses exist in your state? Is capital punishment available for persons convicted of first-degree murder? Which punishments, if any, do you think are most
Go to http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html. Use this page to locate the Supreme Court’s decision in Gonzales v. Raich (2005). Read the decision. Identify the key issue and the Court’s
Go to the Web. Locate the United States Code (hint: Try the “Legal Information Institute”). Locate Title 18, “Crimes and Criminal Procedure.” Locate Chapter 115, “Treason, Sedition, and
How does the concept of federalism complicate the administration of criminal justice in the United States?
Describe the functions of federal and state law enforcement agencies.
Compare and contrast the functions of trial and appellate courts. How are they similar? How are they different?
What function does a grand jury serve? Does replacement of the indictment function of grand juries at the state level with prosecutors authorized to charge crimes by filing a sworn information impair
Is there a justification for the broad discretion vested in a prosecutor?
To what extent does the U.S. Constitution protect the right to trial by jury in a criminal case?
What are the arguments for and against allowing trial judges broad discretion in criminal sentencing?
What factors do you think a prosecutor should take into consideration in determining whether to prosecute an individual the police have arrested for possession of illegal drugs?
What chief characteristics distinguish the military justice system under the Uniform Code of Military Justice from civilian criminal prosecutions?
What factors should a judge consider in determining whether to sentence a convicted felon to prison?
Log on to http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/supreme_court. Examine the pending cases on the Supreme Court’s docket. Do any of these cases involve constitutional limitations on criminal law? How would
Can you think of an example of an ex post facto law?
Is it possible for the criminal law to define the crime of obscenity precisely enough to avoid the “vice of vagueness” or the problem of overbreadth?
Can a municipality enforce an ordinance totally banning religious organizations from canvassing neighborhoods in search of new members? What about an ordinance that prohibits such canvassing between
Should the constitutional right of privacy invalidate criminal statutes that require a minor to obtain parental consent to obtain an abortion?
Would the constitutional right of privacy provide a defense to a charge of possession of obscene materials where videotapes were viewed only by the defendant in the privacy of his or her home?
Could a father who, without judicial approval, unplugs the respirator sustaining the breathing of his comatose, terminally ill child be prosecuted for murder?
Would a law making it an offense for a person to carry prescription medicine in other than the original, labeled container meet the test of being rationally related to a legitimate government
How does the doctrine of judicial review affect the power of a state legislature to define criminal conduct? Would the constitutional limitations on legislative power be as stringent without the
Give an example of a law that would be constitutional per se, and point out how such a law may be unconstitutional in its application to a specific conduct.
Give an example of a law defining a crime that, although held to be constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, has been declared unconstitutional by some state courts. Why can such a result occur in
Amelia Eyeland has been arrested for trespass, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. The charges stem from an incident in which Amelia and other members of the Green Warriors staged a raucous
John Masters, a licensed psychotherapist, has been charged with violating a new state statute making it a crime for “any licensed psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist to have sexual
Go to the web. Locate your state’s criminal statutes (or another state’s if yours are not available online). Determine whether your state uses Model Penal Code terminology (“purposely,”
Distinguish between the concepts of motive and intent in the criminal law. Can you cite an instance where, despite good motives, a person would be guilty of a crime?
What justifies the criminal law making mere possession of contraband articles illegal?Do you think this rationale extends to criminalizing the mere possession of such innocent items as a screwdriver,
Given the fact that the common-law requirement of intent is not an element of strict liability crimes, what rationale supports legislative enactment of such offenses?
Should the criminal law punish a person whose mere carelessness, as opposed to willfulness, causes harm to another?

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