CJE UNIT 1
COMPREHENSIVE
STUDY GUIDE
SECTION 1: CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM FOUNDATIONS
QUESTION 1
Like the family, schools, organized religion, the media, and the law, criminal justice is a(n)
________
ANSWER
Institution of social control.
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
Criminal justice serves as a formal mechanism of social control, alongside other institutions like
family, education, and religion that regulate behavior in society.
QUESTION 2
American criminal justice consists of three main agencies. Which of the following is NOT one
of those three main agencies?
ANSWER
Prisons
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
The three main agencies are: Police (law enforcement), Courts (adjudication), and Corrections
(which includes prisons, but prisons alone are not a main agency).
QUESTION 3
After an arrest has been made, the suspect is brought to the police station to be ________
ANSWER
Booked
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
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,Booking is the process of recording the arrest, taking fingerprints, photographs, and personal
information of the suspect.
QUESTION 4
About ________ of criminal defendants plead guilty to the charges against them in an
arrangement called plea bargaining.
ANSWER
95 percent
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
The vast majority of criminal cases (approximately 95%) are resolved through plea bargaining
rather than going to trial.
QUESTION 5
When politically conservative values are dominant in society, the principles and policies of
________ seem to dominate the operation of criminal justice.
ANSWER
The crime control model
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
The crime control model emphasizes efficiency, swift processing, and suppression of crime,
values associated with political conservatism.
QUESTION 6
If defendants are not satisfied with the outcome of their trials, they have the right to
________
ANSWER
Appeal
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
The appellate process allows defendants to challenge trial court decisions based on errors of law
or procedure.
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, QUESTION 7
A major problem with the crime control model is that a presumption of guilt goes against one
of the oldest and most cherished principles of American criminal justice. What is this
principle?
ANSWER
Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
The presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle of American jurisprudence that conflicts
with the crime control model's efficiency-focused approach.
QUESTION 8
The due process model is based on the doctrine of ________
ANSWER
Legal guilt
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
Legal guilt requires that guilt be established through proper legal procedures, not just factual guilt
(actually committing the crime).
QUESTION 9
State and local governments in the United States share the costs of criminal justice by
making ________ primarily a local function and ________ primarily a state function.
ANSWER
Police protection; corrections
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
Local governments primarily fund police departments, while state governments bear most of the
cost for prisons and corrections systems.
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COMPREHENSIVE
STUDY GUIDE
SECTION 1: CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM FOUNDATIONS
QUESTION 1
Like the family, schools, organized religion, the media, and the law, criminal justice is a(n)
________
ANSWER
Institution of social control.
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
Criminal justice serves as a formal mechanism of social control, alongside other institutions like
family, education, and religion that regulate behavior in society.
QUESTION 2
American criminal justice consists of three main agencies. Which of the following is NOT one
of those three main agencies?
ANSWER
Prisons
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
The three main agencies are: Police (law enforcement), Courts (adjudication), and Corrections
(which includes prisons, but prisons alone are not a main agency).
QUESTION 3
After an arrest has been made, the suspect is brought to the police station to be ________
ANSWER
Booked
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
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,Booking is the process of recording the arrest, taking fingerprints, photographs, and personal
information of the suspect.
QUESTION 4
About ________ of criminal defendants plead guilty to the charges against them in an
arrangement called plea bargaining.
ANSWER
95 percent
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
The vast majority of criminal cases (approximately 95%) are resolved through plea bargaining
rather than going to trial.
QUESTION 5
When politically conservative values are dominant in society, the principles and policies of
________ seem to dominate the operation of criminal justice.
ANSWER
The crime control model
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
The crime control model emphasizes efficiency, swift processing, and suppression of crime,
values associated with political conservatism.
QUESTION 6
If defendants are not satisfied with the outcome of their trials, they have the right to
________
ANSWER
Appeal
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
The appellate process allows defendants to challenge trial court decisions based on errors of law
or procedure.
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, QUESTION 7
A major problem with the crime control model is that a presumption of guilt goes against one
of the oldest and most cherished principles of American criminal justice. What is this
principle?
ANSWER
Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
The presumption of innocence is a fundamental principle of American jurisprudence that conflicts
with the crime control model's efficiency-focused approach.
QUESTION 8
The due process model is based on the doctrine of ________
ANSWER
Legal guilt
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
Legal guilt requires that guilt be established through proper legal procedures, not just factual guilt
(actually committing the crime).
QUESTION 9
State and local governments in the United States share the costs of criminal justice by
making ________ primarily a local function and ________ primarily a state function.
ANSWER
Police protection; corrections
RATIONALE / EXPLANATION
Local governments primarily fund police departments, while state governments bear most of the
cost for prisons and corrections systems.
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