FIRST WRITTEN EXAMINATION, a.k.a. "THE COMPS"
Law and Policy
Law and Policy Reading list available here
For Oct '04 questions, click here.
Aug '04
Law
** Recent decisions of the Supreme Court
have held that some
provisions of "sentencing guidelines" are unconstitutional.
What was held, and what was the reasoning? Can the idea
of sentencing guidelines survive this decision? If so, how; if
not, why not?
Policy
** Argue for and against the proposition that police officers
have 4-year college degrees (baccalaureate degrees) as
an entry level educational requirement. Cite relevant research.
Mar '05
Law
**In Kansas v. Crane, 534 U.S. 407 (2002), the Court held a lack of volitional control, though not necessarily an absolute lack of such control, is a neccessary condition for civil confinement. In your essay, please consider the converse possibility: that a substantial degree of volitional control is a necessary condition for criminal liability. Review the following questions in your essay. First, how much control is needed? Second, why doesn't criminal law allow for a sliding scale of volitional control ( and so degrees of culpability) in the same way that it allows for a sliding scale of mental states? Third, what evidence is relevant to determining volitional control? (In commenting on this, be sure to consider the reliability of such evidence.) And fourth, what bearing does criminological theory- in particular, the theory of low self-control propounded by Gottfredson and Hirschi- have on this topic?
Policy
**Terrorism has placed new burdens on the federal/state relationship in law enforcement. Indeed, it might well be argued that state and local initiatives in law enforcement seem particularly antiquated in light of the global threat posed by Al Quaeda and other terrorist organizations. What role is left for state and local initiatives in this context? Should the Office of Homeland Security not only set national strategy but also establish local branches that supplant the role of local police? Or is local knowledge sufficiently important that some kind of relationship of equals must be established?
Methods and Statistics
Methods and Statistics Reading List available
here
Aug '04
Section A, Question #1 (ALL PARTS)
1. In your own words, what
is the purpose of this study? What are its main questions
or hypotheses?
2. From the data provided, what did the study find? How
do you know? Point
to the evidence from the tables, and be specific.
3. What are the limitations of this study's design? What
are its strengths?
4. Describe a different methodology that could have been
used to address these questions/hypotheses. What would have
been the strengths and weaknesses of your alternative design,
compared to what was done by these authors? In what way
could a different design have confirmed (or disconfirmed)
these results, and how might the different design have added
to what we know about the topic?
Integrated
Criminological Theory
Integrated Criminological Theory Reading List
available here
Aug '04
Criminology
** What does "criminal career" mean? Summarize
three major concepts about "criminal careers" that
have been empirically demonstrated, and describe how they
have been demonstrated. Identify an important empirically
unverified aspect of "criminal careers," and explain
the importance of obtaining empirical data about it.
Forensic Psychology
** What do we know about designing treatment programs that "work"?
What aspects of this knowledge tend to influence the design of new intervention
strategies, and which do not? Explain why this is so.
Dec '05
Criminology
**Choose two schools of criminology and compare and contrast the major tenets of their theories including their strenghts and weaknesses. What are their implications for public policy? Choose from the following schools of thought:classical criminology, critical criminology, social strain theory, and integrated theory.
Forensic Psychology
**Classification is widely used with regard to the study of criminality. Some classification systems are conceptual/theoretical, others are strictly empirical. Describe a classification system of each type, and provide an assessment of the appropriate ( and inappropriate) use for each system. Explain your reasoning.
Jun '06
Criminology
**The process of social learning plays an important role in some criminological theories (e.g., differential association and cultural deviance) and is downplayed in others (e.g., classical and strain theory)
Select any two criminological theories and fully explain the role - if any- that learning plays in each theory. Make sure to also set forth each theory's (1) view of human nature, (2) the emotional state of the offender during the commission of a crime, (3) the unit of analysis (i.e., micro vs. macro), and (4) the domain of the dependent variable (i.e., general vs. specific theory)
Forensic Psychology
**Law and psychology exist in tension. Describe one situation in which psychology drove a legal decision or outcome, and one in which a legal decision or outcome drove psychology. For each situation,provide specific examples of relevant research studies (cite and describe) and relevant legal decisions (cite and highlight key issues). Explain how they pushed one another.
