U.S. Criminal Law Trivia

1. In June, 2008, a 27-year old man from New York sued Subway after he took a bite of his sandwich. He asked for a sum of $1,000,000 because of food poisoning, which he said he had gotten from what was found in his sandwich. What was it that he found?

From Quiz Strange Lawsuits

Answer: Knife

This case was finally settled in 2012. Although he originally sued for $1M, John Agnesini settled out of court for $20,000 after Subway said they were not going to offer any more than that. I think I would have gone to court if I found a serrated knife baked into the bread of my 12-inch cold-cut sub, whether it caused "food poisoning" or not. Between this incident and the one in 2015 where a man in Oregon found a mouse in his sub, I am sure I will not be visiting Subway anytime soon.

From Quiz Yours Truly, Mafia Boss Don Spaghetti

Answer: Extortion

Extortion is the act of threatening injury to another person in an attempt to get them to turn over something valuable. It differs from blackmail in that blackmail involves the threat to damage the victim's reputation rather than to physically harm them. Extortion differs from larceny in that in extortion the intent is for the victim to voluntarily hand over the valuable item whereas with larceny the perpetrator simply takes the item. In the US extortion generally carries a prison term of 2-4 years although longer terms, including a life sentence, may be imposed if the victim was threatened with death or grievous injury.

From Quiz Memorable Trials in U.S. History

Answer: nineteen

In addition to the nineteen who were hanged, four accused witches died in prison, and one man was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial. Over a hundred others were arrested and charged with witchcraft. All remaining defendants were released in May of 1693 by order of the Massachusetts Governor, Sir William Phips. Basic legal protections we take for granted today, such as the right to legal counsel and the right to appeal, were not available to these unfortunate defendants. The speed of the whole process can be seen by the fact that the cases started in early 1692, and the last of the hangings took place on September 22nd of that same year.

From Quiz 1692: Darkness in Salem

Answer: 24

A grand total of twenty-four people died as a result of the trials. Nineteen were hanged, four died in prison, and one was crushed to death.

From Quiz Criminal Justice in the U.S.

Answer: Robert Peel

King Hammurabi established the code of Hammurabi in 1750 BC. This code is one of the earliest examples of written law but doesn't involve policing. Alan Pinkerton is credited with creating the first private security force in the US. John Fielding did start the idea of a unified, mobile police force but Robert Peel developed the police structure, which all modern US departments are modeled after. Peel (1788-1850) was a British politician and was Prime Minister briefly in 1834 and then from 1841-46. In 1820s, as Home Secretary, he persuaded the House of Commons to investigate the existing police force. When the committee told Peel that the existing police force could not be fixed, he established the Metropolitan Police Force in 1829. This may be the reason why some police officers are called "Peelers" or "Bobbies".

From Quiz Facts from the Scopes Monkey Trial

Answer: The Butler Act

The Butler Act was a Tennessee law that forbade teaching "any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals." At this time (1920s), many states had similar statutes.

From Quiz What happened in Salem?

Answer: egg whites

What started out as a game for the girls became more serious when one girl believed she saw "the specter in the likeness of a coffin" in the homemade crystal ball.

From Quiz Criminal Justice in the US

Answer: Justice

Criminal justice is defined as "the criminal law; the law of criminal procedure. Social justice is defined as "is linked to notions of fairness and cultural beliefs about right and wrong" and Civil justice is defined as "the law of civil procedure; procedure and activities sought through civil action".

From Quiz Lizzie Borden Mystery

Answer: Maggie

It has been said that they called her Maggie because the former maid's name was Maggie, and they continued calling Bridget this out of habit.

From Quiz Salem Witch Trials

Answer: Bridget (Sarah) Bishop

Bridget Bishop was accused of witchcraft earlier in her life by her third husband. It is believed that Bridget was, in all probability, a practicing witch.

From Quiz Memorable Trials in U.S. History

Answer: jury nullification

Zenger was a New York newspaperman who was charged with the crime of seditious libel for printing a document critical of the Governor of New York. Zenger's lawyer put the law itself on trial, and when the jury came back with a not guilty verdict, the case became known as one of the first cases of jury nullification in American history.

From Quiz California Criminal Law

Answer: Premeditated and deliberate

This killing would be classified as premeditated and deliberate because the suspect knew the consequences, but still thought about committing the act, and committed the crime as well.

From Quiz Facts from the Scopes Monkey Trial

Answer: A.T. Stewart

Stewart was the 18th judicial district's attorney-general. As such, he was chief counsel for the prosecution. Bryan volunteered to be an associate counsel.

From Quiz What happened in Salem?

Answer: minister's

Reverend Samuel Parris was the father of one of the girls and the uncle of the other.

From Quiz Lizzie Borden Mystery

Answer: Alice Ester

This child was born before Lizzie ... and would've been the middle Borden sister ...

From Quiz Salem Witch Trials

Answer: 200

America's only massive witch-hunt was unusual in the fact that it was much shorter and more localized than its European counterpart.

From Quiz Strange Lawsuits

Answer: The judge threw the case out

The Cleveland judge maintained that the lawsuit was frivolous and told Aitken not to waste the court's time by appealing. Although I do agree with U.S. District Judge Lesley Wells' decision, I do not wholly agree with his decision to tell the plaintiff not to appeal, which is his legal right. That being said, I hope he took the judge's opinion.

From Quiz Yours Truly, Mafia Boss Don Spaghetti

Answer: Arson

Arson is the malicious burning of a building or property with criminal intent. In the US intentionally burning a building as described is a felony and generally carries a sentence of two to ten years although individual state laws vary.

From Quiz Memorable Trials in U.S. History

Answer: Aaron Burr

Burr's lawyer had a subpoena issued for President Thomas Jefferson to turn over certain documents which Burr felt were needed for his defense. The trial Judge, Chief Justice John Marshall, issued the subpoena, but Jefferson balked. Marshall, a political opponent of Jefferson, stood his ground and Jefferson eventually complied with the subpoena. The most famous claim of executive privilege was in 1974, when President Richard Nixon resisted the efforts of the Watergate special prosecutor to obtain the audiotapes of Oval Office conversations. This dispute went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which accepted the idea that there is a privilege, but held that it is not absolute. Nixon was ordered to turn over the tapes, and he resigned in disgrace a few days later.

From Quiz California Criminal Law

Answer: Unconscious, Duress, Accident, Mistake of fact, Under 14 yrs old, and Idiot

Being unconscious is one of the defenses as well as duress which is when a person is forced into committing a crime, the person has no free will. Obviously, an accident means there is no one to blame. Another is mistake of fact a.k.a. honest mistake. This means the person had no intent to commit the crime. Even though it can be rebutted, it is reasonable to believe that anyone under 14 years of age doesn't understand the concept of right and Wrong, therefore cannot be held accountable for their actions. There are exceptions. And an idiot is someone with an I.Q. of 24, which would make it literally impossible for that person to know the consequences of their actions.

From Quiz Criminal Justice in the US

Answer: National Crime Victimization Survey

The NCVS relies on personal accounts of criminal and possible criminal events to help create a crime index. This report is done annually, and is administered by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

From Quiz Lizzie Borden Mystery

Answer: Fairhaven

From Quiz Salem Witch Trials

Answer: Nathaniel Saltonstall

Nathaniel Saltonstall removed himself from the bench after Bridget Bishop's execution. Months later he was accused along with several other prominent citizens. This was one of the factors that led to the decline of the witch-hunt.

From Quiz California Criminal Law

Answer: Causation

In English common law, the one year and one day rule constituted that if said time had passed from the date of the victim's injury then the suspect could not be held accountable for the victim's death. Today, we have technology that can prolong one's life making the issue of one year and one day irrelevant, thus creating the three years and one day rule to make the issue seem more reasonable for today's modern society.

From Quiz Criminal Justice in the U.S.

Answer: Executive branch

The legislative branch makes the laws, the judicial branch interprets the laws, and the executive branch enforces the laws. Although you may be tempted to say judicial, that branch only deals with the courts.

From Quiz Facts from the Scopes Monkey Trial

Answer: Dayton

A city of 2000 in Rhea County. Some leading citizens of Dayton asked Scopes to stand trial for teaching evolution so that there city would garner attention. The ACLU volunteered their services to try to get The Butler Act declared unconstitutional.

From Quiz Criminal Justice in the US

Answer: guilty mind

This is the state of mind that accompanies a criminal act. Although "mens rea" isn't always present during a crime. There are "unintentional crimes" such as when a person speeds and doesn't realize it.

From Quiz Lizzie Borden Mystery

Answer: Mrs. Churchill

This next door neighbor had just come home from buying groceries, and saw Lizzie at the backdoor through the window in her kitchen. She appeared to be in some distress, so Mrs.Churchill called out to her to see what was the matter.

From Quiz Salem Witch Trials

Answer: Sarah Good

When the Reverend lay dying years later, he choked on his own blood.

From Quiz Memorable Trials in U.S. History

Answer: four

This was a real black mark in the history of American jurisprudence. The protesters were meeting in Chicago's Haymarket Square to protest the killing of two workers by police the day before. The rally was peaceful until police decided to try to disperse the crowd. In the ensuing confusion, a bomb was thrown into police ranks, killing seven officers. Eight Chicago labor supporters were tried for killing one of the officers, even though there was no evidence linking them directly to the bombing. Seven of the eight were convicted and sentenced to death. Two of the convicted seven were pardoned by the Governor, and one committed suicide, leaving four to be hanged on November 11, 1887. An 1893 report issued by Governor Altgeld condemned the trial as grossly unfair, and the judgment of history is in agreement with this conclusion.

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Last Updated Apr 13 2024 5:49 AM

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