Chapter 15 InQuizitive: The Federal Courts

Study the Who Participates? infographic, and then answer the question. Identify which circuit courts have a majority of Democratic-appointed judges, and which circuit courts have a majority of Republican-appointed judges.

Democratic majority: -D.C. Circuit -First Circuit Republican majority: -Eighth Circuit -Fifth Circuit

Match each Supreme Court document to its definition.

Dissenting opinion: document laying out the legal belief of a minority of the Supreme Court justices about the case in question Opinion: document laying out the legal belief of the Supreme Court justices about the case in question Amicus curiae brief: interest-group-written brief that advises the Court on how to rule on a case Brief: attorney-written document arguing why the Court should agree with their client

The Supreme Court is an active participant in the legislative process, as seen by how they often rule acts of Congress unconstitutional. (true or false)

False (Feedback: The Court has struck down fewer than 160 acts of Congress in over 200 years.)

In deliberations, the chief justice is given greater authority than the other justices. (true or false )

False (Feedback: Each justice is treated equally in deliberations and decisions; the chief justice, if in the majority, determines which justice will write the formal opinion for the Court.)

What are some ways for petitioners to show that they have standing, or the right to initiate a court case?

- Show injury to oneself -show they have a substantial stake in the outcome

Read the passage, and click on the possible defendants in this example. Frank has filed a lawsuit stating that his father John died while incarcerated at the Harris County jail due to the negligence of Officer Steve whom he alleges failed to give John his medicine. The Harris County Sheriff's Office, which oversees the jail, claims that the medicine was administered in a timely fashion.

-Harris County -Officer Steve -Harris County Sheriff's Office

Complete the following statement. The _________ formally nominates judges for federal courts. After nomination, the candidate must first be considered by the_________

-president -Senate Judiciary

In recent years, the Court has granted writs of certiorari to about what percentage of petitioners?

1

Study the Who Participates? infographic, and then answer the question. Order these from the circuit court hearing the most cases to the fewest cases in 2020.

1) Ninth Circuit 2) Fifth Circuit 3) Fourth Circuit 4) D.C. Circuit

Properly order the steps a case typically goes through in the federal court system.

1) U.S. district courts 2) U.S. court of appeals 3) U.S. Supreme Court

Place in order, from first to last, the process by which the Supreme Court accepts and reviews a case. Note that this list represents only a few of the steps of the sequence.

1)Petition for a writ of certiorari is filed 2)The court grants a writ of certiorari 3)Oral arguments commence 4)The justices convene a conference

Rank each court based on the number of cases it hears, from the court that hears the most cases to the court that hears the fewest.

1)state trial courts 2)federal district courts 3) state courts of appeals 4) federal courts of appeals 5) state supreme courts 6) U.S. Supreme Court

Why is legal precedent important to the courts?

Correct Answers: -Courts apply principles from prior cases to the current case. -Attorneys will use precedent from previous cases to argue for their clients. Incorrect Answers: -It helps to resolve the cases prior to a trial. -Precedent can help defendants win more trials against plaintiffs.

Unless subsequently heard by the Supreme Court, the decisions made by federal appeals courts are final. How does the system attempt to mitigate the danger of such a provision?

Correct Answers: -Multiple judges serve on every appeals case. -Each circuit has a Supreme Court justice assigned to it to handle special requests for action by the Supreme Court. Incorrect Answers: -Each circuit must have a percentage of its decisions reviewed by another circuit annually. -Appeals court decisions must be validated by a circuit court judge who did not actively serve on the case.

Which of the following are factual limitations on the power of federal courts?

Correct Answers: -The courts cannot exercise power on its own initiative. -The courts must depend on other branches to enforce its rulings. Incorrect Answers: -The courts must consult with Congress prior to overruling federal statutes. -The courts are constrained by stare decisis, or previous decisions, because they cannot overrule precedents.

Identify the correct and incorrect statements about Marbury v. Madison.

Correct Answers: -The opinion asserted the power of the judiciary. -Chief Justice John Marshall avoided a direct confrontation with the president. Incorrect Answers: -The Court invented the notion of a supremacy clause. -The Court overturned a state law for the first time.

Study the Who Participates? infographic, and then answer the question. Which of the following statements about reversals are correct and which is incorrect?

Correct Answers: -The reversal rate from 2007-2020 for each court was above 50 percent, with the First Circuit having the lowest reversal rate at 52 percent. Incorrect Answers: -Most of the cases heard by the circuit courts go on to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. -The circuit courts have similar caseloads to balance the work and ensure fair outcomes. -Circuit courts that are skewed heavily toward one party or the other (in terms of the appointing president) tend to have higher reversal rates than those more evenly balanced.

What factors influence the Supreme Court's decision-making practices?

Correct Answers: -concern over protecting the Court's reputation -law and precedent on relevant cases -political ideology Incorrect Answers: -deference to lower court rulings

When does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction over a case?

Correct Answers: -in a case between two or more states -when a state government brings a case against citizens of another state -in cases in which a foreign ambassador is involved -in a case between the federal government and a state government Incorrect Answers: -in cases brought by the federal government against a citizen -in a case in which a member of Congress is involved

Which of the following characteristics are relevant in determining which federal court has jurisdiction over a case?

Correct Answers: -the parties in the case -location where the case was filed -subject matter of the case Incorrect Answers: -the size of the court's docket

Which of these are the most salient and accurate criticisms of the Supreme Court's increasing reliance on the shadow docket?

Correct Answers: -Cases on the shadow docket go through an accelerated process in which full briefs are not filed, no oral arguments are heard, and justices do not provide lengthy opinions that describe their reasoning. _Although the shadow docket previously was used sparingly for uncontroversial petitions or emergencies, it is increasingly being used on controversial cases, such as the COVID-19 restrictions and the Texas six-week abortion ban. Incorrect Answers: -Cases on the shadow docket often involve wealthy corporations which have donated to members of Congress. -Most rulings that come from the shadow docket have been liberal.

What is the basis of the Supreme Court's power of judicial review?

Judicial review was established in the Marbury v. Madison decision. (Feedback: Judicial review was established by Justice John Marshall as a way of asserting judicial power while avoiding a confrontation with Thomas Jefferson.)

Which of the following is the best example of stare decisis?

The Supreme Court overturns a state law that restricts handgun ownership stating that it conflicts with District of Columbia v. Heller

The chief justice has voted with the minority of justices on a case. Who gets to assign which justice will write the majority opinion?

The most senior associate justice in the majority (Feedback: The power to assign the opinion writer is an important one, as whoever writes the majority opinion can significantly influence the nature of the Court's decision.)

Which area of state policy does the Supreme Court monitor the most?

law enforcement (Feedback:Because the practices and technologies used by law enforcement change frequently, the Court must continue to update and apply the principles it has developed to ensure that policy conduct does not violate constitutional liberties.)

Complete the following statement Numerous car manufacturers installed air bags that, under certain conditions, can explode and injure passengers. Owners of these cars banded together to file a single _______________

Class action suit (Feedback: Although companies tend to hate class-action lawsuits, and though the prime beneficiaries are often the lawyers working on them, they do serve as one check against the malfeasance of companies.)

Who, or what, determines the number of justices that sit on the Supreme Court?

Congress (Feedback: The Constitution gives Congress the power to decide how many justices sit on the Court, and it set the number at nine in 1869.)