Crash Course US Gov. #19-21 QUIZ

What are cases where the court has original jurisdiction?

1) Between the US and a state. 2) Between two or more states. 3) Cases involving foreign ministers or ambassadors. 4) Brought by citizens of one state against citizens of another state or against a foreign country.

What are the four scenarios where the federal courts have original jurisdiction and in all cases must be brought in a district court?

1) Cases where the law at issue is a federal law. 2) Cases involving treaties. 3) Cases involving the US Constitution. 4) Cases where the US government is a party to the litigation.

What are cases that the court will almost always take?

1) When a the circuit courts in a case have reached different or conflicting conclusions, called a circuit split. 2) When the federal government itself has initiated the appeal. 3) A clear constitutional question.

What are the four things that the federal courts have the power to review?

1) congressional laws 2) state actions. this power comes from the supremacy clause in the Constitution 3) federal bureaucratic agencies, which are agencies created by Congress to perform specific tasks 4) presidential actions, especially in the area of national security

How many circuit courts are there?

12 of them, distributed regionally throughout the US.

What must happen for the judges to actually hear the case, or grant certiorari?

4 of the 9 justices must agree to hear it, which is called the rule of 4.

What must happen in order for a court to render an official decision?

5 of the 9 justices must agree on at least one of the legal arguments that either affirms or overturns the lower court's decision.

What is a brief?

A brief is a written legal argument from each side explaining why the law favors their position.

What is a concurring opinion?

A concurring opinion is where a justice agrees with the holding but for different legal reasons.

What is a dissenting opinion?

A dissenting opinion is written by a judge who is on the losing side but didn't support the majority decision; however, these don't have the force of law, and only serve to provide arguments that might help persuade later courts in similar decisions.

What was the case of Marbury v. Madison?

At the end of John Adam's term, he appointed Marbury as Justice of the Peace; however, James Madison, who was the Secretary of State, refused to give him this power.

Why doesn't the Supreme Court review many cases?

Because there are only 9 justices and they get requested to review about 8,000 cases every year. Among these, they usually only end up making decisions for about 80 of them.

If your petition is granted, where does it go?

If your petition is granted, it goes into the cert pool.

What is an example of a case where the court issued a unanimous decision?

In Brown v. Board of Education the court issued a unanimous decision.

What was the case of Miranda v. Arizona?

In the case of Miranda v. Arizona, a person named Miranda was arrested because he accidentally gave away too information because he didn't know that he could remain silent. After this, the law changed so police would be required to read the Miranda warnings to anyone they arrest ("You have the right to remain silent, etc...")

What is the political question doctrine?

It is when the judicial branch passes a case onto the executive or legislative branch.

What must a case do in order for the court to exercise their appellate jurisdiction?

It must raise a federal question, such as an important federal statute or equal protection.

Why has judicial review stuck around and not been overturned by other court decisions? Is judicial review a violation of separation of powers?

Judicial review has stuck around because of the principle of stare decisis, which means that current courts try very hard to not overturn the decisions of previous courts. This isn't a violation of separation of powers because only the judicial branch has checks over what it can do.

What is the most important Supreme Court power?

Judicial review, which is the power to declare laws as unconstitutional. This is also the main check that the court has on the executive and legislative branches.

What is mootness?

Mootness means that a case no longer requires a resolution.

What is a reply?

Something that petitioner files in an attempt to rebut the respondent.

What is standing?

Standing means that the parties must have a substantial stake in the outcome, which usually refers to injury. This is one of the requirements that the Supreme Court looks for when giving a decision.

Where do the vast majority of cases start?

State courts, although most disputes are settled outside of court before they can even become a case, both criminal and civil.

What is the final court of appeals?

The Supreme Court, so if you lose here, you've completely lost, and there is nowhere else to go.

What does the chief justice do?

The chief justice presides over the conference and assigns the task of writing the court's decision, called the majority opinion.

What happens after the briefs have been filed?

The court will file oral arguments, which gives them time to read and consider the briefs. During this time, each side will get 30 minutes to make its case, while getting questioned by the justices.

What is the holding?

The decision of the court to either affirm or overturn the lower court's ruling.

How do the majority of cases get to the Supreme Court?

The majority of cases get to the Supreme Court because of an appeal.

What is ripeness?

The opposite of mootness, meaning that an injury or event has yet to occur.

Who is the respondent and who is the petitioner?

The party bringing the case/seeking to overturn the lower court decision is the petitioner, while the respondent is the party who wants to uphold or affirm the lower court's decision.

Where does the power of judicial review come from? Which court case did it occur during?

The power of judicial review comes from the court itself, during the case of Marbury v. Madison.

How many district courts are there and how many judges do they have?

There are 94 district courts and roughly 663 judges.

What can appeals courts do that will end your case?

They can refuse to hear your appeal. If this happens, your case is over.

What do amicus briefs often contain?

They often contain different legal, economic, or historical arguments that can sometimes persuade justices and appear in their opinions.

What does the solicitor general/chief lawyer do?

They screen out petitions that don't raise federal law questions or because they've already been decided in other cases.

What will the court do if they want to issue a strong opinion?

They will issue a very strong statement of unified agreement, which can be incredibly strong if the agreement is unanimous.

What is a remand?

When the court sends a case back down to the lower courts for another decision.

If you don't like the result in a trial court, and you have a reasonable claim that there was something procedurally wrong with the case, or the way the law was applied, what can you do?

You can bring an appeal.

What can you do if you aren't an actual party in a case, but have an interest in the outcome?

You can file for amicus curiae.

What can you do if you've lost your previous appeals but still want to bring your issue to the court?

You can petition for a writ of certiorari, which is a formal request that the Supreme Court hear your case.

Where do you have more chances for appeal, and why?

You have more of a chance for an appeal in state courts because there are two levels of appellate courts, while the federal system (district courts) only has one.

What must you do before you bring a case to the Supreme Court?

You must have exhausted ALL of your appeals in lower levels of the state or federal system.

What are federal appeals courts called?

circuit courts

Where do almost all criminal cases start?

state courts