GOV quiz 6
If a defendant is charged with burglary, but admits to a lesser charge of trespassing in exchange for the prosecution dismissing the burglary charge and forgoing the criminal trial, it is an example of
- a plea bargain. a pro bono settlement - an amicus curiae.
Since 2017, the Senate filibuster
- can only be used against federal district court appointments. - can only be used against executive branch appointments - cannot be used against any presidential appointments.
The process of confirming federal court appointments has recently become very contentious. Describe the steps to becoming a federal judge and the considerations involved in who is nominated. Why has this process become so controversial in recent years? Provide some examples of this conflict in the confirmation process.
- nominated by president - confirmed by Senate Judiciary Committee - to be nominated, recommendations from Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, members of Congress, and American Bar Association...
There are ________ circuits in the U.S. Court of Appeals.
13
In all of American history, the Supreme Court has concluded that fewer than ________ acts of Congress have directly violated the Constitution.
160
About ________ percent of all lower court cases are reviewed by federal appeals courts.
20
about ______ percent of all lower court cases are reviewed by federal appeals courts
20
Each Supreme Court justice is assigned ________ law clerks.
4
How many justices currently serve on the Supreme Court?
9
There are ________ U.S. district courts.
94
More than ____________ percent of all court cases in the United States are heard in state courts.
97
Which of the following statements about federal courts is MOST accurate?
Although the federal courts hear only a small fraction of all of the civil and criminal cases decided each year in the United States, their decisions are extremely important because they interpret the Constitution and the federal laws that govern all Americans.
________ and ________ are the two MOST common types of civil law cases.
Contracts; torts
Which of the following statements about the Supreme Court is true?
In 2017, five of the nine justices were appointed by Republican presidents.
Why is Marbury v. Madison (1803) an important case?
In this case, the justices authorized the Supreme Court to exercise judicial review over laws passed by Congress.
In a typical tort case,
One individual charges that he or she has been injured by another's negligence or malfeasance
What is the main function of the chief justice of the Supreme Court?
The chief justice presides over the Court's public sessions and private conferences.
Why has partisan conflict surrounded federal judicial appointments in recent years?
The federal courts play an important role in shaping American law and politics.
What did the framers call the "least dangerous branch" of American government?
The supreme court
Which of the following would the Supreme Court likely refuse to hear because of "mootness"?
a case involving a student who was first rejected but then, later, admitted to a state-run university suing that university for discrimination in the admissions process
________ occurs when a criminal case is resolved through a negotiated agreement before a full trial is completed.
a plea bargain
The Supreme Court struck down parts of the Military Commissions Act and declared habeas corpus to be a fundamental right in the case
boumediene v bush
In what type of law is the government always the plaintiff?
criminal
Trial courts in the federal judicial system are called
district courts.
Activist judges believe that federal judges should
go beyond the words of a constitution or statute to consider the broader societal implications of their decisions.
The number of cases filed in the supreme court
has increased dramatically since 1940.
The assignment of the opinion in a Supreme Court case is
important because differences in wording and emphasis can have important implications for how the decision is interpreted in future litigation.
If someone is an advocate of the philosophy of judicial restraint, he or she believes
in looking only at the words of the Constitution in order to understand its meaning
Roe v Wade is a good example of
judicial activism, because it was based on a constitutional right to privacy that is not found in the actual words of the Constitution
Civil cases involving the citizens of more than one state and in which more than $75,000 is at stake
may be heard in either the federal or the state courts, usually depending on the preference of the plaintiff.
The U.S. Supreme Court has been composed of
nine justices since 1869.
If a defendant is found not guilty in a criminal case, the government is
not entitled to appeal the verdict.
A certiorari pool describes the
practice by which Supreme Court law clerks work together to evaluate each petition.
Prior cases whose principles are used by judges to decide current cases are called
precedents
What is the most frequent and best-known action of Supreme Court justices in their role as circuit justices?
reviewing requests for stays of execution
Generally speaking, state defendants seeking a federal writ of habeas corpus must
show that they have exhausted all available state remedies and must raise issues not previously raised in their state appeals.
If a man is arrested because his home was searched by police without a legal warrant, he could argue in court that he had been denied
the due process of law
Why has partisan conflict surrounded federal judicial appointments in recent years?
the federal courts play an important role in shaping American law and politics
A writ of habeas corpus declares that
the government must show a legal cause for holding someone in detention.
Once the president has formally nominated an individual for a federal judgeship,
the nominee must be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee and confirmed by a majority vote in the full Senate.
in the 2014 case of Riley v California, the supreme court held that
the police cannot undertake a warrantless search of the digital contents of a cell phone
which of the following best describes the role of the solicitor general
the solicitor general is the layer who represents the US before the Supreme Court in cases where the federal government is a party
medical malpractice suits are good examples of ____ cases
tort
When O.J. Simpson faced a criminal trial in Los Angeles for two counts of murder, the plaintiff(s)
was the state of California.
Most cases reach the Supreme Court through
writ of certiorari