TX Govt. ch. 5

How many separate state jurisdictions exist side by side with the federal courts?

50

Approx. what percent of the population in Texas lives in urban areas?

80%

Information or administration hearing

A hearing before a judge who decides if a person must stand trail; used in place of a grand jury

Merit System, or Missouri System

A system of electing judges that involves appointments by the governor and periodic retention election

A hearing before a judge who decides if a person must stand trial is known as a(n)

Administrative hearing

A(n) ______ court primarily considers questions such as, "Were legal procedures followed?"

Appellate

Both trial court judged and appellate court judges are selected via partisan elections in Texas. However, since the governor has the authority to fill any set for district or appellate courts that becomes vacant due to death or resignation (or any new district court position created by the legislature), some argue that Texas has which system?

Appointive-Elective system

Which article of the US Constitution established the Supreme Court and gave the Congress the authority to create other lower federal courts?

Article III

The American legal system can be divided into broad branches. What are these branches?

Civil and Criminal

The majority of court cases deal with what?

Controversies between individuals

Although statues may create general requirements, courts often ask if there are special circumstances that should lead the court to deal with a particular individual differently. This can be described as _____?

Countermajoritarianism

What did many Texas district courts remove?

County judges Justices of the Peace

Stare Decisis

Court decisions depending on previous rulings of other courts

Mr. Smith was found guilty of capital murder in a Texas district court. Because it involves the death penalty, Mr. Smith's case, on appeal will be heard next by which Texas court?

Court of Criminal Appeals

Trial De Novo Courts

Courts that do not keep a written record of their proceedings; cases on appeal begin as new cases in the appellate courts

In Texas, as in most states, which courts hear major criminal and civil trials?

District Courts

Nonpartisan Election

Election in which party identification is not formally declared

True?False: Law firms and other organizations that have business before a Texas judge are not permitted to give money to that judge's election campaign.

False.

Trial court judges are elected for _____ terms, and appellate court judges are elected for _____ terms.

Four Year; Six Year

Which amendment to the US Constitution extended the Bill of Rights fair trial provisions onto states?

Fourteenth

Many Texas judges receive their initial seats on the court via appointment by the Texas _______

Governor

What method do Texas courts use to screen criminal cases?

Grand Juries Administrative hearings

Applellate Courts

Higher-level courts that decide on points of law and not questions of guilt or innocence

Also known as the Missouri system, the ______ system is a method of judicial selection by which the governor of a given state appoints judges from a list submitted by a screening committee of legal officials

Merit

What system of electing judges involves appointment by the governor and a periodic retention election?

Merit/Missouri system

Partisan Election

Methods used to select all judges (except municipal court judges) in Texas by using a ballot in which party identification is shown

What is unique about a trial de novo court?

No record of the proceeding is kept

The inherent power of the state to protect persons legally incapable of protecting themselves before the law is known as

Parens Patriae

Most criminal and civil cases can be decided by a ____ jury, which is a jury of citizens that determine the guilt or innocent of a person during a trial.

Petit

Name Familiarity

Practice in Texas of voting for judges with familiar or popular names

Magistrate Functions

Preliminary hearings for persons charged with a serious criminal offense

Joe is unable to afford legal representation for his upcoming trial. A lawyer from a private aw firm agreed to take on his case for free. How do you describe the type of representation that Joe is receiving?

Pro Bono

The rate at which criminal offenders commit crimes after they leave the state's custody is known as

Recidivism

Objectivity

The appearance that courts make objective decisions and not political ones

Police powers doctrine

The duty of the state to protect the health safety and welfare of the citizens to stay ask as a caretaker for the minor a defender of his or her legal interest in it that the same time a guardian of Public Safety

Majoritarianism

The law in this since applies to all people in a category of citizens without exceptions.. it embodies majority rule

True/False: Unlike appellate courts, which involved virtually no direct citizen participation, trial courts have citizens participate as members of juries and as witnesses during trials

True

What was the legal rationale behind the Supreme Court's decision in Furman that outlawed the death penalty?

Unfair application to many crimes Lack of appropriate safegurads

Countermajoritarianism

Where special circumstances exist that make the application of general law to a specific individual illegal

What are the two types of minor courts in Texas?

justice of the Peace and Municipal

A grand jury is ________

a screening body for criminal cases

Compared with other states, rates of incarceration in Texas are

among the highest

In 1995 the Texas Supreme Court established the Commission of Judicial Efficiency to

make recommendations on the method of judicial selection

In finding solutions in conflicts between individuals, the courts____

may create laws that affect individuals other than case participants

What types of cases are Not heard by county courts?

murder and car theft cases

Since most voters in Texas go to the election booth with scant knowledge about the qualifications of judicial candidates, they often end up voting by name ______

familiarity

In Texas, straight voting sometimes causes problems in judicial elections in that it allows notably ______ candidates to gain seats on the courts

inexperienced

Under the Texas partisan election system judges must win nomination in __

the party primary and the general election

Why are death penalty cases automatically appealed in Texas?

to ensure procedural accuracy

Unlike governors and legislatures, courts seek to evaluate cases_______.

with the appearance of objectivity

Primarily, what states have several courts of appeal?

Large urban

Trial Courts

Local courts that hear cases; Juries determine the outcome of the cases heard in the court

What are considered county courts?

-Constitutional county courts -County courts at law

in what ways do courts differ from governors and legislatures in the way that they make decisions?

-Court must enforce rules that restrict access to the courts -Courts must maintain a passive role -Courts must confine their decisions to the specifics of the case before them

In addition to appointment by the governor, which of the following are possible alternatives to Texas's partisan judicial election system that are in use in other states?

-Merit plan - Nonpartisan elections

In Texas, Which of the following courts are trial de novo courts?

-Municipal courts -JP courts

What are the methods of Judicial removal used by at least one state?

-Removal by the state legislature with a supermajority bote -Impeachment -Judicial conduct commission

What can be heard in a Justice of the Peace court in Texas?

-Request for search-and-arrest warrants -Criminal misdemeanor cases -cases involving traffic tickets

identify all of the courts if last resort in Texas.

-Texas Supreme Court -Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

How many intermediate appellate courts are there in Texas?

14

As it relates to the justice system, the state of Texas considers an individual a juvenile until he or she reaches the age of

17

How many levels of courts do most state court systems have?

3

Which of the following would be true if all criminal cases were subject to jury trials?

I would result in increased costs. More court officers would be needed.

Appointive-Elective System

In Texas, the system of many judges gaining the initial seat on the court by being appointed and later standing for election

Eighty-two percent of all executions since 1976 have occurred in which regions?

In the south

Grand Jury

Juries of citizens that determine if a person will be charged with a crime

Petit Juries

Juries of citizens that determine the guilt or innocence of a person during a trial; pronounced petty juries

Under what principle must courts follow the precedent of former cases and diverge only when they can show good cause?

Stare Decisis

What type of voting allows for all candidates in a party by making a single mark on the election ballot?

Straight Ticket Voting

Straight ticket voting system

System that allows voters to vote for all candidates of a single political party by making a single mark and that has resulted in an increase in the number of Republican judges

Which of the following currently beats the responsibility for administering the Juvenile justice system?

Texas Juvenile Justice Department

What best characterizes the comparison between African American in the Texas judiciary and in the population at large?

The percentage of African Americans in the judiciary is significantly lower than in the population at large

Recidivism

The rate at which criminal offenders commit crime after they leave the state's custody

Loco patriae

The state must act in the place of the parent to protect the interest of the child even without a formal relationship

Why did voters elect Don Yarbrough to the Texas Supreme Court in 1976?

They recognized his name

Which steps in a case involving serious criminals can occur at the municipal level?

Told their rights Bail is set

How are trial courts different from appellate courts?

Trial courts or localized