ch 14
Which of the following agencies is a part of the Department of Homeland Security?
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service)
Plea Bargaining is a process by which
a defendant pleads guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Although the Court is ruled by the principle of precedent, the Supreme Court has overruled itself __________ times since 1810.
140
The Supreme Court has had __________ African-American members in its history.
2
The Supreme Court has had __________ female members in its history.
2
The Supreme Court's original jurisdiction accounts for __________% of its caseload.
2-5
In 2000, the Supreme Court employed __________ clerks.
34
The Supreme Court will hear a case if __________ justices vote to do so.
4
The Supreme Court has a staff of
400.
In 1789, there were __________ justices sitting on the Supreme Court.
6
During the 1999-00 term, the Supreme Court handed down verdicts in __________ cases.
74
More than __________ cases a year are filed with the Supreme Court.
8,400
Since 1869, the Supreme Court has consisted of __________ justices.
9
The total number of justices on the Supreme Court is:
9
The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was
John Jay
The oldest justice currently sitting on the Supreme Court is
John Paul Stevens.
There have been 16 Chief Justices of the Supreme Court in history. The current Chief Justice is
John Roberts
The youngest current member of the Supreme Court is
John Roberts.
Judicial review, the power of the judiciary to review the acts of other branches of government, was established for the national government in
Marbury v. Madison.
Judicial review, the power of the judiciary to review the acts of other branches of government, was established for the state governments in
Martin v. Hunter's Lessee.
The "rule of four" refers to the
Need for four Supreme Court justices to vote to hear a case on appeal.
The third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was
Oliver Ellsworth.
Who decides what cases the Supreme Court will hear on appeal from the lower courts?
The Court decides for itself what cases it will hear.
What power does the Supreme Court have over a lower court?
The power to reverse its decisions.
In general, a nominee for the Supreme Court must fit certain criteria including
all of the above.
Judicial decisions are translated into actual public policy through
all of the above.
The U.S. Supreme Court can hear appeals from
all of the above.
The appellate cases the Supreme Court chooses to hear tend to have certain characteristics including
all of the above.
A writ of certiorari by the Supreme Court orders
a lower court to send it the record of a case for review.
Since 1988, nearly all appellate cases that have arrived at the Court have been through
a writ of certiorari.
Interest groups often join in court cases through the use of __________ in order to advance their policy preferences through the court system.
amicus briefs
When a party not directly involved in a court case files a brief supporting one side or the other, it is called a(n) _______ brief.
amicus curiae
The district and appellate court structure of the federal court system was established by
an act of Congress.
Most Supreme Court cases fall under the rubric of
appellate jurisdiction
The largest portion of the Supreme Court's caseload comes from
appellate jurisdiction
U.S. attorneys, who are the main administrators of federal law enforcement, are
appointed by the president, whit advice and consent of the Senate.
Qualifications for members of the Supreme Court
are not established in the Constitution.
An important power of the chief justice of the Supreme Court is his/her power to
assign the written opinion if he/she is in the majority
Statutory law consists of all laws enacted by
legislature
Civil cases between citizens of different states
may be heard in federal court if the matter in controversy exceeds $10,000
The solicitor general is appointed by the
president.
The chief justice
presides at the conference.
The member of the Justice Department who handles all appeals in the Supreme Court is the
solicitor general.
The jurisdiction of federal courts is controlled by
the Constitution and statutes.
What is a writ of mandamus?
A court order directing an official to act
Which of the following would be a case of original jurisdiction before the U.S. Supreme Court?
A lawsuit between the United states and one of the states.
The judiciary was called the "least dangerous branch" by
Alexander Hamilton.
The Supreme Court's original jurisdiction is conferred by
Article III of the Constitution.
The outlines of the federal judicial branch are located in
Article III.
In the case of __________, the Supreme Court ruled that it had the right to hear suits brought by the citizens of one state against another under Article I, section 2.
Chisholm v. Georgia
Lower federal courts are created by:
Congress
In the federal court system, courts lower than the Supreme Court are established by
Congress.
Once the Supreme Court has decides how it will rule on a case, who writes the Court's opinion?
Either the Chief justice or the senior justice in the majority assigns the opinion writing
A body of rules and regulations made by administrative agencies in the executive branch in order to carry out the objectives of legislative programs is :
administrative law.
Judicial decisions are most likely to be smoothly implemented if
all of the above
Which of the following is an example of a civil case?
all of the above
Among the checks on the powers of the Court are
all of the above.
A document containing the collected legal arguments in a case that is filed with a court prior to trial is called a(n)
brief.
John Marshall, as Chief Justice, transformed the Court into a coequal branch of government through key decisions such as McCulloch v. Maryland that
broadly interpreted the necessary and proper clause.
Cases before the Supreme Court are decided:
by majority vote
The main function of the U.S. Courts of Appeals is to:
decide if the original trial was held correctly.
In the federal court system, the majority of disputes end in the
district courts.
One of the main Differences between the selection of federal and state judges is the
election of many state judges.
The Judiciary Act of 1789
established the basic structure of the federal court system.
Most federal cases originate in
federal district court.
When state law conflicts with federal law,
federal law takes precedence.
The custom of senatorial courtesy
gives a senator of the president's party an influential role in the selection of district court judges when vacancies occur in his or her state.
The term for Supreme Court justices and federal judges is for
good behavior
Before any court can hear a case
it must have jurisdiction- the power to decide the case.
The dissenting opinion is important because
it often forms the basis of the arguments used years later in reversing the majority opinion in a similar case.
The common law is also known as
judge-made law.
Judges who tend to interject their own values into their interpretations of the law are practicing
judicial activism
The idea that judges should use their power broadly to further justice is called
judicial activism
The Constitution contains all of the following provisions about the Supreme Court EXCEPT:
justices serve ten-year terms.
There are ______ federal district courts in the United States.
ninety-four
The justices of the Supreme Court are
nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
Federal judges can be removed
only by impeachment.
Appellate court proceedings may include
oral argument.
The jurisdiction of courts to hear the facts of a case is termed
original.
An unsigned opinion issued by the Court is called
per curiam.
In a civil case, the party who brings a case against a defendant is referred to as the
plaintiff.
Appellate courts usually
review the legal procedures of a case not the facts
The difference between an appellate court and a trial court is that an appellate court
reviews previous court decisions.
During conference, Supreme Court justices speak in order by
seniority.
In court rulings, a reliance on past decisions or precedents to formulate decisions on new cases is called
stare decisis.
Most traditional criminal offenses ( murder, theft, arson,) are defined and tried at the
state level.
The number of seats on the Supreme Court is determined by:
the Congress
All of the following are limitations on the power of the supreme Court except
the Court's members are selected by the chief justice.
The Constitution mandated the existence of
the Supreme Court only.
If the chief justice is not in the majority when the case is decided, the responsibility for opinion assignment rests with
the most senior associate justice in the majority.
Which is not true of federal judges?
they never rule on cases involving state law.
There are ______ U.S. courts of appeals.
thirteen
The doctrine of stare decisis means
to stand on the decided cases.
The federal court system is a three-tiered model consisting of
trial courts, intermediate courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court.
In Supreme Court decisions, a concurring opinion is
written by a member of the majority, who disagrees with the reasoning in the decision.