Chapter 14: The Federal Judicial System: Applying the Law

The federal district courts

(All of the above) -> -are the chief trial courts of the federal system. - are the only federal courts where the two sides present their case to a jury for a verdict. - are the courts that, in practice, make the final decision in most federal cases. - Exist in each state

In selecting judges, the states rely on what method?

(All of these) -political appointment -competitive elections of a partisan nature - competitive elections of a nonpartisan nature -merit selection

The United States has two court systems, state and federal. The federal system

(None Of These) - has discretionary jurisdiction over all cases arising in the state system. - is the only one with appellate courts. - is the only one based on the constitutional doctrine of the separation of powers. -is the only one that has judges who are appointed to office.

Compared to Supreme Court nominations, those for the lower federal courts

(None of these) - are, although much greater in number, irrelevant to a president's policy agenda. - are not subject to partisan consideration. - have typically involved nominees who held elective office, particularly a seat in the U.S. Senate. - do not involve recommendations from senators or House members.

Less than ________ of the cases heard by federal appeals courts are later reviewed by the Supreme Court.

1 percent

The Supreme Court grants certiorari to fewer than ________ cases each year.

100

There are ________ federal courts of appeal.

13

There are ________ federal district courts.

94

More than ________ of the nation's legal cases are decided in state or local court systems.

95 percent

Regarding Supreme Court procedures, which one of the following statements is NOT accurate? -When part of the majority, the chief justice decides which justice will write the majority opinion. -A concurring opinion is a view written by a justice who votes with the majority and agrees with its reasoning. - A dissenting opinion is an opinion of a judge who votes against the majority. - Attorneys who argue a case before the Supreme Court operate under strict time limits. - The Court's opinion, not the decision, is used as the primary legal basis for lower court actions based on the decision.

A concurring opinion is a view written by a justice who votes with the majority and agrees with its reasoning.

Plurality opinion

A court opinion that results when a majority of justices agree on a decision in a case but do not agree on the legal basis for the decision. In this instance, the legal position held by most of the justices on the winning side is called a plurality opinion.

majority opinion

A court opinion that results when a majority of the justices is in agreement on the legal basis of the decision.

Majority Opinion

A court opinion that results when a majority of the justices is in agreement on the legal basis of the decision

opinion (of a court)

A court's written explanation of its decision, which serves to inform others of the legal basis for the decision. Supreme Court opinions are expected to guide the decisions of lower courts.

jurisdiction (of a court)

A given court's authority to hear cases of a particular kind. Jurisdiction may be original or appellate

precedent

A judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling subsequent cases of a similar nature.

In which of the following situations is the Supreme Court most likely to grant certiorari? - A state government has a legal conflict with a city government. - A lower court ruling conflicts with a previous Supreme Court ruling. - The justices believe a lower court made a mistake in a routine ruling. - A key issue in state law must be settled. - Lower courts have made the same consistent but incorrect ruling on a single issue.

A lower court ruling conflicts with a previous Supreme Court ruling.

concurring opinion

A separate opinion written by a Supreme Court justice who votes with the majority in the decision on a case but who disagrees with their reasoning.

decision

A vote of the Supreme Court in a particular case that indicates which party the justices side with and by how large a margin.

What is an amicus curiae brief?

An interest group's petition that is neither the directly involved as the defendant or plaintiff.

In the following case of 2010, the Supreme Court opened the door to unrestricted corporate and union spending in federal election campaigns:

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

Of the following Supreme Court justices, which has been or was the most conservative?

Clarence Thomas

When asked if he had made any mistakes as president, ________ replied, "Yes, two, and they are both sitting on the Supreme Court."

Dwight Eisenhower

Which of the following Supreme Court justices was appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower?

Earl Warren

The American legal system is based on the ________ tradition.

English

Advocates of judicial activism maintain that the courts should work closely within the confines of legislation and precedent, seeking to discover their application to specific cases rather than searching for new principles.

False

In contrast to Supreme Court judges, federal judges can be appointed by the president without Senate approval.

False

Partisanship is no longer an important factor in the nomination of lower-court judges by the president.

False

The Supreme Court is the only court that matters with lower courts dutifully following its rulings.

False

The chief justice of the Supreme Court must be a member of the majority decision of the Court in order for it to be valid.

False

In which of the following ways is the Supreme Court less diverse than in the past?

Far more appointees come from the appellate courts.

The long-serving chief justice that established the principle of judicial review was

John Marshall.

Which of the following is true of the history of judicial activism and restraint in the U.S.? -John Marshall tried to shape the Court around the principal of judicial restraint. -Judicial activism is sometimes unfairly associated with liberal justices. -For a long period after the Civil War, the Court became activist by trying to heavily regulate economic expansion. -The last two decades have seen a largely liberal Supreme Court act in activist ways. -Judicial restraint has been the norm for the vast majority of time the Court has existed.

Judicial activism is sometimes unfairly associated with liberal justices.

writ of certiorari

Permission granted by a higher court to allow a losing party in a legal case to bring the case before it for a ruling; when such a writ is requested of the U.S. Supreme Court, four of the Court's nine justices must agree to accept the case before it is granted certiorari.

Which of the following Supreme Court justices was appointed during the Clinton administration?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The appointment of which Supreme Court justice in 2006 swung the Supreme Court to the right?

Samuel Alito

Who was the first female Supreme Court justice in the United States?

Sandra Day O'Connor

appellate jurisdiction

The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts

Original jurisdiction

The authority of a given court to be the first court to hear a case.

Why was the Supreme Court ruling in Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, which relied on the context of the antidiscrimination provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, demonstrative of the ambiguities of the law?

The case dealt with sexual harassment in the workplace, which is not mentioned in the Civil Rights Act.

Judicial Activism

The doctrine that the courts should develop new legal principles when judges see a compelling need, even if this action places them in conflict with precedent or the policy decisions of elected officials.

judicial restraint

The doctrine that the judiciary should broadly defer to precedent and the judgment of legislatures. The doctrine claims that the job of judges is to work within the confines of laws set down by tradition and lawmaking majorities.

dissenting opinion

The opinion of a justice in a Supreme Court case that explains his or her reasons for disagreeing with the majority's decision.

judicial review

The power of courts to decide whether a governmental institution has acted within its constitutional powers and, if not, to declare its action null and void.

facts (of a court case)

The relevant circumstances of a legal dispute or offense as determined by a trial court. The facts of a case are crucial because they help determine which law or laws are applicable in the case.

In deciding who will write the opinion for the majority in a Supreme Court ruling,

The senior justice in the majority picks the opinion author when the chief justice is not in the majority.

What are the constitutional requirements for being a federal judge?

There are no constitutional requirements for being a federal judge.

Which of the following is true of courts of appeals? a. They act as interpreters of law rather than as supervisors of the legal system. b. They base their decision on a review of the lower court's records. c. They create their own case records to review instead of using the lower court's records. d. New evidence is often but does not have to be introduced in an appeals case. e. Most courts of appeals rely on juries.

They base their decision on a review of the lower court's records.

Of the following Supreme Court justices, which has been or was the most liberal?

Thurgood Marshall

________ was the first black justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Thurgood Marshall

A majority of the cases the Supreme Court hears come to it through its appellate jurisdiction.

True

Advocates of judicial restraint contend that judicial policymaking undermines the fundamental principle of self-government.

True

The Supreme Court is given both original and appellate jurisdiction by the U.S. Constitution.

True

The Supreme Court is responsive to public opinion, although much less so than Congress or the president.

True

The facts of a case are important in determining which laws are applied to the case

True

A writ of certiorari is

a request to a lower court to submit to the Supreme Court a record of the case it has been requested to hear.

Which of the following statements is true? a. A large majority of cases involve issues of statutory and administrative law. b. A large majority of cases involve issues of constitutional law. c. Statutory law is derived from administrative law. d. Administrative law is set by legislatures instead of government agencies. e. Most cases are state cases and involve issues of constitutional law.

a. A large majority of cases involve issues of statutory and administrative law.

Over the last two decades, the Supreme Court can best be said to be practicing judicial

activism.

The term stare decisis refers to

adherence to precedent

The facts of a case

affect which law or laws will apply to the case.

An amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief provides a court with the view held by

an interest that is not a direct party to the case.

The Supreme Court is likely to grant a hearing when a case involves

an issue that is being decided inconsistently by the lower federal courts.

Studies by political scientists show that Supreme Court justices

are strongly influenced by their political beliefs.

With regard to public opinion, the Supreme Court

attempts to stay close enough to public opinion so as to avoid outright defiance of its decisions.

Which of the following decisions suggests that the Supreme Court justices are attentive to public opinion? a. voluntary school prayer in the public schools b. desegregation of public schools with "all deliberate speed" c. police informing suspected felons of their rights d. ban on burning the flag e. limiting access to guns.

b. desegregation of public schools with "all deliberate speed"

In most instances,

both criminal cases and civil cases are tried in state courts.

The laws applicable to a case

constrain the judiciary, because court decisions must be based on applicable laws.

Which of the following is an aspect of the merit plan method of appointing judges? a. The public chooses the individual judge to serve from a short list of acceptable candidates provided by the governor. b. The public chooses the individual judge to serve from a short list of acceptable candidates provided by a judicial selection commission. c. The governor-selected judge must run in a public election against other independent candidates. d. The governor appoints a judge from a short list of acceptable candidates provided by a judicial selection commission. e. The governor selects the judge to serve from a short list of candidates approved by the voters.

d. The governor appoints a judge from a short list of acceptable candidates provided by a judicial selection commission.

The power of the Supreme Court is most apparent in its ability to __

declare another institution's action to be unconstitutional.

According to the doctrine of judicial restraint, the judiciary should

defer to decisions made by the legislature.

A written Supreme Court opinion that disagrees with what the majority of the justices decided is a(n)

dissenting opinion.

Most federal cases are resolved by

district court judges.

The lowest level of the federal court system is the

district court.

What is the most common method in the states for the selection of judges?

election to office

Of the 13 courts of appeals in the United States,

eleven have jurisdiction over a "circuit" comprised of the district courts in anywhere from three to five states.

With regard to the lower courts, the Supreme Court's primary responsibility is

establishing legal precedents that will guide their decisions.

The Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison is significant

for the establishment of judicial review.

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in legal disputes involving

foreign diplomats.

In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court__________

illustrated that it is a political body.

According to the Constitution, the federal courts can issue a decision only

in response to a case presented to it.

Compared with the decision in a Supreme Court case, the opinion is more significant because it

informs others of the Court's interpretation of the laws and thereby guides their decisions.

The principal of judicial review grants the judiciary the authority to

invalidate the actions of other institutions when judges believe they have acted unconstitutionally.

A concurring opinion

is a separate view written by a justice who votes with the majority but disagrees with its reasoning.

Which legal doctrine holds that in nearly every instance, policy issues should be decided by elected lawmakers and not by appointed judges?

judicial restraint

In its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court _____

lifted restrictions in corporate and union spending in federal election campaigns.

Precedent, while not an absolute constraint on the courts, is needed to

maintain legal consistency over time, so confusion and uncertainty about the law can be avoided.

A Supreme Court opinion written when the majority of the justices agree on the legal reasoning for the decision is a(n)

majority opinion.

The constitutional provision that federal judges and justices hold office "during good behavior" has ___

meant, in effect, that they will serve until they die or choose to retire.

The "federal court myth" overlooks the fact that

most cases arise under state law, not federal law; nearly all cases that originate in state courts are never reviewed by federal courts; and federal courts must confine themselves to the federal aspects of a case when reviewing a state court decision.

Federal judges are ____

nominated by the president and approved by the Senate.

Federal judges are

nominated by the president, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and appointed for an indefinite period providing they maintain "good behavior."

Although federal district courts are theoretically bound by Supreme Court precedents, they sometimes deviate because

of all these factors: The facts of a case are seldom precisely the same as those of similar cases decided by the Supreme Court; federal judges may a different legal reasoning is justified; and ambiguities or unaddressed issues in the Court's rulings give lower courts some flexibility in deciding cases.

The appointment of federal judges is influenced most substantially by

partisanship.

A written Supreme Court opinion that, in the absence of a majority opinion, represents the reasoning of most of the justices who side with the winning party is a ___

plurality opinion.

A judicial decision that establishes a rule for settling subsequent cases of a similar nature is a

precedent.

Opposition to the judiciary's creative policy-making role is a consistent tenet of judicial

restraint

The U.S. courts of appeals:

review district court decisions.

The merit plan applies to

selection of judges in some states' systems.

How long do federal judges serve?

until they retire, die, or are removed through the impeachment and conviction process