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.