PARA-1 (Chapter 5)

How many years does a judge serve per term?

14 years.

The U.S. Supreme Court is composed of how many justices?

9 justices who hear all appeals as a group.

What is a concurring opinion?

A concurring opinion is issued when the judges agrees with the result reached by the majority but not with its reasoning.

What are subpoenas?

A court order requiring to appear to testify at a trial or deposition. (Administrative agencies also usually have subpoena powers)

What is limited jurisdiction?

A court's power to hear only specialized cases.

What does "affirm" refer to?

A decision is affirmed when the litigants appeal the trial court decision and the higher court agrees with what the lower court has done.

What is a dissenting opinion?

A dissenting opinion is issued when the judge disagrees with the result and with the reasoning.

What is a federal question?

A question that is involved when there is an issue dealing with a federal statute, a federal regulation or the U.S. Constitution.

What is a court?

A unit of the judicial branch of that has authority to decide legal disputes.

Give an example of a question of fact that might arise during a murder trial. Give an example of a question of law that might arise in that same trial.

An example of a question of fact that might arise during a murder trial: "who were you with?" An example of a question of law is

Which articles establish the Constitutional courts?

Article I and III.

What are the roles of attorneys in the court room?

Attorneys are advocates for their clients, attorneys are officers of the court. As such, they are responsible for maintaining proper decorum in the courtroom and acting within the ethical restraints imposed on them by the courts and their profession.

How many district courts are there in your state? In which circuit is your state located?

California has 4 federal district courts and is located in the 9th circuit.

General jurisdiction carries what kind of names?

Circuit court, district court, county court, or superior courts.

What kind of jurisdiction is it on the basis of diversity of citizenship?

Concurrent jurisdiction, because the case could be trialed in state or federal court based on the the plaintiff's initial decision.

What similarities does a concurring and dissenting opinion share?

Concurring and dissenting opinion are written where the decision is not unanimous to explain their

Article I, Section 8 grants Congress the power to do what?

Congress establish uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States

What are constitutional courts?

Constitutional courts are specialized legislative courts that Congress has created using its Article I powers.

What are the roles of Count clerks?

Court clerks are responsible for keeping the court files in proper condition and ensuring that the various motions filed by lawyers and the action taken by judges are properly recorded.

Beside the judge, name the other court personnels.

Court clerks, court reporter, and bailiffs.

What are Constitutional courts?

Courts established by the Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

District court judges are assisted by who? And what are their roles?

District court judges are assisted by magistrate judges. They supervise court calendars, hear procedural motions, issue subpoenas, hear minor criminal offense, and conduct civil pretrial hearings.

In what year did Congress established the first inferior courts? And through which act?

During the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress established the first inferior court.

What is "en banc"?

En banc refers to when an appellate court that normally sits in panels sit in as a whole.

When a state court hears a case involving a federal matter, does it follow the state or federal law?

Even though a case involving federal matter may be heard in a state court, it still has to resolve the dispute with federal laws.

When a federal court hears a case involving a state matter, does it follow the state or federal law?

Even though a case involving state matter may be heard in a federal court, it still has to resolve the dispute with state laws.

True or false: appellate courts do hear testimony.

False, because the purpose of an appellate court is to determine whether the law was correctly interpreted and applied.

What are the two basic functions of trial courts?

First, they must determine whose version of the facts is most credible. Second, they must apply the law to those facts to reach a decision.

Why in most cases a state's top appellate court is considered the end of the road, but not the U.S. Supreme Court?

For a case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, it has to raise a federal issue or else it would be settled by the state's top appellate court.

How long do magistrate serve?

For full-time terms of eight years or part-time terms of four years.

What will an appellate court usually do if it finds that the trial court made a harmless error?

Harmless error is a case label when a legal error occurred the court determines that it was minor and did not affect the result.

What is the role of a head clerk of the courts?

Head clerk of the courts are usually responsible for running the central records section of the courthouse; his or her assistants are assigned to sit in on the actual proceedings.

What is the difference between a bench and a jury trial?

In a jury trial questions of fact are determined by the jury, while questions of law are determined by the judge. While in a bench trial, the judge will decide the factual questions as well as legal ones.

In the trial court, how are the facts determined? And how are the

In a trial court, the facts are determined by a single judge or a jury. While the law is determined by a judge.

How many types of legal questions can arise at the appellate court?

In an appellate court, there are three types of legal questions can arise at the appellate court.

What is diversity of citizenship?

It occurs when the plaintiff and the defendant are residents of different states which are valid grounds for federal jurisdiction.

If you hear the "cert." has been denied in a case, what does that mean?

It simply means that the court does not want to hear the case.

What is the number of judges assigned to each district?

It varies, each district courts have 1 to 27 depending on the caseload of the district.

What are the role of judges in interpreting and applying the law?

Judges must choose between competing interpretations that often lead to differing outcomes.

What is jurisdiction?

Jurisdiction refers to the power of a court to hear the case.

In some states these individuals can exercise limited judicial power in specified types of cases?

Justices of the peace, court commissioners, or court magistrate.

Inferior courts from time to time is ordained and established by who?

Legislative or Congress.

How do lower-level appellate judges versus upper-level appellate judges operate?

Lower level appellate operate by rotating panels of three, while in the upper-level appellate courts all the judges jointly decide each case.

How are magistrate judges selected?

Magistrate judges are selected by a majority of the active judges in each district.

Most court reporters use which types of methods to prepare the verbatim transcripts?

Most use stenotype machine rather than shorthand, because it is expensive, they prepare a written transcript only if the case is being appealed.

Does appellate courts reconsider the facts or not?

No, because the only consideration that the appellate courts are concerned with is whether the trial court made an error of law.

Usually (smaller) states maintain how many levels of appellate court?

One or two levels of appellate courts.

What is exclusive jurisdiction?

Only one court has the power to hear a case.

Which type of jurisdiction does trial court have?

Original jurisdiction because it is where the actions are initiated and heard for the first time.

What are the topics that a court with limited jurisdiction can hear?

Probate, domestic relations, traffic or sometimes it overlaps.

What is the difference between questions of law and questions of fact? Why is it important to know the difference?

Questions of fact related to what happened: who, what, when, where, and how. Disputed factual issues are normally for the jury or trial court to decide and cannot be appealed. Question of law relates to the application or interpretation of the law. Disputed legal issues are initially for the trial court to decide but can be appealed.

What is the difference between reversing and remanding a case?

Reversing a case refers to when the appellate court finds a significant legal error and canceled the original outcome of the trial court's decision. Remanding a case refers to when the appellate court directed that the case be retried the case to the trial court for further consideration.

Why are state courts are considered the final arbiters under the principles of federalism?

State courts are the final arbiters to the meaning of statues and state constitutional provisions.

When a state court has jurisdiction which types of law are used to resolve the disputes?

State courts generally have jurisdiction over any type of case unless Congress has provided for exclusive federal jurisdiction. State courts can use State law or Federal law.

Legislative courts include what?

The Bankruptcy Courts, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, the U.S. Tax Court, and the U.S Court of Federal Claims.

The State Supreme Court in New York and Maryland is called what?

The Court of Appeals.

What happened in the case of Hampton v. United States? And it is an example of what?

The U.S. Supreme Court held that as long as the defendant is predisposed to commit the crime, it is not entrapment when government agents supply the defendant with a drug and then later arrest him for selling the very same drug to another agent.

The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided the first inferior courts for how many districts and circuits?

The act provided for 13 districts and 3 circuits.

What is original jurisdiction?

The authority of a court to hear a case when it is initiated, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction.

What are the roles of bailiffs in the courtroom?

The bailiffs are responsible for maintaining order in the courtrooms. They are also responsible for watching over the juries when they are in recess or when they have been sequestered.

What is the basic trial court called what in Illinois?

The circuit court in Illinois.

The basic trial court is called what in Pennsylvania?

The court of common pleas in Pennsylvania

What are the roles of court reporters?

The court reporters prepares verbatim transcripts of courtroom proceedings.

The basic trial court is called what in Minnesota?

The district court in Minnesota.

What are inferior courts?

The district courts and courts of appeals.

What is the amount of a case based on diversity of citizenship?

The diversity cases where the amount of money involved in the case exceeds $75,000.

What does the entrapment doctrine prohibits?

The entrapment doctrine prohibits law enforcement officers from instigating criminal act or though of committing such an act before.

What is the majority opinion?

The majority opinion is written by someone from the majority (or referred as a majority) explaining the court's decision and how that decision was reached.

What are the arrangements when the jury is sequestered?

The members sleep at a hotel and are kept isolated from the public and their families to prevent them from being exposed to prejudicial publicity, threats, bribes, or any other improper influences.

At trial court level, the parties are called what?

The parties are called the plaintiff and the defendant in a civil case. The parties are called the state and the defendant in a criminal case.

In the federal court system, what are the names given to the highest appellate court?

The party who lose the trial is called either the appellant or the petitioner. The party who won is called either the appellee or the respondent.

At the appellate court level, the parties are called what?

The party who lost in the trial court is called either appellant or the petitioner. The party who won is called either the appellee or the respondent.

What is appellate jurisdiction?

The power of a higher court to review and modify the decision of a lower court.

In an appellate court, how it the questions of law determined?

The questions of law is determined by a panel of three or more judges decides the questions of law based on the attorneys' briefs (written arguments) and oral arguments. There are no witnesses who give in the appellate court and no juries.

What is the basic trial court called what in California?

The superior court in California.

What is the basic trial court in New York?

The supreme court in New York.

Most state courts follow the federal court pattern of organization on three level, what are they?

The three levels are organized as the trial courts, the intermediate appellate courts, and one appellate court of last resort.

What are the two ways do federal courts have jurisdiction over state court? And how are state or federal laws applied?

The two ways a federal court have jurisdiction is by federal question jurisdiction and diversity jurisdiction. If it's a federal question jurisdiction it will be trialed due to it being an issue arising from the U.S. Constitution, regulations of federal statutes, and federal agency regulations. If it's diversity jurisdiction the court will have to use State laws to resolve the disputes.

How many different court systems are there?

There are actually 51 different court systems.

In some districts, Magistrate judges are allowed to do what and with what needed?

They are allowed to conduct trials and enter judgments in civil cases with the consent of the parties involved.

The larger states generally what kind of system for their appellate court at the federal level?

They usually operate as a two-tiered system.

True or false: In Massachusetts, both the probate court and the superior court can hear divorce cases.

True

True or false: Justices of the peace, court commissioners, and magistrates can be either elected or appointed.

True.

True or false: trial and appellate courts exist in both the federal and the state court systems.

True.

What are U.S. Court of Appeals?

U.S. Court of Appeals are first level appellate courts organized into 12 regional circuits and hear appeals from the district courts located within the circuit. They can also hear appeals from decisions of federal administrative agencies.

In the federal court system, what are the names given to the intermediate appellate courts?

U.S. Courts of Appeals

What are U.S. District Courts?

U.S. District Courts are trial courts organized into 94 different districts located throughout the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.

Name the three types of federal constitutional courts (lowest to highest).

U.S. District Courts, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the federal court system, what are the names given to the trial courts?

U.S. District courts

What is the "Missouri plan"?

Used by some states, where candidates are nominated by a special panel of lawyers for a vacancy. Then the governor appoints from among this select group.

What is concurrent jurisdiction?

When more than one court has jurisdiction to hear a case.