Deck 6: The Court System

Question 1

Civil suits:

A)are brought against citizens accused of committing crimes against humanity
B)involve disputes between individuals or organizations seeking money for damages that are usually incurred through injuries, breaches of contract, or defective products
C)are only brought against illegal immigrants
D)involve felonies, misdemeanors, and minor infractions, or crimes committed by persons being brought to trial

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The California court system is organized into three distinct layers:

A)criminal courts, civil courts, and administrative courts
B)the state supreme court, the Department of Justice, and the Judicial Council
C)trial, superior, administrative, judicial, and supreme courts
D)trial courts, courts of appeal, and the state supreme court

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Who typically reviews cases at the appellate level?

A)grand juries
B)the supreme court reviews every case
C)three-judge panels
D)a superior court judge

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What are the qualifications for becoming a judge in California?

A)Selection by the governor; there are no set qualifications.
B)Having passed the state bar.
C)Having a law degree or law enforcement background (includes attorneys, police or sheriffs, prison guards, and probation officers).
D)Having been an attorney who has practiced law for 10 years in California.

Question 5

Approximately what percentage of cases filed actually make it to trial?

A)10 percent
B)25 percent
C)50 percent
D)90 percent

Question 6

Approximately how many cases does the California court system handle annually?

A)8 million
B)4 million
C)2 million
D)1 million

Question 7

Whose job is it to "provide fair and equal access to justice for all Californians"?

A)the governor's
B)the court system's
C)the Attorney General's
D)the local sheriff's

Question 8

Who controls how the judicial system's budget is allocated and spent?

A)the governor
B)the assembly and senate
C)the Judicial Council
D)the chief justice

Question 9

The highest judicial authority in the state is vested in:

A)the state Supreme Court
B)the Attorney General
C)the Judicial Council
D)The District Courts of Appeal

Question 10

How many justices sit on the state supreme court?

A)five
B)seven
C)nine
D)thirteen

Question 11

The 27-member board responsible for managing the court system by setting policies, rules, and procedures, controlling the courts' budget, and reporting to the legislature is the:

A)Department of Justice
B)Commission on Judicial Appointments
C)Judicial Council
D)California Bar Association

Question 12

Who controls the number of judgeships in the state?

A)the governor
B)the legislature
C)the courts
D)the attorney general

Question 13

Which person is considered to be the principal supervisor of the state court system?

A)the chief justice of the Supreme Court
B)the governor
C)the attorney general
D)the entire 27-member state Judicial Council

Question 14

In what sense is the judicial branch "political"?

A)All judges in California are elected in partisan elections; that is, with their party affiliation stated next to their names on the ballot
B)All judicial officers (judges, justices)in the state are appointed by the governor and never have to run in an election
C)Judges make policy through their interpretation of laws and their choices about how to apply those laws
D)Active and retired judges campaign heavily for their colleagues, who must run for reelection every 12 years

Question 15

What is true of judicial elections in California?

A)many are highly controversial, because justices often act in highly partisan ways
B)most are low-key affairs; few judges run against opponents, and they are rarely rejected by the voters
C)they are extremely expensive, routinely costing candidates millions of dollars
D)they are only held for candidates who are not lawyers (i.e.have not passed the bar), but those candidates are highly qualified citizens who want to become judges nevertheless

Question 16

Who confirms the governor's judicial appointments to the appellate and supreme court?

A)the state Senate
B)Commission on Judicial Appointments
C)California Bar Association
D)Attorney General's Office

Question 17

Who can appoint individuals to fill vacancies on California courts?

A)the governor
B)the legislature
C)the attorney general
D)the chief justice of the supreme court

Question 18

To assist the governor with judicial nominations, the _______, a state agency whose members represent the legal profession, must first screen the nominees.

A)Judicial Council
B)Commission on Judicial Nominees
C)California Bar Association
D)Attorney General's Office

Question 19

Members of the Commission on Judicial Appointments include:

A)the Big Five
B)all the constitutional executive officers, plus the Supreme Court chief justice
C)the attorney general, Supreme Court chief justice, presiding judge of the courts of appeal, and at-large members of the legal community
D)the legislature's and the governor's appointees who are all at-large members of the legal community

Question 20

What are grand jurors NOT allowed to do?

A)research claims of improper practices
B)indict political figures
C)investigate wasteful practices
D)determine the constitutionality of a law

Question 21

In which type of case is a death sentence possible in California?

A)infraction
B)misdemeanor
C)felony
D)civil

Question 22

Approximately how much does it cost to imprison one inmate per year in California?

A)$6,000
B)$12,240, the same as a Cal-Grant for a U.C.student
C)$25,000
D)$66,000

Question 23

Judges are immune from political and campaign pressures.

Question 24

Who sits on grand juries?

A)regular citizens, just like trial juries
B)only those with a legal background, such as attorneys
C)retired judges
D)professional jurors who have trained for several years to hold the position

Question 25

The state Senate approves or confirms all judicial appointments made by the governor.

Question 26

A special court that combines case processing with mandatory help programs such as drug and alcohol treatment programs, and monitoring of individuals, is known as a:

A)collaborative court
B)supreme court
C)probate court
D)family court

Question 27

Judges and justices in California are broadly representative of California, roughly mirroring the state's ethnic diversity.

Question 28

Unlike legislative elections, special interests may not campaign for or against a judge.

Question 29

The state supreme court is required to review all the cases that are appealed to it.

Question 30

At the appellate level, grand juries make determinations about whether a case should be dismissed on technical grounds.

Question 31

About how much money does California spend on state prisons (from all sources)?

A)$300 million
B)$1 billion
C)$3 billion
D)$13 billion

Question 32

The state constitution guarantees citizens the right to a jury trial, but not a civil trial.

Question 33

State courts cannot rule on the constitutionality of initiatives that have been approved by voters.

Question 34

What do Californians generally believe about the corrections system?

A)Too much is spent on prisons and prisoners, and funding ought to be reduced.
B)Prison guards and other staff receive the high salaries and benefits that they deserve.
C)Low-level inmates can safely be released back into communities.
D)More money should be spent to build state-of-the-art prisons.

Question 35

Two recent propositions (Props 36 and 47)may help reduce the state's prison population by:

A)closing many jails that need substantial repairs
B)transferring inmates to out-of-state prisons and private prisons
C)granting early parole to anyone convicted before 1992
D)imposing a life sentence on third-strike violent offenders only and reclassifying some drug crimes as misdemeanors

Question 36

A traffic violation is considered:

A)a criminal violation
B)an infraction
C)a misdemeanor
D)a felony

Question 37

The federal government fully reimburses California for housing illegal immigrant felons in its state prisons.

Question 38

Three-strikes sentencing in California is now applied to:

A)any and all types of crime
B)drug crimes only
C)violent and serious offenses only
D)undocumented immigrants only

Question 39

The current policy of sending convicted non-violent, non-sexual state prisoners to be housed in county jails is:

A)prison fiscalization
B)realignment
C)externalities
D)redistricting

Question 40

Unlike other state institutions, California's system of justice remains well-funded and has not had to weather the same kinds of budget cuts as other programs during recent lean budget years.