Deck 9: The Judiciary

Question 1

State appellate courts have the responsibility of hearing

A)cases tried previously in federal court.
B)first, all cases not settled by pretrial agreement.
C)all cases originating in a specified region of the state.
D)appeals of cases tried in lower state courts.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Original jurisdiction courts have

A)the ultimate authority to hear all final appeals.
B)the power to hear criminal cases, but never civil cases.
C)the power to hear civil cases, but never criminal cases.
D)the power to hear certain cases first.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The selection of judges by gubernatorial appointment

A)is widely used in all states.
B)ranks high on accountability, but low on independence.
C)is in use today in all thirteen of the original states.
D)is used in only a handful of states, but many judgeships in other states are actually filled in this manner through interim appointments by governors.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Merit selection plans, in practice, are

A)immune from politics.
B)most often dominated by the legal profession.
C)reduced to a struggle between Democrats and Republicans.
D)immune to the governor's influence.

Question 5

The two states that have two supreme courts-one for criminal cases and one for civil cases-are

A)North Carolina and Nebraska.
B)Virginia and Texas.
C)Oklahoma and Texas.
D)Georgia and Texas.

Question 6

Plea bargaining

A)is the striking of a bargain between the defense and the trial judge.
B)benefits all parties involved-the defendant, the victim, the attorneys, and the general citizenry.
C)occurs only after evidence has been presented and before the jury begins its deliberations.
D)is often used because of the pressing caseload of criminal proceedings.

Question 7

Selecting judges by legislative election is

A)the most prominent method of selecting judges in the states.
B)found in South Carolina and Virginia and results in a high percentage of former legislators securing judgeships.
C)favored by most knowledgeable court reformers.
D)found only in western states that entered the Union in the 1880s.

Question 8

The discipline, suspension, or removal of state court judges

A)is uncommon.
B)is common.
C)is allowed in only twenty-six states.
D)is usually done by popular recall.

Question 9

The Missouri Plan for the selection of judges involves

A)identification by the governor, review by a commission on judicial appointments, and acceptance or rejection by the voters.
B)nomination by the legislature and selection by the governor.
C)selection of at least two candidates nominated by the state bar association and then a runoff election.
D)nomination by a bipartisan commission, appointment by the governor, and, thereafter, periodic election by the voters.

Question 10

It is estimated that

A)90 percent of all civil and criminal cases are actually resolved outside the courtroom.
B)about half of all civil and criminal cases are actually resolved outside the courtroom.
C)most cases are settled by a jury.
D)most civil and criminal cases are settled by a coin toss.

Question 11

Most state courts are part of the two-tier system.The two tiers are

A)trial and appellate courts.
B)trial and general jurisdiction courts.
C)appellate and supreme courts.
D)trial and district courts.

Question 12

Trial court cases are

A)seldom resolved outside the courtroom.
B)often settled outside the courtroom in civil cases, though never in criminal cases.
C)often settled in criminal cases, though never in civil cases.
D)most often resolved outside the courtroom for both civil and criminal cases.

Question 13

Courts of judiciary are authorized to investigate complaints about judges' qualifications, conduct, or fitness and are composed

A)of federal judges only.
B)entirely of judges.
C)solely of legislators.
D)of attorneys, professors, and laypersons.

Question 14

The dual system of courts in the United States at the federal and state levels is such that

A)cases always fall clearly into either state or federal court jurisdiction.
B)the two court systems are separate, but with some overlap in jurisdiction.
C)the state supreme courts have the final word in all cases.
D)state courts have the option of assuming jurisdiction over federal crimes.

Question 15

The use of nonpartisan election of judges won favor as a means of

A)increasing voter turnout for such elections.
B)ensuring that certain interests were able to buy a judge's loyalty to their causes.
C)reducing the amount of money spent on campaigns.
D)trying to remove politics from the election of judges and to encourage independence and professionalism.

Question 16

The state court reform movement of the 1960s and 1970s resulted in a unified court system that

A)ensured that individual judges would retain control of recordkeeping, budgeting, and personnel management for their courts.
B)established a hierarchical system of courts with the supreme court justices responsible for the other levels.
C)established the civil and criminal court systems as separate entities.
D)consolidated the various trial courts with overlapping jurisdictions into a single administrative unit.

Question 17

The guidelines set forth by the American Bar Association for the selection of judges include a recommendation that appellate and general trial court judges have

A)relevant experience in a lower court or as courtroom attorneys.
B)experience in the state legislature.
C)a law degree from an accredited university.
D)experience as a prosecuting attorney.

Question 18

The use of partisan popular elections to fill judgeships was enormously popular during

A)the reform era of the 1960s and 1970s.
B)the Progressive era in the early 1900s.
C)the Jacksonian era.
D)the World War II era.

Question 19

The most notable structural change in the state court system in the last thirty years has been the

A)addition of the intermediate appellate courts.
B)creation of state supreme courts.
C)division of court responsibilities into civil and criminal jurisdictions.
D)creation of probate courts.

Question 20

In recent years, state courts have become more active policymakers and have increasingly based important decisions on

A)the national constitution rather than on state constitutions.
B)the influence of highly visible interest groups.
C)state constitutions rather than on the national constitution.
D)their interpretation of federal legislation.

Question 21

In 2007, the average annual salary for a state supreme court justice was about

A)$90,000.
B)$220,000.
C)$150,000.
D)$75,000.

Question 22

In Barnes v.Glen Theatre Inc.(1991), the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that nude dancing, being dangerous to "order and morality," is not protected as free expression under the First Amendment of the U.S.Constitution.

Question 23

The unified court system has been proposed for years, but few states have unified their courts.

Question 24

All of the following are new approaches to dealing with the problem of case backlogs except

A)eliminating the lengthy process of jury selection by allowing more cases to be heard by a judge instead of a jury.
B)imposing fines against lawyers and litigants who are guilty of using delaying tactics.
C)imposing a case management system, such as multitracking.
D)development of electronic databases to store case information and legal research.

Question 25

The term judicial activism implies that judges are

A)actively trying to influence or change public policy.
B)conservatives who are actively involved in partisan politics.
C)working in court systems with heavy caseloads.
D)liberals who seek to use their position on the bench to influence policy on social issues.

Question 26

It is very unusual for a case decided by a state supreme court to be heard by the U.S.Supreme Court or any other federal court.

Question 27

The use of _______ seeks to bring a state's entire court system under a single authoritative administrative structure, helping to avoid legislative underfunding.

A)independent budgeting
B)capital budgeting
C)federal mandated budgeting
D)unified court budgeting

Question 28

The question of access to the judicial system as a factor in decision making is

A)important, because some individuals and groups have easier access to the legal system and therefore possess greater advantages than others.
B)unimportant, because judges or juries are able to act on behalf of absent interests.
C)unimportant, because the courts are open to all citizens.
D)rapidly declining in significance as judicial lobbying becomes increasingly important.

Question 29

The effects of judges' personal values and attitudes are

A)unimportant, because key decisions are based on precedent.
B)unimportant, because judges are nonpartisan.
C)important, because background, experience, and party identification influence decisions.
D)important, because evidence shows that Hispanic judges are tougher on black defendants than on Hispanic ones.

Question 30

To ease prison overcrowding, ________ have been implemented that are designed to extract inmates from correctional institutions before they serve their full sentences.

A)front-door strategies
B)back-door strategies
C)capacity enhancement strategies
D)sliding-door strategies

Question 31

Common law is unwritten law based on tradition, custom, or court decisions.

Question 32

The state that paid the lowest salaries for its supreme court justices in 2007 was

A)Montana.
B)Idaho.
C)California.
D)New Mexico.

Question 33

Intermediate appellate courts are sometimes called the courts of last resort.

Question 34

Appellate courts are different from trial courts in that they

A)always have a jury present.
B)require a unanimous decision by the judges.
C)do not require the presence of plaintiffs, defendants, or witnesses.
D)always have two judges who make the final decision on the outcomes of appeals.

Question 35

Most states use a two-tiered court structure.

Question 36

Civil cases involve disputes between individuals or organizations.

Question 37

The most modernized court systems are currently found in southern states.

Question 38

Judicial salaries

A)are standardized in all of the states.
B)permit expanded opportunities for outside income.
C)should be high enough to draw the best legal minds and compensate for the prohibitions against outside work.
D)have been lowered for supreme court judges who were averaging $175,000-a salary much greater than that of experienced lawyers in major law firms.

Question 39

The use of precedents as guides to judicial decision making ensures that

A)the lower courts always abide by previous decisions.
B)ideally, a doctrine of equal treatment under the law will be followed in the courts.
C)decisions in one case will not be influenced by decisions in other cases.
D)the law will remain constant and unchanging.

Question 40

In 2007, the state that paid the highest salaries to its supreme court justices was

A)California.
B)Florida.
C)Montana.
D)Oregon.

Question 41

Trial courts are more apt to interpret the law, whereas appellate courts are more apt to apply the law and make public policy.

Question 42

Most criminal and civil cases are settled out of court.

Question 43

Crime rates are down, but incarceration rates are rising.

Question 44

The legal doctrine that precedents should guide judges' rulings is called stare decisis.

Question 45

List and discuss the five methods by which judges are selected.In your opinion, which method is best? Why?

Question 46

The most practical and popular method for removing judges is the popular recall.

Question 47

Electing judges in partisan elections gained popularity during the Jacksonian era.

Question 48

In the late 1930s, the American Bar Association recommended that states adopt methods of selecting judges that were based on "merit plans." The first state to adopt this idea was Minnesota in 1940.

Question 49

Judicial activism consists of judges making public policy through decisions that overturn existing law or effectively make new laws.

Question 50

Appellate courts hold a second trial, which includes hearing testimony from plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses.

Question 51

There is a striking inconsistency in the lockup rate of African Americans, who are seven times as likely to be incarcerated as whites.

Question 52

The basic merit plan involves three steps and is commonly referred to as the Missouri Plan.

Question 53

Appellate court rulings are issued by a panel of at least five judges.

Question 54

In most states, politics has little influence on the selection of judges.

Question 55

The term judicial federalism refers to a trend in which state courts look first at state constitutional and statutory law in rendering legal judgments on important state and local issues.

Question 56

Identify the tiers of the state court system, and discuss the particular range of responsibilities of each tier.

Question 57

In Idaho and Montana, the legislature appoints state judges.

Question 58

Front-door strategies in criminal justice include alternative sentencing programs, such as community service.

Question 59

The best way to reduce the backlog of cases in the court system is by adding new judgeships.

Question 60

The five methods for selecting judges are legislative selection, partisan election, nonpartisan election, the merit plan, and gubernatorial appointment.Each selection plan has certain advantages and disadvantages-there is no "one best way."

Question 61

Discuss the differences between front-door and back-door strategies used by the states to deal with prison overcrowding.Which do you favor?

Question 62

List and discuss some of the major organizational and administrative improvements made in state judiciaries.

Question 63

Discuss how the personal values, attitudes, and characteristics of state judges might affect judicial decision making.

Question 64

Judges are selected by a variety of methods in the states.Is there any reason to believe that how judges are selected affects judicial decision making?

Question 65

What is judicial activism? What role have state courts played in judicial activism in the last twenty-five to thirty years? Is judicial activism good or bad?