Deck 9: The Judiciary

Question 1

According to the American Bar Association's guidelines, which of the following should NOT be a basis for choosing a judge?

A) solid professional and personal qualifications
B) political views and party affiliation
C) superior self-discipline, moral courage, and sound judgment
D) broad education and professionally qualified as lawyers

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following statements about original jurisdiction courts is true?

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

Answer 2

D

Question 3

What are the two types of trial courts?

A) corporate and nonprofit trial courts
B) civil and criminal trial courts
C) state trial courts and county trial courts
D) minor courts of limited jurisdiction and major trial courts

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Appellate courts are different from trial courts because

A) a jury must be present.
B) they openly publish the dissent that arises over the lower-court findings.
C) no plaintiffs, defendants, or witnesses are present.
D) a two-judge panel makes the final decision on the outcomes of appeals.

Question 5

What percentage of civil and criminal cases are resolved outside the courtroom?

A) 10 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 60 percent
D) 90 percent

Question 6

If you were arrested for a major traffic violation, and then negotiated with the prosecutor to plead guilty to a minor traffic offense, you engaged in

A) fraud.
B) plea bargaining.
C) gerrymandering.
D) a bench trial.

Question 7

Which of the following statements about limited jurisdiction trial courts is true?

A) They are courts with original jurisdiction over specialized cases, such as juvenile offenses and traffic violations.
B) They are courts with original jurisdiction to hear appeals from lower courts.
C) They are courts with jurisdiction over major criminal and civil cases.
D) They are courts beyond which there is no appeal except to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Question 8

Which of the following statements about merit-selection plans is true?

A) They are immune from politics.
B) The legal profession often dominates the process.
C) They are reduced to a struggle between Democrats and Republicans.
D) They are immune from the governor's influence.

Question 9

What are the three steps in the Missouri Plan for judicial selection?

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

Question 10

Which of the following forms of elections was adopted in the Jacksonian era as a way to create a judiciary answerable to the voters?

A) nonpartisan popular election
B) partisan popular election
C) Missouri Plan
D) initiative elections

Question 11

Which of the following statements about retention elections in merit-selection plans is true?

A) They nearly always vote out the incumbent.
B) They rarely generate much enthusiasm among voters.
C) They generate greater enthusiasm than the general elections.
D) They have turned down retention for about 50 percent of all judges since 1972.

Question 12

Which of the following statements about judicial decision making is true?

A) It is not subject to any review or oversight.
B) It is based solely on precedents and scientific techniques.
C) It is often as subjective as the decision making of other government officials.
D) It is so similar from one judge to another that it is unimportant who sits on a case.

Question 13

With the aim of processing drug-related offenses more efficiently and reducing recidivism rates of drug offenders, drug courts are an example of which type of court?

A) limited jurisdiction court
B) supreme court
C) appellate court
D) original jurisdiction court

Question 14

In a bench trial, the _______ alone hears all arguments, determines the facts, and makes rulings on questions of law.

A) district attorney
B) state supreme court
C) judge
D) jury

Question 15

Why did nonpartisan election of judges become popular during the first half of the twentieth century?

A) because it increased voter turnout
B) because it ensured that certain interests were able to buy a judge's loyalty to their causes
C) because it reduced the amount of money spent on campaigns
D) because it tried to eliminate party identification from the election of judges

Question 16

State courts resolve disputes and administer justice by interpreting

A) state statutes and the state and federal constitutions, but not common law.
B) state statutes, the state and federal constitutions, and common law.
C) the state and federal constitutions and common law, but not state statutes.
D) state statutes, the state constitution, and common law, but not the federal constitution.

Question 17

Incorporating elements of gubernatorial appointment and elective systems, _______ attempts to provide a mechanism for appointing qualified candidates to the bench while permitting the public to evaluate a judge's performance through the ballot box.

A) legislative election
B) popular election
C) gerrymandering
D) the merit plan

Question 18

When judges use previous judicial rulings to guide their decisions, they are employing the doctrine of

A) ipso facto.
B) judicial federalism.
C) stare decisis.
D) judicial activism.

Question 19

Appellate courts have the responsibility for hearing

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

Question 20

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 21

According to the text, the quality of judicial decision making is inversely related to

A) caseload.
B) the number of jurors.
C) attorney competence.
D) severity of the crime.

Question 22

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 23

Currently, the average annual salary for a state supreme court justice is approximately

A) $200,000.
B) $150,000.
C) $100,000.
D) $50,000.

Question 24

Electing judges is unique to the United Sates; it is virtually unknown in the rest of the world.

Question 25

Tort reform refers to the policy goal of reducing

A) the number personal injury cases and the subsequent awards.
B) the number of liability and personal injury cases but not size of the subsequent awards.
C) drug sentencing by providing counseling rather than prison sentences.
D) recidivism among violent offenders.

Question 26

States cannot extend civil liberties or civil rights beyond those specified in the U.S. Constitution.

Question 27

Four states use legislative selection to elect all state judges.

Question 28

Centralized budgeting, also referred to as _______, consolidates the budget for all state and local courts and details all personnel, supplies, equipment, and other expenditures.

A) rainy day budgeting
B) tort reform
C) unified court budgeting
D) administrative caseload budgeting

Question 29

Connecticut, California and Massachusetts courts expanded a woman's right to an abortion and the right for her to obtain state aid to pay for it. This is an example of

A) tort law.
B) original jurisdiction.
C) gerrymandering.
D) judicial federalism.

Question 30

Which of the following statements about judicial federalism is true?

A) It is a trend in which state constitutional and statutory law are consulted and applied before federal law.
B) It is a trend in which judges make public policy through decisions that overturn existing law.
C) It is a court-generated change in public policy that is perceived as illegitimate.
D) It is a trend in which federal law is consulted and applied before state constitutional and statutory laws.

Question 31

According to the American Bar Association (ABA), judges should be chosen on the basis of solid professional and personal qualifications, regardless of their political views and party identification.

Question 32

According to the text, how can the issue of heavy caseloads in state court systems be solved?

A) by relying more on mediation and arbitration, which are now used by most states
B) by relying more on pretrial settlements and plea bargaining
C) by creating stricter appeal regulations to lower the possibility of appeals
D) by appointing new trial court judges and expanding the appellate court system

Question 33

The aim of unified court systems is to make the work of the courts more efficient, saving time and money and avoiding confusion.

Question 34

In most states where judges are elected, judges can accept campaign contributions from attorneys and political action committees.

Question 35

Because courts only interpret the law, they have very little impact on public policy.

Question 36

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

Question 37

A judge's personal characteristics, such as party identification, political ideology, prior careers, religion, age, and sex are important aspects of judicial decision making because

A) they allow access to particular groups when filing friend of the court briefs.
B) they predispose a judge to decide cases in certain ways.
C) they are often set-aside by the judge when making judicial decisions.
D) they are extremely influential in appellate courts but not trial courts.

Question 38

Most states use a two-tiered court structure.

Question 39

Judicial performance evaluation (JPE) is a process of evaluating judges involving

A) newspaper reporters who cover the courts' running polls on best and worst judges.
B) judiciary committees of state legislatures rating 10 percent of each of the state's judges each year.
C) confidential surveys of attorneys, court professionals, witnesses, jurors, and other court professionals.
D) a panel of five judges from neighboring states providing a peer review of judges' decision-making qualities.

Question 40

Civil cases involve disputes between individuals or organizations.

Question 41

State court rulings on issues such as school finance, prison overcrowding, and treatment of the mentally ill have severely affected state budgets as the courts seldom factor in the related fiscal impacts of their decisions.

Question 42

There are five methods by which judges are selected. Discuss which method is best, in your opinion. Why? What are the drawbacks to this method?

Question 43

A judge's party identification, political ideology, prior careers, religion, age, and sex (the judge's personal characteristics) very rarely affect the way a judge decides cases.

Question 44

Only about 2 percent of all cases are resolved by jury trial.

Question 45

State supreme courts vary dramatically in ideology. Those in Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Maryland are much more liberal than those in Arizona, Mississippi, and New Hampshire.

Question 46

Personal values, attitudes, and characteristics of state judges can affect their decisions. Provide an illustration of how these factors might affect a judge's decision. What is the implication for our court system in terms of both objectivity and fairness?

Question 47

Courts and judges are often accused of "making law." Do they and, if so, why? Is this judicial activism or merely the proper role of a court as the final arbiter of disputes?

Question 48

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

Question 49

Judges who attain their position through electoral politics tend to behave like elected officials in the executive and legislative branches of state government by emphasizing political, rather than legal, factors in their decision making.

Question 50

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

Question 51

The first state to adopt the merit plan for selecting judges was Arizona in 1940.

Question 52

Everyone benefits from plea bargaining, including the victim and the general citizenry.

Question 53

Under the doctrine of stare decisis, the principles and procedures of law applied in one situation are applied in any similar situation.

Question 54

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

Question 55

Court caseloads continue to mount, while at the same time budget cuts have forced staff reductions. What have courts done over the past twenty years to streamline operations, utilize technology, and consolidate operations to conduct business?

Question 56

An objective definition of judicial activism points to court-generated change in public policy that is perceived as illegitimate by opponents who favor the status quo.

Question 57

Describe each of the two tiers of state courts and discuss how they are related. Explain each tier's role in judicial decision making.

Question 58

The recent trend in judicial federalism is that state courts might override the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. How can they do so? Define judicial federalism and describe the recent trend in federal versus state court power. Provide examples to illustrate your discussion.