Deck 3: The Judicial Process and Cyber-Procedure

Question 1

The courts are judicial tribunals that meet in a regular place and apply the law in an attempt to settle disputes by weighing the arguments presented by advocates for each party.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: The laws of the American government are interpreted and implemented by a system of courts authorized by either the federal or state constitutions and generally established by legislative authority.

Question 2

In federal diversity cases, corporations are only considered a citizen of the state in which they have their principal place of business.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: To have diversity jurisdiction in federal court, a corporation is considered a citizen of the state where it is incorporated and where it has its principal place of business. If even one defendant is a citizen of the same state as one of the plaintiffs, diversity cannot be established. In such a case, the law says that "diversity is not complete." In addition, diversity cases must involve an amount over $75,000.

Question 3

The decisions of state supreme courts are final unless a federal issue or a constitutional right is involved.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: If a federal issue or constitutional right is involved, the case may be appealed or removed to a federal court.

Question 4

The text of the U.S. Constitution gives the Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction in a case in which a state is a party.

Question 5

If Joe sues Marie as the result of a contract dispute, Marie cannot request that Joe undergo a physical examination.

Question 6

A demurrer is a defendant's motion asking a court to dismiss the plaintiff's lawsuit because he or she has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

Question 7

A federal court that only has the power to hear immigration cases is a court of special jurisdiction.

Question 8

The complaint is presented by the plaintiff directly to the defendant and is called service of process.

Question 9

Any webpage advertisement on the Internet can usually establish jurisdiction under the minimum contacts for personal jurisdiction.

Question 10

A defendant is a person who begins a lawsuit by filing a complaint against a plaintiff in a trial court of general jurisdiction.

Question 11

Appellate courts use the clearly erroneous standard to determine whether a judge in the lower court has, in some way, misused his or her authority.

Question 12

A federal question can involve the U.S. Constitution, a federal statute, or a treaty.

Question 13

In the Nicastro v. McIntyre (2010) case, the New Jersey Supreme Court applied the stream of commerce test to determine liability.

Question 14

Formal criminal charges may be brought against a defendant in state court without a grand jury being involved.

Question 15

State trial courts are known as limited jurisdiction courts.

Question 16

The U.S. federal court system is divided into 13 circuits.
D.C. and federal circuits. Each circuit has several district courts.

Question 17

Jury instructions contain the judge's opinion of the evidence presented.

Question 18

The defendant's answer may contain a counterclaim which is an affirmative defense.

Question 19

Subject matter jurisdiction in federal court cannot arise in cases of diversity if no federal law is involved.

Question 20

Having been called for jury selection, Lawrence discovered that the defendant in the trial is the brother of his stockbroker. The lawyers may rightfully reject Lawrence on the grounds that his relationship with the stockbroker may affect his ability to be an unbiased juror.

Question 21

An equitable remedy may be available in all of the following cases except:

A) specific performance.
B) damages.
C) an injunction.
D) a restraining order.

Question 22

____________ is the power of the court to hear a case based on Internet-related transactions.

A) Science jurisdiction
B) General jurisdiction
C) Cyber-jurisdiction
D) Subject matter jurisdiction

Question 23

Gordon Gibbs accidentally grated his plow along his neighbor's driveway, ruining the driveway. The neighbor wants Gordon to pay the $1,500 cost of paving the driveway. If this case enters litigation, it will most likely be heard by ____________ court.

A) a state intermediate appellate
B) the state supreme
C) a family
D) a small-claims

Question 24

During a(n) ____________, the defendant is formally charged with a crime and can either plead guilty or not guilty.

A) indictment
B) preliminary hearing
C) arraignment
D) initial appearance

Question 25

Requests for admissions:

A) are made to secure a statement from a party that a particular fact is true.
B) ask a party to undergo a physical or a mental examination.
C) are written questions that must be answered in writing, under oath, by the opposite party.
D) ask a party to produce documents, records, accounts, photographs, or other tangible evidence.

Question 26

Joe signed a promissory note for $5,000 to cover the cost of roofing repairs by Acme Roofing Company. Acme transferred the note to Big Bank who sued Joe when he failed to pay the note. Joe believes that Acme did not do the repairs properly. If Joe wants to bring Acme into court, then Joe's answer should contain a:

A) counterclaim against Acme.
B) cross-claim against Acme.
C) third-party complaint against Acme.
D) new lawsuit against Acme.

Question 27

Joe, a resident of Ohio, and Maria, a resident of New Mexico, have an auto accident in New Mexico. A federal court would have jurisdiction over this case if:

A) Ohio and New Mexico had different laws regarding this type of accident.
B) a federal auto title was involved.
C) an amount over $75,000 was involved.
D) an amount over $15,000 was involved.

Question 28

The United States Supreme Court does not have original jurisdiction in which of the following cases?

A) Cases in which an ambassador is a party
B) Cases appealed from state supreme courts
C) Cases in which public ministers and consuls are parties
D) Cases in which a state is a party

Question 29

____________ occurs when a plaintiff searches for a(n) ____________ with law that is favorable to its case, and then files the case.

A) Forum shopping; affirmative action jurisdiction
B) Demurrer; jurisdiction
C) Forum shopping; class action lawsuit
D) Forum shopping; jurisdiction

Question 30

Courts with appellate jurisdiction are empowered to determine whether the lower courts have made errors of law using the ____________ standard.

A) plenary review
B) clearly erroneous
C) abuse of discretion
D) de novo review

Question 31

A credit card company has cheated one million cardholders out of 50 cents each. Marlene, one of the defrauded cardholders, wants to sue the credit card company but should attempt to:

A) approach the legislature for special suit legislation.
B) approach the U.S. Supreme Court to grant original jurisdiction.
C) bring a petition to the Congress signed by the cardholders.
D) bring a class action suit.

Question 32

Ignacio wins a monetary judgment at trial, but is denied an award of attorney's fees. The losing party, Salazar, acts to challenge the adverse trial court decision before an appellate court. Ignacio also wants to appeal the denial of attorney's fees. Ignacio should file a:

A) cross-claim.
B) motion for summary judgment.
C) cross-appeal.
D) counterclaim.

Question 33

Attorney Jose wants to personally question Ellen, a witness, about her observation of an auto accident in advance of a trial concerning the accident. Jose should:

A) send Ellen interrogatories.
B) take Ellen's deposition.
C) ask Ellen to produce tangible evidence.
D) issue a summons for Ellen to appear in court in advance of the trial.

Question 34

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was established by Congress primarily to:

A) hear appeals on questions of law from the lower courts.
B) streamline and unify patent law.
C) decide on the details involved in bringing a case to trial.
D) simplify issues and avoid unnecessary arguments and surprises in the subsequent trial.

Question 35

When a party (the movant) files a motion for ____________, the movant is telling the court that no ____________ exists, and that the movant is entitled by law to ____________.

A) discovery; further discovery; a verdict in his favor
B) a counter claim; genuine issue of material fact; a favorable judgment
C) summary judgment; genuine issue of material fact; a favorable judgment
D) an affirmative defense; further testimony; dismiss the other party's case

Question 36

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure now refer to computerized evidence as:

A) electronic lockbox.
B) electronic data interchange.
C) e-commerce.
D) electronically stored information.

Question 37

Courts with the power to hear any type of case are courts with ____________ jurisdiction.

A) personal
B) special
C) general
D) subject matter

Question 38

Direct examination of a witness is usually conducted during the ____________ by the ____________.

A) plaintiff's case in chief; plaintiff's attorney
B) voir dire; defendant's attorney
C) plaintiff's case in chief; judge
D) closing statements; jury

Question 39

During the ____________ of the jury, ____________ the right to ask questions to determine who will allowed to sit on the jury.

A) discovery; only the judge has
B) voir dire; both parties have
C) discovery; either party has
D) voir dire; only the plaintiff has

Question 40

Probate courts and courts of claims are examples of courts with ____________ jurisdiction.

A) special
B) subject matter
C) personal
D) general

Question 41

Jill, a resident of Iowa, suffers $20,000 in damages when a BIG Corp. truck hits her parked car in Illinois, where Jill is visiting her aunt. BIG Corp. is incorporated in Delaware. In what court may her suit be filed?

Question 42

Sue wants to sell products on the Internet, but is concerned that she might be sued in a distant state by a dissatisfied customer. How might Sue best design a website to avoid this possibility?

Question 43

Each month for the past three years, Carol has been overcharged 50 cents by ABC Cell Phone Corporation. She has good reason to believe that tens of thousands of other individuals have also been defrauded of 50 cents each. Carol wants to sue, but the expense of bringing a lawsuit for 50 cents is too great. What can Carol do to obtain a judicial hearing of her complaint?

Question 44

Joe wants to sue directly in his state's Supreme Court (a state in which the Supreme Court is the highest court), since his suit involves a question of genetic testing that has never been heard by a trial court of general jurisdiction in Joe's state. Can Joe sue directly in his state's Supreme Court? Explain.

Question 45

Nick sues Bradford & Co., alleging employment discrimination. Nick believes Bradford & Co.'s e-mail will reveal evidence of discriminatory attitudes and actions by its management. Nick sends a letter to Bradford & Co., requesting copies of e-mail messages for the last six months, but receives no answer. What should Nick do?

Question 46

Sheena was flying New York Airlines to Florida via a stop in Richmond, Virginia. However, the flight was delayed by ten hours at the Richmond airport and later cancelled, with no refund or alternate flights for the passengers. As a result, Sheena was forced to breach a $100,000 contract with a Florida client. Sheena files a lawsuit against New York Airlines and the Richmond airport for causing inconvenience during transit and for monetary loss. In response to her lawsuit, New York Airlines acknowledges the inconvenience caused but cross-claimed that the Richmond airport did not allow the connecting flight to land, hence the cancellation. Richmond defended the cancellation based on extreme weather conditions. Analyze the situation.

Question 47

Samantha sues Acme Chemical Co. in a federal court for injuries caused five years ago by the application of a residential pesticide produced by Acme. The state statute of limitations (time to bring lawsuits) in Samantha's state is three years. Samantha wants the federal court to apply a longer four-year federal statute of limitations. How will the federal court resolve this question?

Question 48

Ashley is accused of forgery and is arrested by the city police. She is being compelled to testify, which she refuses to do. At the trial, she asserts her innocence and informs the jury that she was not informed of her rights by the officers at the time of her arrest, and was compelled to testify. She wants the jury to be instructed about the rights of a criminal defendant and the degree of proof required of both the prosecution and the defendant (her) in this case. Discuss the case.

Question 49

Marilyn is a contractor-computer programmer who works for SIM Co. in its principal place of business in New Jersey. Marilyn designs a corporate information system (CIS) for Matrix Corp., a SIM Co. client, which has its offices in New York City. Unfortunately, the CIS crashes before Marilyn is paid for her work and all of Matrix's records are lost, requiring Matrix to spend $300,000 to reconstruct the system. Matrix sues SIM Co. for breach of contract. Marilyn believes that the crash was not caused by her CIS and that she should be paid by SIM Co. Discuss the options Marilyn and SIM Co. have in responding to the suit.

Question 50

Hundreds of residents of Rosewood County in Pennsylvania have filed a lawsuit in state court against Thompson Brothers, a New York-based homebuilder, concerning the completion of Thompson's newly-built apartment facility. Fearing the hostility of a Pennsylvanian jury, Thompson is considering removing the case to federal court. Discuss.