Question 1

Mistakes made at trial that are sufficiently serious to affect the result against one of the parties are termed _________ error.&#10;A) prejudicial&#10;B) harmless&#10;C) clear&#10;D) irreversible

Accepted Answer

Prejudicial errors are mistakes made during a trial that are serious enough to affect its outcome against one of the parties. These errors can lead to the appellate court reversing or modifying the trial court's decision.

Question 2

Which of the following is not available to the appellate court?&#10;A) The transcript of the trial&#10;B) The trial pleadings&#10;C) Witnesses&#10;D) Oral argument of opposing attorneys

Accepted Answer

Witnesses are not typically available to the appellate court, as appellate courts generally review the trial court's application of law rather than re-examining factual evidence.

Question 3

In Latiolais v. Cravins , the court held that&#10;A) the presiding judge's comments demonstrated that he was impartial, and did not abuse his discretion in dismissing Cravins and in allowing the jury to hear testimony about the content of the settlement agreement.&#10;B) the federal court was an inappropriate forum to litigate a controversy that stemmed from a domestic dispute.&#10;C) there was no evidence that Cravins, a former state senator and current mayor of Opelousas, and the sheriff's deputy had conspired to wrongfully deprive Latiolais of her civil rights.&#10;D) the district court erred in dismissing Cravins and in allowing the jury to hear testimony about the content of the settlement agreement; the court vacated the district court's judgment, remanded Latiolais's action for a new trial, and ordered the chief judge of the Western District of Louisiana to reassign the case to a different district judge.

Accepted Answer

The correct choice indicates that the court found errors in the district court's decisions regarding the dismissal of Cravins and the allowance of certain testimonies, leading to a decision to vacate the judgment and order a new trial with reassignment to a different judge.

Question 4

Critics of the adversarial system claim that attorneys&#10;A) often conceal the truth rather than reveal it.&#10;B) do not accept adversarial roles.&#10;C) should be replaced by the British system of barristers and solicitors.&#10;D) are obsolete.

Accepted Answer

Critics argue that the adversarial system, where each side presents its case to an impartial judge or jury, can lead to attorneys focusing more on winning the case than on revealing the truth. This criticism is based on the idea that the competitive nature of the system encourages legal representatives to withhold information that might be detrimental to their case.

Question 5

After the jury determines facts, the judge makes conclusions of law and enters a&#10;A) judgment.&#10;B) verdict.&#10;C) remedy.&#10;D) summation.

Accepted Answer

After the jury determines the facts in a case, it is the judge's role to make conclusions of law based on those facts and then enter a judgment, which is the final decision in the case.

Question 6

In Lawler v. Kueffer , the court held that&#10;A) because the findings of fact were not supported by substantial evidence, the lower court judgment should be reversed.&#10;B) replevin was not the correct legal basis for filing the lawsuit.&#10;C) the dispute over the ownership of a cat was not a justiciable controversy under the Constitution.&#10;D) the circuit court's factual findings were not clearly erroneous, and the facts demonstrate that Lawler gave Dexter to Kueffer as a gift; therefore Kueffer is the rightful owner of Dexter.

Accepted Answer

The court held that the circuit court's factual findings were not clearly erroneous, and the facts demonstrated that Lawler gave Dexter to Kueffer as a gift, making Kueffer the rightful owner of Dexter.

Question 7

Whether _______ is a question of law.&#10;A) a driver was intoxicated&#10;B) a driver was speeding&#10;C) expert testimony is admissible&#10;D) the defendant owned a gun

Accepted Answer

Whether expert testimony is admissible is a question of law because it involves the application of legal standards and rules to decide if the testimony meets the criteria for reliability and relevance in court.

Question 8

Whether a particular question is treated as a question of law or a question of fact is&#10;A) a question of fact.&#10;B) a question of law.&#10;C) a question for the jury.&#10;D) reserved for the appellate court.

Accepted Answer

Whether a particular question is treated as a question of law or a question of fact is itself a question of law. This determination is made by a judge, not by a jury, and it dictates how the issue is to be resolved in a legal proceeding.

Question 9

Which of the following would be the most difficult to successfully challenge on appeal?&#10;A) Instructions to the jury&#10;B) Admissibility of evidence&#10;C) Jury fact finding&#10;D) The trial judge's statements of law

Accepted Answer

Jury fact finding is typically given great deference by appellate courts, making it the most difficult to challenge on appeal. Appellate courts often review jury findings under a "sufficient evidence" standard, meaning they will uphold the findings if there is any credible evidence to support them, making challenges to these findings particularly difficult.

Question 10

In Minneapolis Star & Tribune v. Lee , a writ of prohibition was issued because&#10;A) a trial court may not find reporters in contempt of court.&#10;B) the trial court had no jurisdiction.&#10;C) the trial court's order was a prior restraint of speech.&#10;D) only an appellate court may issue a contempt order.

Accepted Answer

The trial court's order was considered a prior restraint of speech, which is generally prohibited under the First Amendment, leading to the issuance of a writ of prohibition.

Question 11

_______ refers to the requirement that the facts will be determined exclusively on the basis of evidence presented at trial.&#10;A) Appellate review&#10;B) On the record&#10;C) Due process&#10;D) Standard of proof

Accepted Answer

The answer of _______ refers to the requirement that the...

Question 12

If an appellate court cannot find any facts in support of a lower court's findings, the&#10;A) lower court's decision should be reversed.&#10;B) case should be sent back for further fact finding.&#10;C) lower court's decision will stand.&#10;D) trial court judge will be reprimanded.

Accepted Answer

The answer of If an appellate court cannot find any...

Question 13

Where an appellate court makes a unanimous opinion on a clear point of law, it is likely to enter a brief opinion in the form of&#10;A) certiorari .&#10;B) a per curiam opinion.&#10;C) an appellate brief.&#10;D) a writ of prohibition.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Where an appellate court makes a unanimous...

Question 14

The jury's fact finding is called the&#10;A) declaration.&#10;B) judgment.&#10;C) verdict.&#10;D) precedent.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The jury's fact finding is called the&#10;A)...

Question 15

In Coomer v. Kansas City Royals Baseball Corporation , the court found that&#10;A) the jury's verdict and resulting judgment need not be vacated because the error in the jury instruction did not affect the outcome of this case.&#10;B) the trial court erred in submitting to the jury the question of whether the risk of injury from Sluggerrr's hotdog toss was an inherent risk of watching a baseball game at Kauffman Stadium.&#10;C) the risk of being injured by Sluggerrr's hotdog toss was one of the inherent risks of watching a Royals home game.&#10;D) Sluggerrr's hotdog toss should be discontinued because it is inherently dangerous.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In Coomer v. Kansas City Royals Baseball...

Question 16

The test applied by an appellate court to a trial judge's rulings on questions of law is&#10;A) &#34;clearly erroneous.&#34;&#10;B) &#34;substitution of judgment.&#34;&#10;C) &#34;substantial evidence.&#34;&#10;D) &#34;reasonable doubt.&#34;

Accepted Answer

The answer of The test applied by an appellate court...

Question 17

The appellee is the&#10;A) party who lost at the trial.&#10;B) party who won at the trial.&#10;C) party bringing the appeal.&#10;D) author of an appellate decision.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The appellee is the&#10;A) party who lost...

Question 18

Appellate review generally includes&#10;A) oral arguments during which questions may be asked by the appellate judges.&#10;B) oral arguments that allow adversarial exchanges between the attorneys.&#10;C) presentation of new evidence and witnesses.&#10;D) a new trial (or trial de novo ).

Accepted Answer

The answer of Appellate review generally includes&#10;A) oral arguments during...

Question 19

Fact finding by judge or jury will be upheld by an appellate court unless it finds that the fact finding was&#10;A) based on circumstantial evidence.&#10;B) based solely on inference.&#10;C) clearly erroneous.&#10;D) contrary to the evidence.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Fact finding by judge or jury will...

Question 20

A(n) _______ is an &#34;on the record&#34; evidentiary hearing.&#10;A) trial&#10;B) deposition&#10;C) appeal&#10;D) judicial review

Accepted Answer

The answer of A(n) _______ is an &#34;on the record&#34;...

Question 21

In Alva v. Teen Help , the court held that&#10;A) the appeal was timely filed.&#10;B) it would believe that attorney's testimony that the appeal was filed before midnight and discount the time stamp showing that the appeal was six minutes late.&#10;C) because the appeal was not filed on time, the appeal would be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.&#10;D) two recent United States Supreme Court cases caused the court to view the lateness of the filing as a procedural rather than jurisdictional error.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In Alva v. Teen Help , the...

Deck 5: Trial and Appellate Courts