Deck 25: The Texas Judiciary

Question 1

What types of cases does the Texas Supreme Court hear?

A) civil appeals
B) appeals on civil and criminal cases
C) both trial and appeals in tort-law cases
D) final appeals on all civil and death penalty cases
E) any cases it chooses to hear

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Disputes between private individuals over their relationships, responsibilities, and obligations are the topic of

A) criminal law.
B) civil law.
C) statutory law.
D) ordinances.
E) contract law.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

If a trial is held before a judge only, and without a jury, it is

A) a judicial trial
B) a summary judgment
C) a bench trial
D) a grand jury
E) unconstitutional

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which court in Texas has automatic jurisdiction over all death penalty cases?

A) the court of criminal appeals
B) the supreme court
C) the district court
D) the justice of the peace court
E) the court of civil appeals

Question 5

In Texas, trial lawyers tend to support

A) Democratic judicial candidates.
B) Republican judicial candidates.
C) anti-death penalty judicial candidates.
D) pro-business judicial candidates.
E) pro-death penalty judicial candidates.

Question 6

The majority of cases in municipal courts involve

A) family law.
B) traffic and parking violations.
C) civil cases, especially torts.
D) felony crimes.
E) city ordinances.

Question 7

When a lawyer charges a client only if the case is won, it is called a

A) tort claim.
B) civil fee.
C) hypothetical bill.
D) contingent fee.
E) pro bono claim.

Question 8

Justice of the peace courts handle which kind of disputes?

A) small claims
B) felonies
C) city ordinance violations
D) bankruptcy cases
E) disposition of property of deceased persons

Question 9

If you violate a city ordinance in Texas, which type of court would most likely hear your case?

A) a district court
B) a municipal court
C) a county court
D) a court of appeals
E) a justice of the peace court

Question 10

Which of the following is not a major criticism of the method of judicial selection in Texas today?

A) It is overly partisan.
B) The need to raise campaign contributions compromises the independence of the judges.
C) Too often voters know nothing about the judicial candidates for whom they are voting.
D) In many cases ballots can be overloaded with judicial elections, making them complicated.
E) The governor has too much power in judicial selection.

Question 11

What is the most important role the governor of Texas plays in the judicial process?

A) The governor has the power to permanently appoint all municipal court judges.
B) The governor has the power to limit the jurisdiction of the appellate courts.
C) The governor has the power to appoint judges to fill any vacancies on the bench for the time period before elections are held.
D) The governor has the power to add additional judges to the appellate courts whenever there is a six-month backlog in cases.
E) The governor appoints all members to the Texas Supreme Court.

Question 12

The most common route to a criminal conviction is a(n)

A) bench trial.
B) jury trial.
C) plea bargain between the defendant and the state.
D) indictment from a grand jury.
E) plea bargain between the defendant and the plaintiff.

Question 13

A(n) ______ determines whether sufficient evidence is available to justify a trial.

A) justice of the peace
B) en banc committee
C) grand jury
D) district attorney
E) probate judge

Question 14

What is the most important part of a judicial candidate's campaign in Texas?

A) party affiliation
B) professional and personal qualifications
C) name recognition with the voters
D) rating by the American Bar Association
E) campaign financing

Question 15

A(n) ______ case is one that calls for the death penalty.

A) Eighth Amendment
B) probate
C) exclusionary
D) capital
E) statutory

Question 16

Statutory probate courts are designed to

A) assist in issues concerning the dispersion of property of deceased persons.
B) try civil cases involving real estate disputes.
C) speed up adjudication on matters relating to personal bankruptcy.
D) try criminal cases for those violating probation.
E) assist in issues concerning child-custody cases.

Question 17

What is the standard of proof used for civil cases in Texas?

A) The defendant must be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
B) The plaintiff must meet the preponderance of evidence.
C) The defendant must prove a reasonable chance of innocence.
D) The defendant must have contributed more to the judge's campaign than the plaintiff.
E) The plaintiff must meet the standard of reasonable doubt.

Question 18

The main trial courts in Texas are called

A) county courts.
B) courts of appeals.
C) district courts.
D) municipal courts.
E) justice of the peace courts.

Question 19

In Texas, the legal standard of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is used in which types of cases?

A) criminal
B) civil
C) criminal and civil
D) statutory
E) none-"beyond a reasonable doubt" is a standard used in federal, not state, court

Question 20

Why was partisanship in Texas judicial elections not an issue until 1978?

A) That was the year judicial elections shifted from nonpartisan to partisan.
B) That was the first year the Texas constitution permitted candidates to announce their party affiliations.
C) Up until that time, Texas was essentially a one-party state.
D) Even though they could, candidates typically ran without using party labels up until 1978.
E) It was the first year a third-party candidate won a seat in a Texas judicial election.

Question 21

Since the late 1980s, in what direction has the Texas Supreme Court moved regarding civil cases?

A) The Texas Supreme Court has grown more liberal in its tort-law decisions.
B) Texas has moved toward a more conservative approach to torts.
C) The Texas Supreme Court has taken a more pro-business direction.
D) The Texas Supreme Court is moving toward a more common-law approach to tort reform.
E) The Texas Supreme Court is choosing to hear fewer tort-law cases.

Question 22

By 2011, in Dallas County

A) DNA evidence was used to exonerate twenty-two wrongfully convicted men.
B) the district attorney announced a new policy of seeking life in prison rather than the death penalty in capital cases.
C) the county jails were temporarily closed by the state due to health and overcrowding problems.
D) fourteen judges were impeached for accepting bribes from undercover federal agents.
E) fifteen police officers were fired for tampering with evidence.

Question 23

Which of the following statements about retention elections is correct?

A) Texas currently uses retention elections for municipal court judges and justices of the peace.
B) A retention election requires at least one non-incumbent in the race.
C) A proposal for retention elections in the mid-1990s failed to pass.
D) In retention elections, judges are voted on by the Texas Senate.
E) In retention elections, judges must run against another judge from a different district.

Question 24

According to the text, which of the following is not a reason that there are few minority judges in Texas?

A) One must be a lawyer to be a judge, and there are few minority lawyers in Texas.
B) Judicial districts are often quite large, and minority voters rarely make up a majority in these districts.
C) Minority voters tend to be Democrats and the Republican Party currently dominates Texas elections.
D) White voters participate in countywide elections more than minority voters.
E) Minority candidates tend to be outspent by white candidates.

Question 25

In ______, the first woman to serve as a Texas state judge was appointed.

A) 1887
B) 1902
C) 1935
D) 1967
E) 1985

Question 26

In Texas, appellate court judges are elected, but trial judges are appointed by the governor to six-year terms.

Question 27

What is the particular problem in Texas judicial elections known as the "name game"?

A) Voters will often vote for a candidate by looking at his or her party affiliation, not his or her name.
B) Many voters will vote for a judicial candidate whose name they are familiar with, even if they know nothing about the candidate.
C) Judicial candidates sometimes make up colorful nicknames, like "Hang 'em High" Johnson, that serve as free advertisements for their judging beliefs.
D) Only big-name candidates can raise enough campaign contributions.
E) Voters will often vote for a candidate whose name is listed first on the ballot.

Question 28

Why is it difficult for voters to learn about judicial candidates in Texas?

A) Judicial candidates, by law, are prevented from actively campaigning for office.
B) Most judicial candidates fill their campaign literature with arcane legal analysis.
C) Voters are called upon to vote for too many different judicial races in a single election.
D) Most voters never go to court, so they have little knowledge upon which to base their decisions.
E) Judicial candidates do very little campaigning.

Question 29

The Texas constitution requires that the legal standard of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt be used only in cases involving the death penalty.

Question 30

What is the most important type of case that the Texas Supreme Court handles?

A) impeachment of public officials
B) tort laws
C) prison reform
D) death penalty cases
E) bankruptcy cases

Question 31

What is the process for granting clemency in Texas?

A) The governor has complete control of whether to grant clemency.
B) The governor must follow the recommendations of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
C) The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles makes a unilateral collective decision.
D) There is no procedure for clemency in Texas.
E) The case must be overturned by the court of criminal appeals.

Question 32

Plea bargains are not often used in Texas criminal trials.

Question 33

Each incorporated town or city in Texas has a municipal court.

Question 34

Which of the following is not an explanation for why Texas has one of the most controversial death penalty systems in the United States?

A) Almost no death penalty case has been overturned by the court of criminal appeals.
B) The court-appointed lawyers whom the state provides to defendants have often been subpar.
C) There are racial and ethnic disparities in who receives the death penalty and who does not.
D) Texas has led the nation in the number of executions since 1976.
E) Since 1977, the electric chair has been the means for execution in Texas.

Question 35

Texas justices of the peace do not have to be lawyers.

Question 36

The Texas Judicial Campaign Fairness Act

A) limits the amount of campaign contributions a judicial candidate can receive from an individual donor.
B) compels judges to recuse themselves from any case involving someone who has contributed money to their campaigns.
C) restricts judicial advertising to radio and television ads.
D) forbids law firms or corporations from making donations.
E) allows individuals to donate as much money as they can to judicial candidates.

Question 37

Which of the following best describes capital punishment in Texas?

A) The number of prisoners executed in Texas has been slowly decreasing since the 1970s.
B) Texas has both the highest rate of executions and the highest rate of successful death sentence appeals in the nation.
C) Texas executes more individuals than any other state and has a statistically low rate of successfully appealed capital cases.
D) The number of executions in Texas is double the number of executions in every other state combined.
E) Texas has had more death penalty cases overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court than any other state.

Question 38

What is it called when a blue-ribbon committee selects judicial nominees who are then appointed by the governor and must finally run for retention in office?

A) en banc selection
B) progressive reform selection
C) nonpartisan selection
D) merit selection
E) committee certification

Question 39

Why does it typically cost more money to win a seat on the Texas Supreme Court than a seat on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals?

A) The Texas legislature has placed a strict cap on the spending for the criminal appeals court election campaigns.
B) There are few interest groups that contribute money to criminal appeals court candidates' campaigns, which keeps the costs of the election down.
C) Judges running for the criminal appeals court do not have to be elected in a statewide election.
D) Fewer people are interested in the court of criminal appeals.
E) There are more positions available on the criminal appeals court, so the seats are not as coveted.

Question 40

Which of the following is not a controversy that has led to the questioning of the integrity of the Texas criminal justice system?

A) the false drug arrests in Tulia
B) the gypsum scandal in Dallas
C) the Houston Crime Lab scandal
D) the Dallas DNA exonerations
E) the University of Texas corruption scandal

Question 41

The governor of Texas is unable to grant clemency to death-row inmates without the recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Question 42

Texas law restricts the amount of money a judicial candidate may receive from donors.

Question 43

Texas law restricts the number of judicial races during any single election cycle to no more than six.

Question 44

What is the difference between civil and criminal law? How is this difference reflected in the standards by which one's case is judged?

Question 45

One of the most controversial judicial issues in Texas is the death penalty. Explain some of the reasons for the controversy. How does race play a role in the controversy? What is the role played by the court of criminal appeals? What is the process by which clemencies are offered?

Question 46

Describe the organization of the judicial branch in the state of Texas. What are the different kinds of courts in Texas and what are their specific functions? What makes the top appellate court(s) in Texas so different from that of the United States?

Question 47

Explain the method by which judges in Texas are selected. What is the most important factor in judicial elections in Texas? Why are judicial elections in Texas so often criticized?

Question 48

The federal Supreme Court has ruled that the Voting Rights Act applies to state judicial elections.

Question 49

A majority of the judges in Texas are Hispanic.

Question 50

The Texas Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the automatic appeals in all death penalty cases.

Question 51

In 1996, the voters of Texas chose to adopt the merit selection of judges.

Question 52

Texas leads the nation in the number of state-sanctioned executions.

Question 53

Judicial elections in Texas are nonpartisan.

Question 54

A controversy concerning the method of judicial selection in Texas is that there may be conflicts of interest when judges must hear cases determining the financial interests of persons who have donated to their campaigns.

Question 55

The method by which Texas judges get to the bench is only one method of judicial selection. Describe some of the alternative means of appointing or electing state judges. What has Texas done to ameliorate some of the problems with judicial elections?