Question 1

How many cases move through the Texas judicial system annually?

Accepted Answer

The Texas judicial system handles approximately 7.4 million cases annually, as reported by the Texas Judicial Branch.

Question 2

What percent of the Texas bar is female?

Accepted Answer

A

Question 3

Only Texas and one other state have dual high courts. What is that other state?

Accepted Answer

Oklahoma is the only other state that has a dual high court system, consisting of the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Question 4

How many district courts are there in Texas?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How many district courts are there in...

Question 5

What percent of Texas judges run unopposed for re-election?

Accepted Answer

Approximately 80% of Texas judges run unopposed for re-election, highlighting a significant lack of competition in judicial elections within the state.

Question 6

Which of the following is not one of the three Texas Supreme Court Chief Justices who has called for limiting the role of money in judicial elections?

Accepted Answer

John Hill, Wallace Jefferson, and Tom Phillips have all called for limiting the role of money in judicial elections, but Harriet Miers has not.

Question 7

Texas has one of the highest incarceration rates (prisoners per 100,000 of population) in the nation at:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Texas has one of the highest incarceration...

Question 8

As a region, the South leads the nation in executions. What region comes second?

Accepted Answer

According to statistics from the Death Penalty Information Center, the Midwest has the second-highest number of executions among regions in the United States, following the South.

Question 9

What proportion of Texas state judges first come to the bench by appointment?

Accepted Answer

In Texas, 50% of state judges first come to the bench by appointment.

Question 10

How many judges work in the Texas judicial system?

Accepted Answer

The Texas judicial system employs approximately 3,224 judges across various levels, including municipal, county, district, and appellate courts.

Question 11

Municipal courts handle 3.9 million cases annually. What percentage of them are traffic cases?

Accepted Answer

Municipal courts often handle a large volume of traffic cases, frequently making up around 70% of their caseload.

Question 12

Civil law deals with all but which of the categories of legal matters:

Accepted Answer

Civil law deals with private disputes between individuals or organizations, including torts, family law, and contracts. Property crimes fall under criminal law, which is a separate category of legal matters.

Question 13

Who is the complaining party in a criminal case?

Accepted Answer

In a criminal case, the complaining party is the state, represented by the prosecutor, as it is the state that brings charges against the defendant on behalf of society as a whole. The plaintiff is the complaining party in a civil case. The witness is not the complaining party but rather someone who provides testimony about the facts of the case.

Question 14

What percent of the 105,125-member Texas bar is Anglo or white?

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is 78%. This percentage reflects the proportion of the Texas bar that is identified as Anglo or white.

Question 15

What percent of Texas lawyers and judges are black?

Accepted Answer

As of my last update in 2023, approximately 6% of Texas lawyers and judges are black. This reflects broader issues of representation within the legal profession in the United States.

Question 16

The first Latina member of the Texas Supreme Court was:

Accepted Answer

Eva Guzman was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in 2009, making her the first Latina to serve on the court. Hope Andrade is a Latina politician who served as the Texas Secretary of State, but she has never been a member of the Texas Supreme Court. Sonia Sotomayor is a Latina who currently serves as a Justice on the United States Supreme Court, but she has never been a member of the Texas Supreme Court. Leticia Van de Putte is a Latina politician who served in the Texas Senate, but she has never been a member of the Texas Supreme Court.

Question 17

Which level of the Texas court system deals with the most cases each year?

Accepted Answer

Municipal courts in Texas handle the largest number of cases each year, primarily because they deal with minor offenses, traffic violations, and city ordinance violations, which are the most common types of cases.

Question 18

How many appellate court districts are there in Texas?

Accepted Answer

There are 14 appellate court districts in Texas. Each district has a Court of Appeals that hears cases from lower trial courts.

Question 19

How many formal opinions are written in the Texas Supreme Court each year?

Accepted Answer

The Texas Supreme Court typically writes around 110 formal opinions each year.

Question 20

What percent of trial court cases are tried before a jury?

Accepted Answer

The vast majority of trial court cases are resolved before reaching the stage of a jury trial, with only about 1% actually being tried before a jury.

Quiz 8: The Judicial System in Texas