9. t/f Flashcards
In the United States, the courts resolve both civil and criminal disputes.
True
Public law is a form of criminal law.
False
Defendants found guilty of civil wrongs can be fined or sent to prison.
False
In a public law case, the government is the plaintiff.
False
Losers in civil cases may be required to pay monetary damages for their actions.
True
Most cases are settled before trial.
True
Plea bargains may affect the severity of the charge and/or the severity of the sentence.
True
State courts handle about the same number of cases as the federal courts in the American judicial system.
False
Cases in the federal district courts are, in form, very different from cases in the state trial courts.
False
Procedural requirements in state courts tend to be stricter than federal procedural requirements.
False
The so-called legislative courts are generally viewed as more independent than the courts established under Article III of the Constitution.
False
Over the past four decades, the caseload of the federal courts has quadrupled.
True
Most of the cases filed with the Supreme Court are dismissed without a ruling on their merits.
True
The Supreme Court only hears cases involving public law.
False
The U.S. Supreme Court operates primarily as a trial court.
False
The U.S. Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction.
true
In both civil and criminal cases, a decision of the highest state court can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by raising a federal issue.
true
The appellate jurisdiction in the federal courts extends to cases originating in the state courts.
True
The U.S. Supreme Court is obligated to accept appeals that assert important issues of federal law at stake in the case.
False
The federal district courts are trial courts of general jurisdiction.
True
Federal trial courts must provide a grand jury, a trial jury, and a unanimous jury verdict in order to convict someone of a federal crime.
True
The U.S. Courts of Appeals are divided into three geographic circuits.
False
More than one judge is assigned for every appeals case at the federal level.
True
In the Supreme Court’s deliberations and decisions, the chief justice exercises significantly more influence on decisions than the associate justices.
False
The Constitution specified the number of justices that should sit on the Supreme Court.
False
