American government chapter 15

Question 1

The nature of the America judicial is an __________ one

Answer 1

Adverserial

Question 2

There are 2 basic types of cases: ______cases and _______-. In _____cases, the GV charges and prosecutes individuals charged with violating laws. In ________ cases a dispute between two parties is resolved and their relationship is define

Answer 2

criminal laws

civil laws

criminal law

civil law

Question 3

Every case is a dispute between a __________ and a_______. The former brings a charge against the latter. The case is decided by a ———-, which is a group of citizen(usually12) , responsible for determining the outcome of the lawsuit

Answer 3

Plaintif

defendent

jury

Question 4

plaintifs must have ____________to sue. to have______, one must have a serious interest in the case. This means they have obtained or are about to obtain a direct and substantial injury from another party or the government

Answer 4

Standing

Justiable dispute

Question 5

Law is one of the nation’s fastest growing professions. The US had__-_ lawyers in 1960 but has about _______today. As a result more people have access to the courts but not all people have equal representation. Wealthy people can retain better lawyers and commit more legal resources to their cause.

Answer 5

Fewer

1 million

Question 6

There are ______districts courts, at least one in each state . Trials and procedings for federal crimes and civil suits under federal law and are held in ________. These courts also supervise bankruptcy proceedings and supervise naturalization of aliens among other things.____of all criminal cases are handled in state and local courts. Along with most civil suits

Answer 6

91

district court

98%

Question 7

In addition to judges, each of the 91 district courts has_____________which issues warrants for arrest, decides whether a grand jury is required and sets bail.__________to protect the judicial process and serve writs issued by the senate who, along with his staff, prosecutes violations of federal law and represents the US gov.

Answer 7

Federal magistrate

US marshall

US attorney

Question 8

Everyone has a right of appeal to a higher court. The ____________are empowered to review all final decisions of the district courts. The US is divided into ____circuits with each circuit having between 6 and 28 judges which serve on the court of Appeals. Each circuitserves at least____states and each court normally hears cases with panels of __judges . Decisions are either made by agreement or vote of a majority of the judges

Answer 8

Court of appeal

12

2

3

Question 9

The Supreme court has ________ associate justices and _chief justice. Unlike other federal courts, the supreme court decided which cases it will hear

Answer 9

8

1

Question 10

Federal judges and supreme court justices are appointed for life and can only be removed by conviction of impeachment. True or false.

Answer 10

True

Question 11

The President’s have failed 20% of the time to appoint nominees of their choice to the supreme court. There is less scrutiny over presidential appointment to the court of appeal and still less scrutiny for appointments to the district court. true or false.

Answer 11

True

Question 12

The judges serving on federal courts are not representing of the American peopl. They are all________ and mostly__________. Jimmy Carter appointed 40 women, 37 African Americans and 16 Hispanics, more than all previous presidents combined. All but_ nominated supreme court justices have been white males

Answer 12

Lawyers

white males

6

Question 13

_______is another important influence on the selection of justices and judges. Presidents mostly nominate justices who are members for the same political party. Presidents try and pack the courts with judges and justices who share their political views. In this way, Presidents hope more of their policy objectives will prevail in judicial decision making

Answer 13

partisenship or Politics

Question 14

Approximately_________cases are submitted to the Supreme Court every year for review__- are denied and a 100 cases are heard. If 4 or more justices agree to hear the case, a _______ is issued and the case is put on a docket

Answer 14

8.000

99%

Ruke of four

Question 15

Once the Supreme Court reaches a decision in a case, an ___ is written by the court. At least _____justices must participate in a case and the majority vote decides the case. Justices who disagree can write a ________ and those who agree with the majority but for different reasons can write a______

Answer 15

opinion

6

dissenting

concurring

Question 16

All courts rely on legal precedent in rendering their decisions. this is the the principal of_____, meaning that an ealier decison should hold for th ecase being considered. the Supreme Court can however over rule its own precedents as well as the decisions of of other lower courts. When precedents are unclear, policy preferences of the justices matter and can effect decision making

Answer 16

Stake decisis

Question 17

______________refers to how and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy. there is often a long period of time before a ruling in a court case is actually implemented(eg, desegregation cases)

Answer 17

JUDICIAL IMPLEMENTATTION

Question 18

Due to the unrepresentative nature of judges in this country, many scholars favor ____________, urging judges to adhere closely to precedent and to play a minimal policy making role, leaving policy making decisions to the legislative. Because federal judges are not eleceted they the least qualified to make policy

Answer 18

Judicial restraint

Question 19

__________On the other hand adovacate Bold policy making decisions by judges claiming that the judiciary can alleviate pressing needs more quickly than the legislative which is a much longer process.

Answer 19

Judicial Activism

Question 20

Courts try and avoid deciding________. which are cases that involve conflicts between the president and congress

Answer 20

Political questions