Ch 2. Courts and Court Systems Flashcards
Lawsuits are driven by ___. In the absence of it, even the most meritorious of cases cannot be pursued. (22)
evidence
___ is tangible evidence that can be brought into court and examined. it is also referred to as demonstrative evidence. (22)
Real evidence
___ is evidence that comes into court through the testimony of a live witness. (22)
Testimonial evidence
___ is evidence that proves a fact, without the necessity for an inference or presumption. Generally comes from the testimony of a witness who has firsthand knowledge of an event or fact through their own sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. (22)
Direct evidence
The testimony of a witness who personally observed a person lighting a fire would be an example of ___. (22)
direct evidence
___ is evidence that requires someone to infer, deduce, or presume something from the direct evidence that is presented. (22)
Circumstantial evidence
Testimony that the defendant entered a vacant house at 10pm with a fluid container in his hand, left the house at 1005pm without the container, and at 1010pm the house was observed to be on fire would be an example of ___. (22)
Circumstantial evidence
For evidence to be admissible in court, it must be __3__. (22)
1) relevant
2) probative
3) competent
4 parts to a civil lawsuit: (23)
1) the pleadings phase
2) the discovery phase
3) the trial
4) the appeal
___ is a series of allegations by the plaintiff that the defendant did certain things which somehow injured or damaged the plaintiff, and that constitute a claim upon which the court should take action. It must also contain a specific request that the plaintiff is seeking the court to order. (23)
The complaint
The complaint and the answer make up what is known as the ____ of the case. (23)
pleadings
The action of serving a party to a lawsuit with the summons and complaint is called ___. (23)
service of process
The ___ serves as official notice to the defendant of the existence of the lawsuit and requires them to answer the complaint within a designated time period or lose the case on a default. (23)
summons
The ___ phase of a lawsuit is most commonly the longest phase; it is the opportunity for each side to learn about the evidence and witnesses that the other side has. (24)
discovery
Maximum of 30 written question, required to be answered under oath, and used as an inexpensive discovery tool to gather basic information relevant to the case. (24)
Interrogatories
A ___ is a procedure by which a party to a lawsuit may compel another party or a witness to appear to answer questions under oath; the take place at an attorney’s office or in a neutral location, but not in court.
deposition
A request to decide the case prior to trial is termed a ___. (25)
motion for summary judgment
The role of ___ is to oversee the progress of the case through the pleadings, discovery, and trial phases, and in the process make a ruling on questions of law. (26)
the judge
Ruling on ___ refers to the interpretation of law and the application of legal principles to the issue in the case. (26)
questions of law
The party seeking to prove their case must affirmatively establish the facts to certain degree in order to prevail, this is called ___. (27)
burden of proof
[in civil law], the ___ in the case generally has the burden of proof. (27)
plaintiff
In a criminal case, the burden of proof is ___. This heightened burden of proof is considered to be an important safeguard wrongful criminal convictions. (27)
beyond a reasonable doubt
The burden of proof is always on the ___ in a criminal case. (27)
prosecution
When a jury has decided a case based upon the facts, we say the case has been ___. (29)
decided upon its merits
Should a judge dismiss a case or grant summary judgment prior to the case reaching the jury, we say the case ___. (29)
never reached its merits
In federal court, the right to a jury trial in a civil case attaches if the amount in controversy exceeds ___. (30)
$20
The purpose of ___ is to ensure that the rulings of law made by the trial judge and the procedure used in conducting the trial were proper. (31)
an appeal
There is no appeal of a decision of fact made by a jury. Only ___ can be appealed. (31)
questions of law
Typical appellate-level courts consist of between __ and __ judges. (31)
3 and 9
Because the focus of an appeal is on questions of law, there is no need for ___ on appeals. (31)
a jury
A state’s ___ is the supreme authority on matters of state law. (32)
highest appellate court
___ is latin for “let the decision stand.” Adhering to this principle allows court decisions to set precedent on a given matter. (34)
Stare decisis
Stare decisis only applies to what courts? (34)
courts in the same jurisdiction that are at the same or lower rank as the court rendering the original decision.
___ is the final interpreter of the US Constitution. All courts must apply stare decisis to decisions of the supreme court on matters related to the US Constitution. (34)
The US Supreme Court
After our formal education is over, a great deal of what we learn comes from ___. (37)
the media
If you hear something in the law that doesn’t make sense, then you don’t have ___. (37)
all the information
___ are books that contain summaries of cases organized by topic. (39)
Digests
___ are books that are intended to help a legal practitioner advise and represent a client; they are focused on certain areas of the law. (39)
Practice books
Lawyers try to characterize an issue in a case in such a way that a common sense answer will favor their case. This is called ___. (40)
framing the issue
At trial, ___ make decisions on questions of law, and ___ make decisions on questions of fact. (41)
judges; juries
Appellate courts establish precedent when deciding cases that come before them by virtue of ___. (41)
stare decisis
Only questions of ___ can be appealed. (41)
law
