Ch. 3 American Legal Systems & Procedures

Question 1

The American legal system focuses on both ________ law and ______ law.

Answer 1

criminal and civil

Question 2

_______ law constitutes law that addresses crimes and punishment of crimes, and this _________ the behavior of individuals to ensure behavior is consistent with society’s conception of socially and _______ appropriate behavior.

Answer 2

criminal; regulates; morally

Question 3

Criminal laws represent crimes against the ______.

Answer 3

state

Question 4

_______ law represents law that regulates the relationships between parties.

Answer 4

civil

Question 5

Both the federal and state court system have 3 levels of courts - name them.

Answer 5

1. trial court
2. an appeals or appelate court
3. Supreme Court

Question 6

The federal trial court is referred to as the ________ _________ court. There are 94 district courts through the US and at least _____ in every state.

Answer 6

federal district; one

Question 7

If a party appeals the district court’s decision, she can bring a case in the ________ court, known as the Federal District Court of __________ . The party is allowed the first appeal as a matter of ______. There are ____ federal appeals courts that each cover several district courts in a geographic area.

Answer 7

appeals; appeals; right; 12

Question 8

If a party wishes to appeal the decision of the federal circuit court (appeals court), she may seek to bring a case to the _________ court. The court has the __________ to determine if it will review decisions on appeal.

Answer 8

Supreme; discretion

Question 9

To bring an appeal to the Supreme court, a party must petition the Court for a ____ of ___________. It will be granted if ____ of the 9 justices agree to hear the case. The court only grants petitions for compelling reasons. If they hear a case and render a decision, the decision is ______.

Answer 9

writ of certiorari; 4; final

Question 10

There are specialized federal courts that hear issues on things such as:

Answer 10

1. federal tax courts

2. federal bankruptcy courts

Question 11

States have specialized courts such as:

Answer 11

1. family court
2. probate court
3. small claims court

Question 12

A trial court is a court of ____________ jurisdiction, meaning it is the first court to consider an action.

Answer 12

original

Question 13

An appeals court only has ___________ jurisdiction, meaning the power to review decisions of the ______ court.

Answer 13

appellate; lower

Question 14

_________ jurisdiction is limited to reviewing, affirming, revising, or modifying decisions of the lower courts.

Answer 14

appellate

Question 15

T/F The appeals courts do/ do not conduct trials

Answer 15

Do NOT

Question 16

Appellate courts only reverse or set aside the lower court’s decision if it reflects a clear _______ or discretion.

Answer 16

abuse

Question 17

On issues involving interpretation of law, _________ courts do not defer to the ______ court, and will reverse such decisions when they reflect an improper or unconstitutional application of the law.

Answer 17

appellate; lower

Question 18

________ means that the appellate court will send the case back to the lower court for a new trial so that the lower court can take other actions consistent with the appellate court’s findings. Alternatively, the appellate court can ________ or set aside a previous decision.

Answer 18

remand; reverse

Question 19

A ________ court also has appellate jurisdiction but is limited to reviewed the decision of the _________ court.

Answer 19

Supreme; appellate

Question 20

The Constitution grants the ________ court original jurisdiction to hear certain cases including:

a. between __ or _____ _________
b. between the federal gov’t and state
c. involving officials of foreign countries
d. by a state against citizens of another state or country.

Answer 20

Supreme; between 2 or more states

Question 21

When the Supreme courts reviews decision, they give __________ to decision of fact and only overturn such decisions if they are clearly __________.

Answer 21

deference; erroneous

Question 22

A supreme courts review of decisions involving interpretations of legal rules is __ _____, meaning it is entirely new and does not defer to the lower court’s judgement.

Answer 22

de novo

Question 23

The Federal Rules of ______ _________ (aka Federal Rules) govern the procedures for filing a civil suit in ________ court. States have adopted their own rules of procedures but are generally ________ to federal rules.

Answer 23

Civil Procedures; federal; parallel

Question 24

Any party bringing suit must have _________, which is the legal right to bring the suit. This refers to the notion that the person who brings suit must have or imminently have a legally recognized injury, sometimes referred to as an _______-__-____.

Answer 24

standing; injury-in-fact

Question 25

_______ is the person who brings the suit and the person being sued is called the _________.

Answer 25

plaintiff; defendant

Question 26

The documents parties file in connection with their lawsuit are called ___________.

Answer 26

pleadings

Question 27

The plaintiff files a __________ with the trial court setting forth the basis of her lawsuit. The court will isess a copy to the ____________ and a summons.

Answer 27

complaint; defendant

Question 28

The defendant must respond to the complaint, called an _______ to the complaint. It must ______ or _____ the allegations within the complaint.

Answer 28

answer; admit or deny

Question 29

The defendant may also raise defenses that would prevent the plaintiff from holding the defendant liable called an _____________ defense.

Answer 29

affirmative

Question 30

The defendant can also raise a _______________, which are claims that the defendant has against the plaintiff.

Answer 30

counterclaim

Question 31

The defendant can also file a ______, which represents a request for the court to take some action.

Answer 31

Motion

Question 32

The defendant may file a ___________, which represents a motion to dismiss the case because the plaintiff’s complaint does not establish a legal basis for any remedy against the defendant.

Answer 32

demurrer

Question 33

Under rule 12B, a defendant can make a motion to dismiss based on 6 things:
Lack of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Lack of \_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Lack of \_\_\_\_\_\_
Lack of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Lack of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Failure to \_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Answer 33

1. lack of subject matter jurisdiction
2. lack of person jurisdiction
3. lack of venue
4. failure to join necessary parties
5. lack of process
6. lack of service of process

Question 34

Each of the motions, other than the motion of lack of _______ _______ ___________, must be made at the ______ available opportunity or they will be deemed waived.

Answer 34

subject matter jurisdiction; first

Question 35

Other motions include a motion to ______ meaning to take out certain matters or a motion for a more definitive _________ when the pleadings are _____ or ambiguous.

Answer 35

strike; statements; vague

Question 36

At any point, either party can for a motion for _______ judgement, where the judge can grant upon finding that there is no genuine issues of material fact and as a result, one party is entitled to prevail in the case as a matter of law.

Answer 36

summary

Question 37

If a case is not dismissed, it will proceed to _____. Before that begins, the parties have a right to _________, which is the ability to gain information concerning the other party and her witnesses.

Answer 37

trial; discovery

Question 38

Most civil cases are tried before a ____, also called a _____ ____.

Answer 38

jury; petit jury

Question 39

In federal court, there are ___ members of a petit jury. The petit jury will deliver a _______, deciding whether the defendant should be held liable for the complained action.

Answer 39

12; verdict

Question 40

At trail, the ________ has the obligation to establish their claims first, called the _______ of _____.

Answer 40

plaintiff; burden of proof

Question 41

After the plaintiff presents their case, the defendant can file a motion for ________ or a motion for a ________ verdict, which constitutes a motion claiming that the plaintiff has not established enough evidence to prove the case.

Answer 41

dismissal; directed

Question 42

If motions are not granted the __________ must present evidence to defend the plaintiff’s claims. Afterwards, the petit jury goes to ___________ where they will decide the outcome of the case.

Answer 42

defendant; deliberation

Question 43

The just must decide if the plaintiff proved her case by _______________ of the evidence, meaning the evidence favored the plaintiff’s allegations over the evidence presented against them.

Answer 43

preponderance of the evidence

Question 44

The verdict generally must be ___________. If the they don’t reach consensus, it’s referred to as a ____ _____, and the parties will need a new trial with a different jury.

Answer 44

unanimous; hung jury

Question 45

Once the verdict is out, the losing party can make several post-trial motions, including a motion for a ___ ______, or a motion for a __________ ________________ the verdict (aka judgement nov, that requires the court to find that the evidence does not support the jury’s verdict. This can overturn the jury’s verdict.

Answer 45

new trial; judgement notwithstanding

Question 46

The losing party has the right to _______ the decisions, this party is known as the _________. The other party is referred to as _________ or __________.

Answer 46

appeal; appellant; appellee or respondent

Question 47

The appeals court reviews the trial record and in some instances allows parties to provide their arguments, called ____ arguments. The court then delivers its _______.

Answer 47

oral; opinion

Question 48

If the appellant loses the appeal, they can seek another appeal to the _________ court. These are ____________ and generally only granted in cases with broad legal or policy implications.

Answer 48

supreme; discretionary

Question 49

If the appellants appeal is denied or the time for bringing an appeal has _________, the judgement becomes final, referred to as ___ _______ and prevents the parties from re-litigating the same action.

Answer 49

expired; res judicata

Question 50

True/False In criminal matters there is no plaintiff, instead the prosecution brings a case against the defendant.

Answer 50

True

Question 51

Before going to trial the prosecution must present an ____________ which are written charges against the defendant to a ______ jury.

Answer 51

indictment; grand

Question 52

The grand jury is a group of ___ to ___ jurors who decide whether there is sufficient evidence to charge the defendant with a crime.

Answer 52

16-24

Question 53

The Constitution guarantees additional rights in a criminal trial such as the right to a ______ trial, the right to trial by ____ for serious offenses, as well as the right to counsel.

Answer 53

speedy; jury

Question 54

For a defendant to be found guilty, the petit jury must find the prosecution to have established the defendant’s guilt beyond a _____________ _____.

Answer 54

reasonable doubt

Question 55

If the defendant is found guilty, they can challenge the conviction by making _______. After they have had the opportunity to appeal or the time as expired, they may be eligible to apply for a _____ of ______ ______, which represents the defendant’s request for a new proceeding to determine if she is being unlawfully deprived of her liberty.

Answer 55

appeals; writ of habeas corpus

Question 56

Habeas Corpus is limited to people in _________. It also can only be used after other remedies have been exhausted.

Answer 56

custody

Question 57

In order for a court to hear a case, it must have two types of jurisdiction:
______ ______ jurisdiction
__________ jurisdiction

Answer 57

subject matter jurisdiction

personal jurisdiction

Question 58

_______ ________ jurisdiction constitutes the power to decide the type of case at issue. ________ courts do not have broad subject matter jurisdiction because they can only hear particular types of cases, and are know as courts of ________ jurisdiction.

Answer 58

subject matter jurisdiction; federal; limited

Question 59

Federal courts subject matter jurisdiction results from either ________ jurisdiction or ________ ________ jurisdiction.

Answer 59

diversity; federal question

Question 60

________ ________ jurisdiction refers to the courts’ power to hear cases arising under the Constitution, federal laws, or US treatises. These are exclusive and cases involving such questions may be brought in federal court only.

Answer 60

federal question

Question 61

_________ jurisdiction refers to the courts’ ability to hear cases where the parties are “diverse”, meaning the _________ parties are citizens from different states or one of the parties is a citizen of a foreign country, and the amount in controversy exceeds ____.

Answer 61

diversity; opposing; $75k.

Question 62

Diversity jurisdiction is not exclusive, meaning _____ courts also may hear such cases.

Answer 62

state

Question 63

_____ courts have broad subject matter jurisdiction, they can hear any case not exclusively reserved for federal courts, and thus the state courts are courts of _________ jurisdiction.

Answer 63

State; general

Question 64

_________ jurisdiction constitutes the power over the particular parties in a case. When a plaintiff brings case in a given court, the plaintiff has ________ such court personal jurisdiction over him.

Answer 64

personal; granted

Question 65

Personal jurisdiction only poses a concern for a _________. Personal jurisdiction over a defendant can be established in one of the following ways:

a. a defendant’s _______ presence in a state is sufficient to allow courts within the state to exercise personal jurisdiction over them.
b. A person can be subject to personal jurisdiction in her state of permanent residence knows as ________.
c. A person can consent to personal jurisdiction __________ by appearing in court or agreeing to a court’s exercise of jurisdiction.
d. if a person has minimum contacts within a state, even if they never entered the state.

Answer 65

defendant; physical; domicile; voluntarily

Question 66

Many states have _____-___ statutes that allow them to exercise personal jurisdiction over defendants having sufficient minimum contacts with their state. This type of jurisdiction is referred to as ___-__ jurisdiction.

Answer 66

long-arm statutes; long-arm jurisdiction.

Question 67

Even if a court has both personal jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction, the plaintiff’s lawsuit must be brought in a court that has proper _____, which represents a geographic limitation on such courts’ jurisdiction by limiting the courts in which a plaintiff may bring her suit to courts in the geographic area in which they _____ or where the events occurred.

Answer 67

venue; reside