Chapter 15 Judicial Branch

Question 1

Who leads the Judicial Branch?

Answer 1

The Supreme Court

Question 2

What is the “Rule of Law”?

Answer 2

all are equal before the law and none are immune from it (establishes fairness)

Question 3

What are the two types of law?

Answer 3

Criminal and Civil

Question 4

What is Criminal Law?

Answer 4

The branch of law that regulates the conduct of individuals, defines crimes, and specifies punishments for criminal acts.

Question 5

What is Civil Law?

Answer 5

The branch of law that deals with disputes that do not involve criminal penalties.

Question 6

What is Stare Decisis?

Answer 6

“Let the decision stand”. It establishes Precedent

Question 7

What is Precedent?

Answer 7

Previous decisions from prior cases that are used to understand how a law is applied. Courts rarely overturn precedent.

Question 8

What are the two court systems in the US?

Answer 8

The state system and the federal system

Question 9

What is the hierarchy of the State courts?

Answer 9

At the bottom, it is the Trial Court, then the Court of Appeals, and finally the state supreme court

Question 10

What is the hierarchy of the Federal Courts?

Answer 10

At the bottom, it is the US Federal District Courts, then the US Court of Appeals, and then the Supreme Court of the United States

Question 11

Which Court supersedes all courts in the country?

Answer 11

The Supreme Court of the United States

Question 12

What type of law do State Courts hear?

Answer 12

State issues and state laws

Question 13

What type of law do Federal Courts hear?

Answer 13

Federal issues and federal laws

Question 14

Which Court hears the most cases, Trial or Appeals Courts?

Answer 14

Trial, they are the bottom

Question 15

What is the purpose of the Appellate Courts?

Answer 15

To examine whether a law has been correctly applied to a court case

Question 16

What is the Supreme Court?

Answer 16

“The Court of Last Resort”. Has final interpretation over the Constitution and statutory law, be it state or federal. No state constitution can run contrary to the federal constitution. Remember, the Supreme Court is an appellate court.

Question 17

What’s a Jurisdiction?

Answer 17

Where a court has authority/power.

Question 18

What kind of cases do Federal Courts hear?

Answer 18

Cases between states, Ambassadors, Federal law, U.S. Constitution.

Question 19

What is Habeas Corpus?

Answer 19

Rights of a prisoner. A prisoner can appeal for a writ of habeas corpus to a court, claiming a violation of rights. For a federal court to intervene in a state case, the prisoner must argue that a federal right has been violated.

Question 20

What is Original Jurisdiction?

Answer 20

Typically, for the Trial Court. They hear a case for the first time since they are at the bottom.

Question 21

What is Appellate Jurisdiction?

Answer 21

The power to hear appeals from lower courts

Question 22

Who appoints Judges for Federal Courts?

Answer 22

The President, and then Congress confirms the appointment

Question 23

What is the other name for a judge on the US Supreme Court?

Answer 23

A Justice

Question 24

How many Justices are on the Supreme Court of the United States?

Answer 24

9

Question 25

What is the hierarchy of Supreme Court Justices?

Answer 25

Chief Justice, overseeing the other eight justices, but they are mostly equal.

Question 26

What determines the hierarchy of the Supreme Court justices?

Answer 26

Seniority, normally the justice who has been there the longest gets to be the Chief Justice. (Also, the most junior justice must answer the door when papers or food comes in.)

Question 27

What is Senatorial Courtesy?

Answer 27

Senators from the president’s party suggest nominees for district courts in their state when an opening appears. The President chooses from the list, then the Senate confirms.

Question 28

What is the main power of the Supreme Court?

Answer 28

Judicial Review

Question 29

What is Judicial Review?

Answer 29

Power to rule on the constitutionality of federal and state laws. To see if a law passed by Congress goes against the Constitution

Question 30

What is the Supremacy Clause?

Answer 30

In the Constitution, there is a clause that says all laws and actions must conform with the Constitution.

Question 31

What is Common Law?

Answer 31

Law that doesn’t come from the Legislative branch. These come from judges that fill in the void left by the law passed by Congress at both the federal and state levels

Question 32

What is the Writ of Certiorari?

Answer 32

Orders from an appellate (higher) court to a lower court to deliver its record in a case so that the higher court may review it. The U.S. Supreme Court uses certiorari to pick most of the cases that it hears.

Question 33

What is the Solicitor General?

Answer 33

The attorney that argues a case to the Supreme Court.

Question 34

What is Amicus Curie?

Answer 34

“Friend of the Court”. They are not directly related to the case at hand, but do provide insight to those involved using things like facts and statistics.

Question 35

What are the limits of the Supreme Court?

Answer 35

They cannot enforce the other branches to obey their rulings.