Chapter 1
What is the code of Hammurabi
eye for an eye philosophy
Article III of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the task of:
creating courts, assigning the number of judgeships, setting judicial salaries, and confirming judges
What court is the federal trial courts? aka Workhorse
Who appoints STATE judges in America?
Governor
What is unification?
Simplifying state court structures
To be a court of law, the court must:
1. have proper legal authority, 2be in the judicial branch, and 3 be empowered to make decisions that are legally binding
Who has the final say on all jurisdictional matters in America?
U.S. Supreme Court
How many districts in federal Court?
94
A Nebraska criminal case that is not satisfactorily resolved at the _______ level may be brought before the State Supreme Court.
appeals
When did defense lawyers start to come around?
1730s
What is the main emphasis of civil court
What happened in Judge Gossett's courtroom with MADD?
MADD was able to influence Judge Gossett to be tougher on DUI sentencing.
Describe James Madison's Virginia plan
proposed a government with three branches, president and vice president, legislature was to consist of one house, and the judiciary was to consist of Supreme court and lower federal courts.
What city had over 556 separate courts in 1931?
Chicago
What is the oldest presumption?
Presumption of innocence.
What is the formal practice of adhering to precedent?
Stare Decisis
Do judges mostly follow the rules?
yes.
What does the U.S. Court of Appeals do?
screen cases for the U.S. Supreme Court, look for constitutional errors made by lower courts.
Which states have 2 supreme courts?
Texas and Oklahoma
When did the U.S. Constitution go into effect?
6/21/1788
The dual court system consists of:
federal and state
What percentage of lawyers are men and women?
men 58%, women 41%
What is the rule of 4?
four of the nine U.S. Supreme court judges must agree on what will be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court
What crimes have the highest conviction rate?
Drugs and property crimes.
What is a writ of certiorari?
This is issued when 4 of the 9 supreme court justices determine a case needs to be heard.