Ch. 15: The Federal Courts – Flashcards
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Common law is___
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the accumulation of judicial decisions about legal issues.
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Which of the following must confirm all federal judges?
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Senate
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The____ Act of 1789 established the three-tiered structure of the federal court system.
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Judiciary
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How many justices currently serve on the Supreme Court?
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9
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In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court first claim the right of judicial review?
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Marbury v. Madison
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Presidents have failed ______ % of the time to appoint the nominees of their choice to the Supreme Court.
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20
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The Supreme Court hears cases from state courts only if they involve ______ law.
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Federal
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A writ of ______ is a request submitted to the US Supreme Court to review a lower court decision.
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Certiorari
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For a case to be heard in the Supreme Court, a minimum of how many justices must vote to hear the case?
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4
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What is known as a statement of the legal reasoning behind a decision for a case heard by the Supreme Court?
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Opinion
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Who is in charge of the appellate court litigation of the federal government?
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Solicitor General
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Which type of case concerns the violation of the legal rights of one individual toward another?
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Civil
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Which of the following is a way that interest groups attempt to influence the Supreme Court's decisions?
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Filing amicus curia briefs
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What type of law is based on the accumulation of judicial decisions about legal issues?
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Common
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Which of the following represents the federal government in the Supreme Court?
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Solicitor General
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Which of the following nominates US federal judges?
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President
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According to Figure 15.1, Organization of the Federal Court System, which court hears appeals from the legislative courts?
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US Supreme Court
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Which of the following is the authority vested in a particular court to hear and decide the issues in a particular case?
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Jurisdiction
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What is the name given to the power of the courts to interpret, and overturn, the actions of the executive and legislative branches?
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Judicial Review
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Which of the following brings the case before the court in a civil case?
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Plaintiff
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Federal judges are appointed to _____ terms.
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life
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The authority to be the first court to hear a case is which type of jurisdiction?
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Original
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A(n) _____ brief is submitted by someone who is not a party to the case.
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Amicus curiae
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Only a(n) _______ court can review the decisions of a lower court.
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Appellate
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What type of standing to sue permits a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people in similar circumstances?
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Class action
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Which of the following is the ruling in which of the following cases truck down state-mandated segregation in public schools?
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Brown v. Board of Education
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Which of the following is an opinion written by a justice in the majority that outlines additional considerations he or she thinks are important?
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Concurring
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Who attempted to expand the number of Supreme Court justices in 1937?
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President Roosevelt
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Proponents of which of the following believe that judges should use their power broadly to further justice?
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Judicial activism
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In which courts are the vast majority of all cases tried?
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State
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In which federal courts are trials conducted?
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District
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In 1987, the Senate refused to confirm the nomination of which of the following to the Supreme Court?
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Robert Bork
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Justices on the Supreme Court provide a statement of the legal reasoning behind their decisions in written _________.
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Opinions
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How and whether judicial decisions are translated into actual policy is known as which of the following?
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Judicial implementation
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Which Court was one of the most active in shaping public policy in the twentieth century?
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Warren
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Which of the following must plaintiffs have in order to sustain a lawsuit in court?
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Standing
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What are the two types of jurisdiction courts can have?
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Original and appellate
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Which of the following in within the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?
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Controversies between the states
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Which chief justice established the power of judicial review?
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John Marshall
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According to Marbury v. Madison, which clause implies the power of judicial review?
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Supremacy
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At President Roosevelt's urging, Congress passed dozens of laws designed to end the Depression. Why did the Supreme Court begin to dismantle New Deal policies?
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Federal intervention in the economy was interpreted as unconstitutional
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The Court of Military Appeals in an example of which type of court?
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Legislative
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Where is the entry point for most litigation in the federal courts?
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US District Court
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How many district court are in the federal system?
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91
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In court rulings, reliance on past decisions to formulate decisions in new cases is known as which of the following?
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Stare decisis
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In a process known as _____, presidents generally allow senators from the state in which a judicial vacancy occurs to block the nomination.
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Senatorial courtesy
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As of 2012, how many African Americans have served on the US Supreme Court?
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2
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Which of the following has the most control over the cases it hears?
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US Supreme Court
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When the US Supreme Court agrees to hear a case appealed to it from a circuit court, it is exercising its _______ jurisdiction.
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appellate
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According to the principle of _______, a court should not overturn precedent unless it is absolutely necessary.
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stare decisis
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What type of law governs relationships between individuals and defines their legal rights?
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Civil
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How might a presidential nominee to the Supreme Court have trouble being confirmed?
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When a president's party affiliation is in the minority in the Senate
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All federal judicial nominations are first referred to which of the following for a hearing?
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Senate Judiciary Committee
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If a judge believes that she should only strike down laws that clearly violate the Constitution, she likely believes in which of the following?
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Judicial restraint
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The conference of the US Supreme Court is _______.
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Limited to the justices themselves
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Who would provide the government's opinion on whether to accept a case?
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Solicitor general
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Which of the following limits judicial power?
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Stare decisis/precedent
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A court that hears and weighs evidence in order to reach the first decision in a civil or criminal case is a court of ________ jurisdiction.
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Original
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Which justice appeared to play politics by timing retirement in 2009 so that Barack Obama rather than George W. Bush would name a new justice?
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David Souter
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According to Table 15.1, Sources of Full Opinions in the Supreme Court, 2010-2011, which of the following is most likely to be heard by the US Supreme Court?
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A civil appeal from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
