Government exam 3 chapter 9 – Flashcards

local trial courts with limited jurisdiction over violations of city ordinances and very minor criminal misdemeanors have been created by the legislature in each of the incorporated cities of the state. There are 926 cities and towns in Texas that have these courts; larger cities have multiple courts. There are 1,559 municipal court judges in the state. Municipal courts have jurisdiction over violations of city ordinances and, con-current with justice of the peace courts, have jurisdiction over class C misdemeanors, for which the punishment for conviction is a fine.

Municipal judges may issue search and arrest warrants, but they have only limited civil jurisdiction. 8 Municipal courts, like justice of the peace courts, function primarily as traffic courts. In 2012 municipal courts disposed of slightly more than 6 million cases. About 4.94 million of these cases were traffic and parking cases. 9 Great controversy has erupted in the city of Dallas, where the city council has demanded that municipal judges—there are 11 full-time and 18 part-time mu-nicipal judges in Dallas—get ____with offenders or lose their judicial appoint-ments. In particular, city officials have claimed that the judges give too many trial postponements, set fines too low, and don't hold accused violators accountable for ignoring citations.

Herasimchuk's problems getting elected certainly had nothing to do with her credentials. She has been a Harris County prosecutor, a criminal defense lawyer, an adviser to then-governor Bush, and a law school lecturer. When she successfully ran in 2002, she did so under her maiden name—Cathy Cochran. Some have claimed that a Latino name will hurt candidates in Republican primaries. In reference to judicial races, for example, Justice David Medina was defeated by John Devine in the 2012 Republican runoff primary for the Texas Supreme Court, and in 2002 Justice Xavier Rodriguez was defeated in the Repub-lican primary for the Texas Supreme Court by Steve Smith. However, the victory of Ted Cruz over David Dewhurst in the 2012 Republican runoff primary for U.S. senator from Texas suggests that the assertion that there is ethnic bias in Republican primary voting may be overblown.

local trial courts with limited jurisdiction over small claims and very minor criminal misdemeanors Each county in Texas has between one and eight justice of the peace precincts, de-pending on population, although large urban counties have more than one judge in each precinct. Harris County, for example, has two in each of eight precincts. Within each precinct they have these

There are ___ justice of the peace courts in Texas. These courts hear class C misdemeanors, which are less serious crimes. They also have jurisdiction over minor civil matters. In the past the courts functioned as small claims courts. Unfortunately, the courts used formal rules of evidence which gave a great advantage to parties represented by lawyers.

Criminal misdemeanors punishable by fines only. Exclusive jurisdiction over municipal ordinance violations (fines up to $2,000). Limited civil penalties in cases involving dangerous dogs. Magistrate functions.

(Established in precincts within each county) Civil actions under $10,000. Small claims. Criminal misdemeanors punishable by fines only.Magistrate functions.

(819 Courts, 819 Judges)

(920 Cities, 1,531 Judges) Jurisdiction

is the oldest state agency in Texas. Historically the land commissioner gave away land. Today, is the land manager for most publicly owned lands in Texas. Texas owns or has mineral interest in 13 million acres of land in the state, plus all submerged lands up to 10.35 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. All but 28 of Texas's 254 counties have some of these public lands. also awards grazing and oil and gas exploration rights on this land. Thousands of producing oil and gas wells are found on state-owned land and are managed by the GLO. also manages the Veterans' Land Program, through which the state makes low-cost loans to Texas veterans.

Even ____ who try to make a serious effort to learn about judicial candidates can have a hard time. In Houston, for example, voters are faced with ballots loaded with so many judicial candidates that it becomes nearly impossible to be an in-formed voter. In 1994 one of the most extreme examples of a long judicial ballot occurred in Harris County, where voters were faced with __ judicial elections that were primary elections and then 8 runoff primary elections. In the general elec-tion, there were 59 contested judicial elections and 16 more elections where the judicial candidate was unopposed. In 2010, Harris County voters cast ballots in 10 contested appellate court races and 36 contested district court races. In 2012, Harris County voters faced a ballot with 11 contested appellate races and 23 contested district court races.

voters often know little about judicial candidates. As a result, they vote not for the best-qualified person to be a judge, but for the ____ ____. As the Republican Party has become increasingly dominant in statewide races, it is the Republican label, rather than the qualifications or ex-perience of judicial candidates, that has determined the outcome of judicial races. Related to the importance of party label in judicial races is the effect of top-of-the-ticket voting.

Different interpretations have been offered for the low numbers of minorities on the bench. The lack of racial and _____ _____on the bench is a nationwide problem. Ninety-two percent of the state judges in the nation are white. Civil rights groups in several states with elective judiciaries, including Texas, have argued that white voters dominate countywide and larger districts and will vote against minority judicial candidates. Civil rights organizations representing Latinos and African Americans have argued that for minorities to get elected to office, there must be smaller judicial districts where minority voters make up the majority

Another system for selecting judges is ________ election. Such a system for selecting judges in Texas would eliminate much of the partisan politics, but at the same time, it would make it more difficult for candidates to reach voters. This is because in a truly nonpartisan election, judicial candidates would have to run for office without the benefit of political parties. In some states that have ostensibly nonpartisan elections, such as Ohio, the parties continue to take an active role to the point that it is difficult to distinguish that type of nonpartisan system from a partisan election system. If Texas instituted a truly nonpartisan system, however, candidates would require even more campaign money to reach voters they could no longer reach through the mechanisms of the political parties.

Most commonly, however, judicial reformers argue for a system of judicial selec-tion that is commonly called a judicial reform under which judges would be nominated by a blue-ribbon committee, would be appointed by the governor, and, after a brief period in office, would run in a retention election incumbents almost always wins

Under this system, the governor would appoint a judge with confirmation by two-thirds of the state Senate. The governor- appointed nominee would not assume office until confirmed by the Senate, which would meet year-round for the purpose of dealing with judicial confirmations. In the first election thereafter, the judge would run in a contested nonpartisan election and subsequently in retention elections. This is, of course, a hybrid plan that encompasses aspects of gubernatorial appointment, nonpartisan election, and merit selection.

Another reform plan would have ______ ____ filled by gubernatorial appointment with senatorial confirmation. The appellate judges would then run in nonpartisan elections followed by retention elections. In Dallas, Tarrant, and Bexar counties, district court judges would be elected from county commissioner pre-cincts rather than from one district encompassing the entire county. Additionally, in Harris County, district judges would be elected from smaller geographic regions than county commissioner precincts. Supporters of this plan tend to believe that it would increase the number of minority judges, especially trial court judges in urban areas.

Texas Supreme Court may raise in the neighborhood of $____________ for a campaign, whereas a strong candidate for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals may raise $__________

However, in general, Texas voters do not give much money to judicial campaigns. Instead, it is _______, interest groups, and potential litigants who tend to be donors in judicial races.

When races are contested between Democratic and Republican candidates, a candidate can raise well over ______. However, hard-fought races are now rare as these statewide elections have moved into the Republican column. By 2012 the ___________ candidate against Republican incumbent Nathan Hecht could only raise a little less than $76,000. Any real battle for a position on the Texas Supreme Court is now in the Republican primary.

Sensing the growth of Republican strength, a number of Democratic judges changed to a Republican Party affiliation. From 1980 through July 24, 1985, 13 district and appellate judges changed from the Democratic to the Republican Party; 11 county court judges switched; and 5 justices of the peace changed parties.

One big difference in the campaigns of civil court judges versus criminal court judges is the amount of _____ involved. The result is that a strong candidate for the Texas Supreme Court may raise in the neighborhood of $1,000,000 for a campaign, whereas a strong candidate for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals may raise $100,000. However, as Texas has become predomi-nantly Republican at the statewide level, hard-fought contests between Democrats and Republicans for the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals have become ____

Judicial candidates needed money because judicial races tend to have low- visibility campaigns in which voters are unaware of the candidates. The races tend to be overshadowed by higher-visibility races, such as the race for ________ or U.S. senator.

As the Republican Party has become increasingly dominant in statewide races, it is the _____ _____, rather than the qualifications or ex-perience of judicial candidates, that has determined the outcome of judicial races.

a judicial reform that places limits on judicial campaign contributions

Due to the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act, For example, statewide judicial candidates limit themselves to contributions of no more than $5,000 from any individual in any election. Additionally, statewide candidates can receive no more than $________ per election from any law firm.

For many, the role of money in judicial campaigns is the most troubling issue in Texas judicial politics. As long as judges are elected, however, money will be __________ to run judicial campaigns, and where elections are competitive, a great deal of campaign money will be needed.

Texas elects its judges in _____ judicial elections. For many years, when the Democratic Party was dominant, Texas judicial elections were staid, low-budget, noncompetitive events. However, with the growth of the Republican Party, judicial elections became highly political, and large amounts of money have been raised for judicial candidates, especially in Texas ______ _____races.

Often these judicial races pitted business interests against candidates backed by the plaintiffs' bar because the Texas Supreme Court sets the tone of tort law in the state. These elections have calmed down in recent years as the Democratic Party has weakened and, at least in statewide races, judicial elections have become _____ competitive.

Regional Jurisdiction the 14 intermediate-level appellate courts that hear appeals from district and county courts to determine whether the decisions of these lower courts followed legal principles and court procedures

Usually, before the Supreme Court or the Court of Criminal Appeals hears a case, the initial appeal has been heard by one of the The requirements for a court of appeal justice are the same as those for justices of the higher courts. Courts of appeal justices are paid $137,500 a year and the chief justice of each of the courts of appeal receives an additional $2,500.

Statewide Jurisdiction is the highest appeals court in the state for criminal cases. This court also has nine judges, including a presiding judge. The pay, terms, and qualifications of Court of Criminal Appeals judges are the same as for the Texas Supreme Court. Perhaps the most important task of the Court of Criminal Appeals is its jurisdiction over automatic appeals in death penalty cases. have _________ jurisdiction. This means that they have the authority to review the decisions of lower courts to determine whether legal principles and court procedures were followed correctly. This authority also provides the power to order that a case be retried if mistakes were made.

Texas has __ other appellate courts, located in various parts of the state, which have both criminal and civil jurisdiction. These courts are inter-mediate appellate courts and hear appeals from the trial courts.

the person in each of Texas's 254 counties who presides over the county court and the county commissioners' court, with responsibility for the administration of county government; some county judges carry out judicial responsibilities

The governing body of each of Texas' 254 counties is the _________ ______. In Texas, the court has five members: the county judge, and four commissioners.

Commissioners court courts that tend to hear less serious cases than those heard by district courts Since the county courts at law were created by statute, often at widely different times, the jurisdiction of these courts varies significantly. Usually, the county courts at law hear appeals from justices of the peace and from municipal courts. In civil cases, they usually hear cases involving sums greater than would be heard by a justice of the peace court but less than would be heard by district courts. Typically, county courts at law hear civil cases involving less than $100,000. In comparison to the district courts, the county courts at law would hear less serious criminal offenses

Commissioners court have jurisdiction over uncontested probate cases and over the more serious misdemeanor criminal offenses involving fines greater than $500 or a jail sentence as well as over civil cases where the amounts in dispute are relatively small, generally in the $200 to $10,000 range. The county court may also hear appeals from municipal courts or from justice of the peace courts. Thus, the county judge combines political-administrative functions with some judicial functions.