Chapter 13 Review Questions
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Chapter 13 Review Questions
**Short answer replies require a minimum of at least 100 words per reply
**
1
. The Supreme Court’s power of judicial review ________.
A.
is given to it in the original constitution
B.
enables it to declare acts of the other branches unconstitutional
C.
allows it to hear cases
D.
establishes the three-tiered court system
2
. The Supreme Court most typically functions as ________.
A.
a district court
B.
a trial court
C.
a court of original jurisdiction
D.
an appeals court
3
. In
Federalist
No. 78, Alexander Hamilton characterized the judiciary as the ________ branch
of government.
A.
most unnecessary
B. strongest
C.
least dangerous
D.
most political
4
. Explain one positive and one negative aspect of the lifetime term of office for judges and
justices in the federal court system. Why do you believe the constitution’s framers chose lifetime
terms?
One
positive
aspect of the lifetime term of office for judges and justices in the federal court
system is that judges can make decisions in cases without having to fear that a controversial
decision they make could
affect
their job security. By having lifetime terms judges can make the
right decision without having to worry about the public trying to remove them for an unpopular
decision. One negative aspect of this is that this has led to courts being composed of people
from older generations that may be out of touch with the newer generation’s perspective on
certain issues. I believe the constitution’s framers chose lifetime terms because it allows judges
to make their decisions without having to worry about
how the decision will affect their ability
to keep their job
5
. What do you find most significant about having a common law system?
The thing that I find most significant about having a common law system is that having a system
like this promotes stability and consistent decision making in the legal system. With courts being
bound by the decisions and
precedents of prior courts, it makes sure that the law is applied
evenly and in the same manner with the same interpretations as opposed to courts applying the
law in whatever way the interpret it which would mean that cases that were
virtually
identical
could have different outcomes depending on where they are tried. With this system everyone is
bound to the same interpretation so there is no ambiguity.
6
. Of all the court cases in the United States, the majority are handled ________.
A.
by the U.S. Supreme Court
B.
at the state level
C.
by the circuit courts
D.
by the U.S. district courts
7
. Both state and federal courts hear matters that involve ________.
A.
civil law only
B.
criminal law only
C.
both civil and criminal law
D.
neither civil nor criminal law
8
. A state case is more likely to be heard by the federal courts when ________.
A.
it involves a federal question
B.
a governor requests a federal court hearing
C.
it involves a criminal matter
D.
the state courts are unable to come up with a decision
9
. The existence of the dual court system is an unnecessary duplication to some but beneficial to
others. Provide at least one positive and one negative characteristic of having overlapping court
systems in the United States.
One positive characteristic of having overlapping court systems in the United States is that it
gives individuals multiple chances to have their case reviewed so that if an error was made in
the first court’s judgement it can be looked at by another court and corrected if need be. A
negative characteristic of having overlapping court systems in the United States is that it allows
for the possibility of unequal and different interpretations and enforcement of the law. With
multiple people looking at something, there is always the chance that they will interpret a law a
different way from each other or give different weight to different facts, meaning that they could
come to two different conclusions about a case even with the same set of facts.
10
. Which court would you consider to be closest to the people? Why?
I would consider the trial courts to be the closest courts to the people. trial courts are the courts
that any person that has to deal with the court system will have to deal with since they are the
first level of the court system. Also, trial courts tend to have the smallest area of jurisdiction of
any of the levels of the court system and as such tend to be more local and down to earth
compared to a appeals court, which has a much larger area of jurisdiction and as such tends to
be more distant from the people than a trial court would be.
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