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POLS Test 3
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| national and state court systems – structure | National: U.S. District courts (trial courts) U.S. Courts of Appeals (checking if rules are violated) U.S. supreme court State: State trial courts Intermediate appellate courts 50 state supreme courts |
| relative size of national and state court systems | National: Smaller than the state court---1,700 to 2,000 judges---Handles less cases but the cases they do look at are normally more complex State: Over 3,000 judges---Bigger than the national system---handles millions of cases each year about anything |
| Jurisdiction Definition | the authority of a court to hear and decide a case |
| types of jurisdictions | National jurisdiction and State jurisdiction |
| national vs. state jurisdiction | National: handles cases involving the constitution, federal laws, disputes between states State: handles most everyday cases (crime, family law, contracts) ---Everything else |
| original vs. appellate jurisdiction | Original: Court hears a case first---trial courts (witnesses, evidence, jury) Appellate: Courts review decisions from lower courts---No jury just judges reviewing legal errors |
| civil vs. criminal | Civil: disputes between people or organization usually about money or rights Criminal: Government vs. person accused of breaking the law---can result in jail, prison, or fines |
| civil vs. criminal; relative amounts | more civil cases than criminal cases---civil cases make up the majority |
| civil cases: types; most prevalent | family (39.85%), divorce (21.8), other civils (12.3) financial (8.8), personal injury---most prevalent family |
| criminal cases – types; most prevalent | Drug offenses, other felony, assault, all thefts---misdemeanors and felonies--- most prevalent misdemeanors |
| levels of the system first half | CITY: Municipal Court: city court that is criminal---Justice Courts: civil matters COUNTY: Probate Court: land disputes and things like that---Constitutional country: court is criminal---County court of law is civil |
| levels of the system second half | DISTRICT: Courts District court---criminal district courts (death penalty starts here) STATE: Court of Appeals is where they look at the cases from the lower courts and see if they had a bad trial NATIONAL: Supreme court and court of criminal appeals |
| how judges are chosen | National judges Elected---Texas judges partisan election |
| how are vacancies on court filled | Gov. or senator appoints a judge |
| percent of judges initially appointed | 50% |
| methods of removal | 1. Lose an election-vote the judge out 2. Retire/resign 3. Remove them |
| How to remove a judge | a. State commission on judicial conduct b. Gov. – “on address of 213 house + senate c. Impeached by house, removed by senate d. Texas supreme court can remove state district judges |
| Does Texas have appointed or elected state judges | Elected |
| What are the pros (benefits) of electing state judges | public participation, accountability to the public, regular review of judges |
| What are the cons (drawbacks) of electing state judges | Elections can be bought meaning you can almost buy your way in---the more money you have the more likely they are to get elected |
| Felonies | serious criminal offenses---state prison |
| Misdemeanors | less serious criminal offences fine---county jail |
| U.S. Constitutional amendments | a. 4th Amendment-Searches and seizures b. 5th Amendment-Right for induvial to not self-incrimination c. 6th Amendment-Right to an attorney and right to a jury of peers d. 8th Amendment-No cruel and unusual punishment |
| Texas constitutional article | same protections as the national government found in article 1 section 9-19---covers same things |
| Warrant | Is a court issued item before searches/ arrest made and it says that they can search for a specific thing |
| probable cause | Is a reasonable suspicion that a person may be involved in a crime |
| exclusionary rule | Any evidence gained without a warrant or probable cause may not be used in the trial against the person |
| self-incrimination | A person has the right to remain salient and not incriminate themselves thanks to the 5th amendment-The right to remain silent |
| grand jur | A group of people that is asked by the government to look over evidence to take something to regular trial |
| true bill, no bill | happens when a grand jury decides if they think they can convict in trial then they will vote yes, and it goes to trial (yes bill) if not it doesn’t (no bill) |
| indictment | Formal charges against the accused |
| arraignment | the first time a person appears in court, no jury just the judge and government and this is where you hear the charges against you |
| probation | not imprisoned, where they must meet standards and pay a fine, so they don’t go to jail |
| parole | Conditional release, more serious crimes and this is when a person get out of prison early through a hearing and if approved, they get a parole officer |
| double jeopardy | A person cannot be re-tried with the same crime, and it is stated in the 5th amendment |
| appeals of criminal cases | review for legal mistakes |
| appeals of death penalty cases | automatic, multiple levels, end with clemency |
| size & cost of Texas prison system | - 99 state prisons (7 in Huntsville) ---160k inmates---31k a year for each inmate |
| TDCJ board: size; selection; term | 9 members---appointed by governor (senate approval) ---6-year terms |
| Ruiz v. Estelle case | Sued Texas for cruel and unusual punishment because of overcrowded cells, hardly any food---federally supervised reforms |
| changes over time | they have released low level offenders, nonviolent offenders, and people who have served most of their time |
| Texas compared to other states | pretty much the same---then it dropped and went back up compared to the U.S.---Texas is high but not the highest---South incarnates the most people |
| reasons for incarceration | drug related offences are 14% |
| Furman v. Georgia | Death penalty as being applied is unconstitutional-there electric chair was faulty and got sued for cruel and unusual punishment, stopped all executions because they are all doing this way |
| Gregg v. Georgia | Death penalty itself is not unconstitutional if a person gets convicted rightfully convicted it is not unconstitutional it punishes with the death penalty |
| death penalty states | Most states have active death penalty---23 states have abolished mostly northeast---4 states have paused due to an executive order |
| executions over time | the trend peaked in the 2000 because dna became a thing and they started to realize there were some people wrongly convicted therefore it slowed down because they didn’t want to execute the wrong people |
| Texas execution rate in comparison | we execute more people than all staes combined but our trend line is the same, we are also slowing down on executions |
| methods of execution | Texas uses only lethal injection |
| is Texas’ use of the death penalty controversial | Yes |
| what is the appeals process for death penalty cases | automatically reviewed through state appeals, then federal appeals, and can end with clemency request to the Texas board of pardons and paroles and the governor |
| what role does the governor play in death penalty cases | They can approve a stay of execution for the accused could pardon or commutation (change from death to life) |
Created by:
Katy3648