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Definition
| how the SC determines which cases to take in order to define our rights, privileges and the direction of public policy under the Constitution |
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| primary purpose of amicus curiae briefs on the merits |
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Definition
| to provide information to justices to aid in their disposition or decision making in a case |
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| Why is the SC held at a high esteem? Why do people listen to the SC's rulings? |
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Definition
1) the court has a tradition of taking the long view on how the nation should resolve its conflicts
2) The Court has an aura of impartiality that the other branches do not have |
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-Heller was a DC officer who wanted to keep a private gun in his home
**Justices ruled that the second amendment bestows a limited individual right to own a firearm |
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| The assumption that the SC will take any case is |
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| What would likely cause a long-term change in the liberalism or conservatism of the SC decisions |
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| A new justice joining the court |
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| The American Bar Association reviews qualifications by evaluating |
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| integrity, judicial temperament, and professional competence |
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| the process where justices contribute a law clerk into a group to help summarize legal briefs for the justices |
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| During the oral arguments of the Deshaney case who said "poor Joshua" |
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| What does "The Constitution is a charter of negative liberties" mean? |
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1) the state or federal governments should leave people alone
2) State or Federal governments are under no obligation to provide services to citizens |
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| Functions of the US Solicitor General |
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Definition
1) expresses fed. gov. view in SC
2) screens fed gov cases for appeal to SC
3) writes amicus curiae briefs presenting fed gov's view
4) fire an independent counsel if so ordered by the AG |
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| Due Process clause appears in which amendments |
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Definition
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| Who is the only individual in the federal government required to be a lawyer? |
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| The term of the US SC begins on |
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| The first Monday in October |
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| Who did not serve as Solicitor General of the US before becoming a justice |
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| From 1789-1889 the court focused its decision making on |
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| federalism and states' rights |
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| Why was section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 deemed unconstitutional in Marbury v. Madison? |
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Definition
| the section provides for issuance of a writ of mandamus, an original power already granted to the SC in Article III of the Constitution |
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| The Constitutional foundation for the right to privacy was firmly planted in |
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| says that legal precedents and the norms governing how the SC and disposes of its cases leads to subsequent caseload increases |
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| Why are only a small portion of SC petitions accepted? |
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Definition
| the vase majority lack legal conflict of a fundamental nature |
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| Sources of constraint in the exercise of SC power |
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Definition
1) implementation of court decisions
2) appellate jurisdiction
3) mootness
4) rule of law |
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Term
| Which law established the basic structure of the federal judiciary? |
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Definition
| the judiciary act of 1789 |
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| A judge is acting strategically when |
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| he adjusts his behavior in anticipation of how fellow justices will act in the future |
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| is considered by CJ Roberts to be the "organizing point for the entire judicial process" |
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| What is the name of the Highest court in england |
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| Two characteristics of oral argument during the time of CJ John Marshall |
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| Oral arguments were long and briefs were short |
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| Is Earl Warren conservative or liberal? |
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| Is Stephen Breyer conservative or liberal? |
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Definition
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| Is William Rehnquist conservative or liberal? |
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| Is Thurgood Marshall conservative or liberal? |
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Definition
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| Is Anthony Kennedy conservative or liberal? |
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Definition
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| Is Clarence Thomas conservative or liberal? |
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Definition
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| Is Samuel Alito conservative or liberal? |
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Definition
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| According the CJ Roberts the secret to successful advocacy before the SC is |
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Definition
| during oral arguments the secret to successful advocacy is simply to get the Court to ask your opponent more questions |
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| As of 2006 less than 15% of all members of the US SC Bar are women |
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| says that justices make decisions based on legal precedent and intent of the framers as well as plain meaning of statutes/constitution |
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| says that Antonin Scalia votes the way he does because he is extremely conservative and Thurgood Marshall voted the way he did because he was extremely liberal |
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| The primary advantage of the legal model of the SC decision making |
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Definition
| is predictability of what justices will do |
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| Necessary conditions for strategic behavior to occur |
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Definition
1) set of players
2) rules about when to make a move
3) strategies
4) outcomes or payoffs |
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| Which theory best explains SC decisions when the case is politically salient to a justice |
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Definition
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| Special relationship theory |
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Definition
| under this theory a state acquires an affirmative duty to protect and individual from harm done by a private party if the state placed the individual in a situation where he or she cannot defend himself or herself |
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| For SC Justices to be impeached |
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Definition
| the HoR has to approve the charges against him |
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| The only SC justice ever impeached |
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| The number of justices need in order for the SC to perform any official duty (ie quorum) is |
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| a practice instituted by Congress to ensure that justices keep abreast of local public opinion as they decide cases in different parts of the Country |
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| What characterizes the SC during its first decade |
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Definition
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| What is the attitude of Richard Nixon toward the SC |
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Definition
| Nixon doesn't care about the SC as an institution instead he cares what he can get from the court |
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| Why did Nixon consider appointing Senator Robert Byrd for the SC |
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Definition
| Byrd was a member of the KKK and the Senate would not vote against him |
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| what is the only job that has a constitutionally required oath of office |
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| Where is the presidential oath located? |
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| says that a right that is not explicitly created in the constitution doesn't exists and justices should not create such a right |
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| the words of the constitution have meaning and they should be interpreted in the way intended by the people who wrote the constitution |
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| the idea that the meaning of the constitution of the US should change with the social, economic and political changes occurring in society |
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| Is John Roberts conservative or liberal? |
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Definition
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| Is Antonin Scalia conservative or liberal? |
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| What is the law which is described as Obama's signal legislative achievement? |
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| the process of putting into effect the policies or orders announces in SC cases |
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| Who has the authority to determine who wins a presidential election in the US after the votes have been counted |
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| Policy failures of the Bush administration |
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Definition
1) weak response to Katrina victims
2) invasion of Iraq
3) gross skepticism over the effects of global warming |
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Definition
| announced that a woman has a right to have an abortion in the US even though that right is currently under attack from conservatives |
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| shareholders react negatively when a company loses a case in the SC because |
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Definition
| a loss creates market uncertainty for shareholders |
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| This is viewed by the FBI as an important barometer of good law enforcement in the US |
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| Factors that influence whether or not SC decisions are carried out faithfully |
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Definition
1) how clear the majority opinion is
2) the nature of the community preferences
3) the incentives available for people concerned about the case to carry out the court's decision
4) the type of norms available in the organization |
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| The second amendment states |
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Definition
| a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. |
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| The SC interpreted this case unanimously to mean group right to own firearms |
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Definition
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Term
| What case interpreted the 2nd amendment as bestowing an individual right to own a firearm? |
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Definition
form from Marxism and contemporary literary theory
holes that law is meaningless and that law is used by the powerful to oppress the weak |
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Definition
| the process of creating majority-minority voting districts designed to help African Americans get elected to Congress and other public offices |
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| San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez |
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Definition
the Court ruled 5-4 that unequal funding of school districts in the same state did not amount to a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment
cause Obama to lose faith in the use of law for significant social change |
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Term
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Definition
1) a woman has an unrestricted right to an abortion during the first trimester (0-3)
2) The right can be regulated during the second (4-6)
3) It can be banned outright except to save the the mothers life in the third trimester |
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Definition
1) Recognition of the 2nd amendment gun rights
2) ending constitution protection of the right to choose abortion
3) lowering barriers between church and state
4) promoting use of school vouchers and school choice initiatives |
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Term
| A SC justice that was not a law professor before being appoint to the SC |
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Definition
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| This case formally introduced the right to privacy to the American people on a large scale |
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| case where the court rejected the view that detainees in Guantanamo were outside the reach of American law |
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Definition
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| What is the legacy of appendix E? |
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Definition
| it is a listing of all federal rules containing differentiation upon sex-related criteria and it formed the roadmap for Ruth bader ginsburgs legal career |
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| The rule/principle that states that judges should not decide a case in an expansive way is |
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Definition
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Definition
1) he hated DC
2) he hated the views of Roberts and Alito and what the Republican party was doing to the country
3) Bush v. Gore broke his hart and damaged his belief in the SC
4)He was qualified for pension having passed the rule of 80 |
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| Themes raised by Citizens United |
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Definition
1) Free Speech
2) Corporate power
3) Intersection of law and politics |
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| the SC upheld congressional limits on campaign contributions but struck down limits on out of pocket expense by political candidates |
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| gave blacks the right to vote |
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| ended official slavery in the US |
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| Expanded the right to contract between an employee and employer |
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| provided equal protection of the law to former slaves and their descendants |
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| barred corporations from contributing to campaigns and established criminal penalties for its violation but these were never enforced |
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| Federal Election Commission |
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| the agency responsible for regulating the process whereby politicians get into public office |
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| The court ruled that under the fourteenth amendment's due process clause the government has to give individuals a hearing before cutting off welfare benefits. |
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Definition
-Recruited to the Justice Department by the Reagan administration as SG then moved to office of legal counsel
-Nominated to SC by Bush to replace O'Connor making the court full of appeals judges
-Conservative
-Didn't ask many questions until the Citizens United case when he expressed his belief that McCain-Feingold was unconstitutional |
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Definition
crucial vote on the court
nominated by Reagan
international law |
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| Family preservation model |
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Definition
the private family rather than the state is the desirable caretaker of children
necessitates that family caseworkers make crucial professional judgments about when to switch roles from being therapeutic to authoritatively removing children from homes |
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Definition
“Freedom from” things (freedom from interference)
areas where individuals are left to act as they wish without iany interference |
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| Special relationship theory |
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Definition
If an individual has a special relationship with the state the state is required to actively protect them
Usually only exists in cases where the state has taken the individual into their control |
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Definition
| The elements which constitute a negligent tort are the following: a person must owe a duty or service to the victim in question; the individual who owes the duty must violate the promise or obligation; an injury then must arise because of that specific violation; and the injury causes must have been reasonably foreseeable as a result of the person's negligent actions. |
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A plea bargain was offered to William Jones but not to Darryl Atkins
If a defendant pleads guilty to particular charges, other charges will be dropped as a part of the bargain in order to save the state money and to free up the court to hear other cases
A huge part of the US judicial system because there are so many cases that go through the system
A lot of people who don’t commit crimes take plea bargains because it is safer than entering the uncertainty involved in allowing a jury to decide your fate. (partially because so many people are wrongfully convicted due to circumstantial evidence) |
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Term
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Definition
| tandard by which an officer or agent of the law has the grounds to make an arrest, to conduct a personal or property search, or to obtain a warrant for arrest |
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Definition
A plea bargain was offered to William Jones but not to Darryl Atkins
If a defendant pleads guilty to particular charges, other charges will be dropped as a part of the bargain in order to save the state money and to free up the court to hear other cases
A huge part of the US judicial system because there are so many cases that go through the system
A lot of people who don’t commit crimes take plea bargains because it is safer than entering the uncertainty involved in allowing a jury to decide your fate. (partially because so many people are wrongfully convicted due to circumstantial evidence) |
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| a written accusation submitted to a grand jury for its decision |
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i) Judge can refuse bail if
(1) Belief accused will not appear for trial
(2) Defendants liberty will pose a threat of danger to self and others
ii) Crimes that are eligible for death are not eligible for bail
iii) Atkins bail set at $650,000, Jones denied bail |
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Term
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Definition
The process of jury selection in the United States
Questioned by attorneys to discover any biases to see if a citizen can properly judge a case |
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Definition
A group of ordinary citizens
Doesn’t decide guilt or innocence, decides if a prosecutor has enough information to bring the case to trial.
Serves the state and works with the prosecutor
Prosecutor presents information to the grand jury and 95-100% of the time the grand jury sides with the prosecutor and allows the case to be brought to trial
The grand jury sits for a much longer |
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Term
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Definition
a jury of 12 persons empanelled to determine the facts of a case and decide the issue pursuant to the direction of the court on points of law
A group of ordinary citizens
Hears a particular case |
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Definition
NE and MidWest doesn’t really use the death penalty
Michigan was the first state to abolish it. it can only be used in treason
RI and Wisconsin followed and completely reject it
California has the most people on death row (about 700 people), Florida is next then Texas.
Texas isn’t the most aggressive death penalty state in the Union. Virginia is.
Virginia only keeps inmates on death row for 2 years
Delaware and Missouri are also aggressive
Connecticut NJ NM and Maryland have removed the death penalty in the last three years.
The Constitution permits capital punishment but it does not require it
The death penalty is not really a crime deterrent
Most murders are not premeditated
By 2008 only 14 states and DC didn’t have the death penalty but there are some (Kansas and New Hampshire) that never use it |
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Definition
assumes that people are rational
people would think about the consequences of a crime and therefore not commit it
Texas has killed the most people but still has a high murder |
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| Pros and cons of the Death Penalty |
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Definition
Pros
Retribution for the victim
the perpetrator must pay a penalty for the transgression
Public opinion supports the death penalty
70-75% in favor of death penalty for those convicted of murder
The percentage goes down when the options are death penalty or life in prison
An eye for an eye
Cons
It costs more for the court cases for the appeals of the death penalty to go through the court than a life sentence costs
Very expensive to prosecute these cases because you have to get blood evidence, psychiatric evidence and much more in order to prove the case using specialists. The defendant also gets 2 |
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Definition
| The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination requires law enforcement officials to advise a suspect interrogated in custody of his rights to remain silent and to obtain an attorney. Arizona Supreme Court reversed and remanded. |
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Definition
ght to counsel was one of the “'fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions'… We think the failure of the trial court to give [the young black men] reasonable time and opportunity to secure counsel was a clear denial of due process… '[T]here are certain immutable principles of justice which inhere in the very idea of free government which no member of the Union [no State] may disregard.'”
With this ruling, the Court set a precedent—under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, counsel must be guaranteed to everyone facing a possible death sentence, whether in State or federal court. The Scottsboro case was the beginning of an “incorporation” into State constitutions of fair trial rights guaranteed by the 6th Amendment. These rights were made applicable to the States by the 14th Amendment.
Read more: Powell v. Alabama (1932) http://www.infoplease.com/us/supreme-court/cases/ar30.html#ixzz2SJ779FBx |
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Definition
The SC declared a moratorium on capital punishment across the US
In a breaking and entering a robber was startled and accidently killed one of the inhabitants
The Justices likened the death penalty to being struck by lightning. (Some people who committed very serious crimes were not charged with it)
The Justices said that the way that the death penalty was being applied was unconstitutional NOT the death penalty itself |
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Definition
Tried and found guilty
Tried again to see if the death penalty is an appropriate sentence. |
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Definition
Fred Simmons and Bob Moore picked up wo hitchikers Troy Gregg and Floyd Allen
When they stopped at a rest area in GA Gregg tried to rob them and shot each of them and then killed them
Gregg was found guilty of 2 muderers and 2 roberies
Jury recommended that the death penalty for each count be pursued and these were affirmed
Case went to the SC and they upheld his eath sentence approving the new GA laws
The SC used this case to reverse the decision in Furman in order to reinstate the death penalty |
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Definition
Came out of Georgia
The Dean of UNC Law school argued the case before the SC
Warren McCleskey and three accomplices all armed tried to rob a furniture store in GA
A worker set off a silent alarm bringing a cop to the scene who was shot twice
The jury imposed a death penalty because of aggravating circumstances
Involved whether or not racial discrimination statistics can be presented during a death penalty trial
The Court decided that if it is applicable it can be brought as evidence |
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| Objectives of punishments |
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Definition
retribution
deterrence
incapacitation
rehabilitation |
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Term
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Definition
Something that increases the probability that someone will get the death penalty
The most important one is killing a law enforcement officer.
In NC there are 11 different aggravating factors
killing multiple individuals, killing during incarceration, killing a prison guard, killing a law enforcement officer, committing a heinous, atrocious or cruel murder (using an ax is an example), murdering a state employee, murder in order to gain insurance money
In the Atkins case these include his previous criminal record |
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Term
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Definition
| any information or evidence presented to the court regarding the defendant or the circumstances of the crime that might result in reduced charges or a lesser sentence |
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