AP Government Chapter 15 Reading Guide: The Judiciary 1. According to Federalist 78, what s Hamilton s argument for why the SCOTUS is the weakest of the branches? Do you agree? 2. So the court has the legal authority to resolve a case, which we call. This authority is granted from either a or a. 3. The argument when you go to court is over the of a case. Secondly, we argue about the and of the law. Which courts have original jurisdiction? What do we call you if you are guilty in criminal court? Civil court? 4. How is an appellate court different? (What word is almost in there that should tip you off?) 5. v. (A must know for the AP exam) established the SCOTUS most important power:. 6. How many court systems are you held to? What are they? What is a dual court system? 7. When a law is made based upon tradition and previous court cases, we call it. The earlier court cases they cite to explain their reasoning are called. Also, when you have a court case that is similar in fact to an earlier case, the judge is directed to use the doctrine of, which means let the decision stand. 8. Do judges have to follow stare decisis? 9. What is the supreme law of the land? Who is exempt from following it? 10. What s the highest form of law: state constitutions or the federal constitution? 11. Who writes statutes and acts? (Hint: page 461, under LEGISLATION) What are all of the laws passed by the U.S. Congress called? All the criminal laws in each state are put together and called what? 12. Know a bit about executive orders: are they laws? Who has to approve them to be in effect? How are they checked? How often are they used?
13. What are we trying to protect with criminal law? Who writes most criminal laws? (What amendment would support this?) 14. Who brings a lawsuit against an individual charged with a crime? What burden of proof must a prosecutor (the person trying to get a conviction) meet in order to get a conviction? Who determines the punishment? Why don t most cases go to trial? Can the government appeal not-guilty verdicts? (explain this last part) 15. How is civil law different from criminal law? What s it called when your body or property is harmed? (Hot Coffee!) What is the most common civil lawsuit that is filed? (Can a traffic accident ever be considered criminal law? This isn t in the book, I was just curious...) 16. In a criminal suit, the government has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the crime. With civil law suits it s a preponderance of evidence. What s the difference? 17. Are you guaranteed a lawyer in civil suits? What does this lead to? What if you are found liable in a civil suit, how is the issue resolved? So, was Hot Coffee civil or criminal? What about divorce? 18. What are the differences between a trial court and an appeals court? 19. Jury trial v. bench trial?
20. What s the court of last resort in Indiana? What about in the nation? 21. Who gets to establish the federal district courts? Where does that power come from? 22. What types of cases are federal courts allowed to hear? 23. You are in Indiana and someone from Kentucky commits a crime against you or someone from Canada. What is the phrase would we use to describe this situation? 24. Draw out that structure of the federal courts if you think it will help you understand. 25. What s another name for a specialized court? Why do we call them this? Give me a couple of examples. Try to find a court case you know about in one of them so the information sticks with you a bit better. 26. How many district courts are there? What power do they have that makes sure the bulk of the trials go through them? What if you lose, is it over? 27. How many federal court of appeals are there? Which U.S. Court of appeals are we in? What about Henderson?
28. How many members of SCOTUS? What do you call the head of SCOTUS? What do we call the rest of SCOTUS? What do we call this current SCOTUS? Why? Do they have any original jurisdiction? What makes them special compared to other courts as far as the cases they hear? 29. What is judicial independence? Good idea or bad idea, in your opinion? 30. How long do article III judges serve? Why is this important? Has it lead to more or less judges being confirmed? 31. Who has Obama appointed during his time in office? Do you think he should get to appoint a 3 rd justice before his term is up? 32. These are the four criteria that presidents look for when they nominate someone as a judge (make sure you understand them): a. Judicial competence: b. Political ideology: c. Representation of Demographic Groups 1. Descriptive representation: 2. Substantive representation: 3. Symbolic representation:
d. Political Considerations: 33. Describe the relationship between the President, the Senate, and federal judges. How does the House factor into this relationship? 34. If you are a Democratic Senator from Indiana and President Obama wants to appoint a federal district court judge (remember, there are 94 of these, between 1-4 in each state), but you don t agree, what custom can you use to veto his choice? (Do you think this is a popular move considering you two are from the same party?) Why can you use this power for district courts, but not for federal appeal courts? 35. What committee do court of appeals and SCOTUS appointments have to go through before a nomination? Who takes the committee s suggestion into account when they vote? In 2013, the Senate filibustered Obama s nominees, and so the Senate employed what power which changed the filibuster rule? 36. Is the Supreme Court a collegial court? How can you tell? 37. You want to appeal your court decision to the Supreme Court, so you file a petition. How many of these get filed each year? How many get heard by the SCOTUS? 38. What does it mean if you clerk for a justice? (What are you going to be doing?)
39. If you are SCOTUS (or any higher court) and ask for the records of a case so that you (the higher court) can review it, we call it a. 40. What s the Rule of 4? (Do you think it should be higher or lower, or are you good with 4?) 41. At which two points are the public most involved in the SCOTUS hearing of an argument? (Also, might want to chart out the steps the court takes when actually hearing a case under considering legal briefs and oral arguments. Do you think it s rude that they talk over the lawyers?) 42. If justices focus on legal norms and principals to guide their decisions, we call it the model. If they let their ideology influence them, it s called the model. What s the strategic model? 43. Concurring v. Dissenting opinions? Who writes the majority opinion? Who writes the majority opinion? Are Justices bound by the way they initially vote? Can they change their opinion? What can change their opinion? Enjoy the rest. Which of the following chief justices led a particularly activist Supreme Court? A. Earl Warren B. Thurgood Marshall C. William Rehnquist D. John Roberts E. Warren Burger According to judicial scholar Thomas Keck, the MOST judicially active Supreme Court was the A. Warren Court. B. Roberts Court. C. Kennedy Court. D. Rehnquist Court. E. Burger Court.
The Constitution grants the right to control the Supreme Court's jurisdiction. A. Congress B. the Senate C. the Supreme Court D. the Attorney General of the United States E. the president Which of the following issues articles of impeachment for federal judges? A. the House B. the Senate C. the Supreme Court D. the Attorney General of the United States E. the president Which of the following conducts impeachment trials for federal judges? A. the House B. the Senate C. the Supreme Court D. the Attorney General of the United States E. the executive through the White House counsel The current Supreme Court is known as the A. Warren Court. B. Roberts Court. C. Kennedy Court. D. Rehnquist Court. E. Burger Court.57. Which of the following best describes the ideological distribution of the Supreme Court today? A. heavily conservative B. slightly conservative C. ideologically neutral, with equal numbers of conservatives and liberals D. slightly liberal E. heavily liberal Of the members of the Supreme Court in 2014, which one had the closest confirmation vote in the Senate? A. Samuel Alito B. Anthony Kennedy C. Sonia Sotomayor D. Elena Kagan E. Clarence Thomas 59. (p. 479) Which of the following Supreme Court justices is MOST liberal? A. Stephen Breyer B. John Roberts C. Antonin Scalia D. Clarence Thomas E. Samuel Alito Which of the following Supreme Court justices is MOST conservative? A. Anthony Kennedy B. Ruth Bader Ginsburg C. Antonin Scalia D. Sonia Sotomayor E. Elena Kagan Which of the following justices has most often served as a swing vote on the Supreme Court? A. Elena Kagan B. John Roberts C. Clarence Thomas D. Anthony Kennedy E. Samuel Alito Gallup opinion polls show that the public trusts the judicial branch A. less than both the legislative branch and the executive branch. B. more than both the legislative branch and the executive branch. C. more than the legislative branch, but less than the executive branch. D. more than the executive branch, but less than the legislative branch. E. about the same as it does both the executive branch and the legislative branch.