Ch. 18 Guided Reading and Review answers

Ch. 18 – section 1 questions

1. What did Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution create?

• It created the national judiciary.

2. What are constitutional courts?

•Federal courts, created by Congress, which exercise broad judicial powers (district courts, Courts of Appeals, Trade Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)

3. What are special courts?

•Courts with narrow jurisdiction

4. Under what circumstances may federal courts hear a

case?a. constitutional issues – wide

variety of casesb. high seasc. U.S. officersd. one of the 50 statese. a foreign governmentf. citizens of different states

5. What is the procedure for the selection of federal judges?

•Presidential appointment, for life, approved or rejected by Senate

6. What is the primary function of federal judges?

•To hear and decide cases

7. How long are the terms of judges of constitutional courts?

•life

8. How long are the terms of judges in special courts?

•8-15 years

Ch. 18 – Section 1 Quizd. 1. one who initiates a

suite. 2. the party against

whom a suit is brought

a. 3. cases that can only be heard in federal courts have this

c. 4. court in which a case is first heard has this

b. 5. cases that can be heard either in federal or state courts have this

a. exclusive jurisdiction

b. concurrent jurisdiction

c. original jurisdiction

d. plaintiff

e. defendant

II. Multiple Choice

6. The majority of the cases heard in the United States each year are heard in

a. district courtsb. state courtsc. appellate courtsd. constitutional courts

7. Special courts are created by

a. Congressb. the Presidentc. federal regulatory agenciesd. the states

8. Which of the following does NOT have significant impact on the

appointments of federal judges?

a. the President’s ideologyb. the leaders of the party to which the

President belongsc. the senators from the state in which the appointee will served. the current members of the

Supreme Court

9. Judges of the constitutional courts are

a. appointed to 15-year terms.b. appointed for life.c. elected by the Supreme Courtd. appointed to 10-year terms

10. Federal marshals do all of the following EXCEPT

a. arrest persons accused of federal crimes

b. serve legal papersc. execute court orders and

decisionsd. try persons charged with

certain minor offenses

Section 2 questions

1. On what basis is the United States divided into judicial districts?

Each state has 1 district; the more populated states have more than one (Texas has 4), also D.C. and Puerto Rico

2. When and why were the court of appeals created?

• 1891 – to take some of the load off the Supreme Court

3. Define:

a. criminal case – some action has been declared a crime; if a person commits a crime, society prosecutes

b. civil case – dispute over contract or patent infringement; also disputes over rights listed in Constitution

c. docket – list of cases to be heard

Ch. 18 – Section 2 quiz

F 1. About 20% of the cases that come before federal judges are tried in the district courts.

T 2. Usually, cases tried in district courts are heard by a single judge.

F 3. The circuit courts are the only federal courts that use grand and petit juries.

T 4. Appellate courts hear appeals from the decisions of federal regulatory agencies.

T 5. The Trade Court hears only civil cases.

II. Multiple Choice

6. District courts cover an assigned territory that is based primarily on

a. state boundariesb. populationc. geographic regiond. income level

7. The circuit courts were created

a. to relieve the Supreme Court of the burden of hearing most appeals.b. to relieve the district courts of the burden of hearing cases involving criminal charges.c. to handle all cases involving disputes among citizens of different states.d. to relieve the district courts of the burden of hearing civil cases.

8. In what types of cases do the courts of appeals have original

jurisdiction?

a. civil cases involving more than $250,000b. no types of casesc. cases appealing decisions of the state supreme courtsd. cases in which the U.S. gov’t is the defendant

9. Cases brought before the courts of appeals are usually heard by

a. a single judgeb. a panel of three judgesc. a panel of nine judgesd. a panel of twelve judges

10. Which of the following is NOT a type of case heard by the Court of

Appeals for the Federal Circuit?

a. an appeal from the Trade Courtb. an appeal from the Court of VeteransAppealsc. an appeal from the Court of Military Appealsd. an appeal from the Merits Systems Protection Board

Ch. 18 Section 3 questions

1. judicial review: power to decide if an act is unconstitutional

2. In the United States, the court of last resort in questions of federal law is the Supreme Court.

3. The first case in which the court used its power of judicial review was Marbury v. Madison.

More ch. 18 section 3 questions…

4. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in cases involving a state or those affecting ambassadors.

5. A case is accepted if at least 4 Court justices agree to place it on the docket.

6. When the Supreme Court hears a case, it receives written documents called briefs and hears oral arguments.

Last ch. 18 section 3 question…

7. The opening day of each Supreme Court term is the first Monday in October.

Section 3 quizd. 1. A justice who agrees with the Opinion of the

Court may nonetheless decide to write a ___.e. 2. If the Chief Justice agrees with the Opinion of

the Court, he or she decides who will write the ____.

a. 3. When the Supreme Court accepts a case for review, it issues a ______.

c. 4. Justices who disagree with an Opinion of the Court may register their views by writing a ________.

b. 5. If an inferior court wants guidance from the Supreme Court on a particular question of law, it may issue a ____.