Final

Question 1

advantages and disadvantages of civil
litigation

Answer 1

Advantages: Legally binding, court ordered
Disadvantages: Costly, Time consuming

Question 2

alternatives to civil litigation

Answer 2

Negotiation: Discuss separately
Mediation: Third party to moderate
Arbitration: Can impose or enforce agreement

Question 3

appellate process with discretionary and
mandatory jurisdiction

Answer 3

Mandatory jurisdiction: Must review case
Discretionary: May review case if they choose

Question 4

case filtering process in criminal law

Answer 4

Not really sure what he’s asking. Cases are just kind of assigned

Question 5

case screening (intermediate level appeals)

Answer 5

Appeals court takes all appealed decisions and renders a judgement. most don’t get oral arguments

Question 6

changes to the federal judicial nomination
and confirmation process

Question 7

characteristics of different legal careers

Answer 7

Government(public defenders, prosecutors, judges)
Private sector(Tax, Business, Defense)
So many different careers and possibilities

Question 8

comparing social-science models of judicial behavior

Answer 8

Remember judicial philosophies:
Living constitution - Constitution changes
to suit times
Originalism - Do what founders intended
Judicial minimalism - develop precedent
slowly and incrementally over many
years and cases
Legal Pragmatism - Focus on
consequences of precedents set

Question 9

courts and public opinion

Answer 9

Courts care about public opinion especially elected courts. Want the legal code to be as easily understood as possible without piles of precedents

Question 10

crisis of volume (intermediate level appeals)

Answer 10

So many cases that it is hard to get through them all.

Question 11

effect of a denial of certiorari

Answer 11

Court will not hear case. Previous ruling stands

Question 12

effects of different types of Supreme Court
opinions

Answer 12

Can change or make law. Think Roe v Wade and Dobbs decision

Question 13

effects of judicial selection on legal outcomes

Answer 13

Remember median voter theory. All judges are on a line from yes to no. if you take one out and put a new judge in further to one side the odds of which way the case will fall will change because the median judge may change and be more/less likely to choose one side or the other

Question 14

elements of a crime

Answer 14

Mens Rea, Actus Rea, Concurrence

Question 15

examples of important criminal rights

Answer 15

Right to attorney, Right to not self incriminate, Right to privacy, No unconstitutional searches and seizures

Question 16

explanations for granting certiorari
(formal/legal and informal/social science)

Answer 16

Not satisfied with lower court answer, precedent conflicts, social impact, many others

Question 17

explanations for panel effects

Question 18

actors affecting whether the Senate confirms a nominee (federal lower court or Supreme Court)

Question 19

factors that influence state judicial elections

Question 20

formalism vs. realism

Answer 20

Formalism: Does what the law says does not consider impacts
Realism: Considers impacts of legal decisions made

Question 21

formal procedure in criminal cases

Question 22

functions of courts

Answer 22

Solve disputes, maintain order, uphold law

Question 23

history and the law

Answer 23

Dawg that is like 5000 years of history. What do you want from me? Remember English Common law and it’s impacts on America I guess?

Question 24

how law can modify behavior

Answer 24

Law can change social perceptions. In United States drinking age is 21 so some view drinking at age 20 as immoral. In Germany the drinking age is 16 so in that culture drinking at 20 wouldn’t be immoral at all.

Question 25

how law can promote economic efficiency

Answer 25

Laws or court decisions can make it easier for businesses to operate leading to higher economic efficiency

Question 26

how lower court judges can treat precedent

Answer 26

Bound by higher court precedent in their jurisdiction, not bound by other courts' precedent outside of jurisdiction or at a level equal or lower to them. That precedent can still be persuasive

Question 27

how to become a lawyer

Answer 27

Do well in school, take the LSAT go to law school, take the bar exam.

Question 28

how to read a legal opinion

Answer 28

Use your eyes to look at the words on the page and interpret their meaning.

Question 29

how U.S. Supreme Court opinions are produced

Answer 29

The judges get together and discuss the case then the chief justice enlists a justice to write the court's opinion

Question 30

judgment of the court vs. opinion of the court

Answer 30

No difference?

Question 31

judicial activism vs. judicial restraint

Answer 31

Judicial activism: Making precedents in order to make new law Judicial restraint: Making decisions conservatively to avoid making new law

Question 32

justifications for different judicial philosophies

Question 33

justifications for different social-science models of judicial behavior

Question 34

justifications for the rights of the accused

Question 35

justifications for using precedent

Question 36

legal approach to judicial decision-making limitations on the courts

Question 37

litigiousness in the United States (explanations for and possible reforms)

Question 38

means of implementing judicial decision and the limitations on the powers of courts

Question 39

median-voter theorem (how it relates to judicial selection)

Answer 39

Remember the line thing

Question 40

methods of judicial selection (both state and federal)

Question 41

mistakes of fact versus mistakes of law

Question 42

original intent vs. original meaning

Question 43

outcome mode vs. jurisprudential mode

Question 44

perspectives on judicial decision-making

Question 45

plea bargaining (positives, negatives, alternatives, incentives)

Answer 45

Positives: Less cases go to trial, save money Negatives: pressure to confess even in cases of innocence for a lighter sentence

Question 46

political litigation

Question 47

predicting convictions and length of sentence

Answer 47

Factors include severity of the crime, possible sentance,

Question 48

principal-agent problem in the client-lawyer relationship

Question 49

purposes of criminal law

Answer 49

Protect people, preserve order, punish or rehabilitate people.

Question 50

reasons to appeal (or not to appeal) a case

Answer 50

Case was unfair, Rights violated, Disagree with lower court ruling

Question 51

reasons to use (or not to use) legislative intent

Answer 51

Reasons to use: Legislature made the laws, courts are supposed to follow them Reasons not to use: Laws are vague or need to be interpreted

Question 52

reforming the public defender system

Answer 52

Adding more public defenders or paying them more would take burdens off the system

Question 53

relations between the courts and other branches of government

Answer 53

Checks and balances: President vetos laws, Judicial deem laws unconstitutional, Congress overrides veto, Judges interpret laws, etc.

Question 54

role of the bar association in the legal profession

Answer 54

Bar association certifies lawyers and ensures they are fit to practice law.

Question 55

role of the prosecutor in criminal law

Answer 55

Prosecutor brings charges and must justify them and prove guilt in court to overcome the presumption of innocence

Question 56

spatial models of federal judicial confirmation

Answer 56

Remember the line between the president's endorsement compared to congresses ideology on whether they will confirm the president's choice based on the judges ideology.

Question 57

trends in state judicial elections

Answer 57

Every state is different and has different issues and interest.

Question 58

trends in U.S. Supreme Court caseload (volume and types of cases)

Answer 58

Supreme court has discretionary jurisdiction so they can have whatever caseload they choose

Question 59

types of mens rea requirements

Answer 59

purposefully, knowingly, recklessness, criminal negligence, strict liability