Quiz 4 Content (Test 1) Flashcards
(49 cards)
1
Q
grand jury indictment
A
- 5thA right
- created to act as a checks & balances for prosecutors
- determine if there’s probable cause to bring a Δ to trial
- do NOT determine innocence/guilt
- issues indictment (if probable cause to send to trial)
- bigger, ~23-25 people
- private & confidential
- only hears prosecutor’s evidence (one side – Δ is not present)
2
Q
double jeopardy
A
- the gov can’t try you 2x for the same crime
- if you’re found not guilty, they can’t keep trying you (applies only to CRIMINAL cases)
- why? so gov doesn’t abuse the time, power, $ that the Δ does not have, ensures faith in judicial system (they already tried & did their best)
3
Q
Benton v Maryland
A
- double jeopardy
- court applied 5thA protection against DJ to the STATES through incorporation using the 14thA
- 1st application of DJ to states
4
Q
multiple charges for 1 act
A
- can be charged for many separate things from just 1 criminal act
- ex: 1st degree murder & 2nd degree murder (can be tried for both but will only be convicted for 1 since they’re considered the same thing)
- prosecutors charge on multiple accounts so you can hopefully win 1 since you can’t try again if Δ is not found guilty
5
Q
mistrial
A
- not considered DJ b/c the trials aren’t considered “done” or conclusive
6
Q
hung jury
A
- when a criminal jury decision is not unanimous
- criminal juries need to be unanimous, so if they’re not, prosecutors can try again and it’s not considered DJ
- leads to mistrial
7
Q
Blueford v Arkansas
A
- charged w/ battery, robbery, assault w/ deadly weapon, forgery, and goes to trial
- found not guilty of 1st 3 accounts, hung on the last one
- court said when case was retried for forgery (hung account), they had to retry for ALL 4 counts b/c it was a hung case
- makes it hard for Δ’s attorney because they have to win again
8
Q
eminent domain
A
-gov can take your personal property but has to be for a public purpose and they have to compensate you (pay fair market value of property)
- “takings clause”
9
Q
6th Amendment
A
right to a…
- speedy trial
- public trial
- impartial jury
- to be informed of the nature & cause of the accusation
- to confront witnesses
- to attend trial
- to call witnesses
- to be represented by a lawyer
10
Q
8th Amendment
A
- protection from cruel AND unusual punishment
- can be cruel OR unusual, but can’t be BOTH
11
Q
3 strikes you’re out
A
- after 3 criminal convictions, Δ receives a life sentence
- if they’re 3 nonviolent crimes, court gives life w/ a chance of parole if good behavior (needs at least a chance to get out, otherwise considered cruel & unusual)
12
Q
Furman v Georgia
A
- death penalty case
- 1st time court threw out ALL the cases against them
- the death penalty is unconst under 8thA when it’s imposed in an arbitrary & capricious manner that leads to DISCRIMINATORY results
13
Q
Ford v Wainwright
A
- death penalty case
- executing the “INSANE” is unconst (didn’t say mental illness)
14
Q
Atkins v Virginia
A
- death penalty case
- if you have a “MENTAL RETARDATION” you can’t be executed
- takes away the point of death penalty if you can’t understand it
15
Q
Roper v Simmon
A
- death penalty case
- if you commit a crime as a juvenile, can’t be executed
16
Q
9th Amendment
A
- the enumeration is the constitution of certain flights shall not be constructed to deny or disparage others retained by the people
- all the rights NOT LISTED in the CONSTITUTION belongs to the people, not the gov
17
Q
Griswold v Connecticut
A
- right to privacy case
- CT said you can’t use/advise contraception
- Griswold opened a clinic and got arrested
- court overturned conviction, said unconst, said 9thA holds other rights, so they added the right to privacy
- created a “zone of privacy”
18
Q
Roe v Wade
A
- right to privacy case
- court decided that the right to privacy implied in the 14thA protected abortion as a fundamental right
- since overturned
19
Q
14th Amendment
A
- citizenship clause
- equal protection clause
- due process clause
20
Q
citizenship clause
A
- 14thA right
- all persons born/naturalized in the US are citizens of the US & state they reside in
21
Q
equal protection clause
A
- no state shall make/enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the US
- no state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, property, without due process of law
- no state shall deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws
22
Q
due process clause
A
- prohibit the deprivation of “life, liberty, or property” by the fed & state govs, respectively, without due process of law
- fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen’s entitlement
- Brown v Board of Education (racial segregation)
- Roe v Wade (right to abortion)
- Bush v Gore (presidential election)
- Lawrence v Texas (prohibition of state anti-sodomy laws)
- Obergefell v Hodges (same-sex marriage)
23
Q
Dixon v Alabama
A
- due process for university students
- before case, uni students weren’t owed due process rights
- uni stood “in loco parentis” (in place of your parents)
- 6 black students left class to join protest, got kicked out of uni, they appealed
- court said you have right to due process in college, can’t get kicked out
- students in public unis have due process
24
Q
Barron v Baltimore
A
- incorporation doctrine
- established precedent that BoR is ONLY applied to FED gov
- ruled the BoR was not binding on state govs, did NOT apply to STATE
25
Gitlow v New York
- incorporation doctrine
- 1st case that said 1stA DOES apply to states through the incorporation doctrine (14thA)
- began incorporating BoR to STATES (w/ 1stA)
- said that 1stA protection also applies to state govs
- now most amends are incorporated to states, happened little by little over time
26
US constitution vs STATE constitutions
- states have more (easier & quicker to amend)
- every state has one
- supreme within the state's borders
- states usually longer, more comprehensive
- amended more frequently
- many state constitutions include rights NOT guaranteed by the fed constitution (ex: legalization of weed)
27
statutory law
- written law passed by legislatures (congress for fed, senators for states)
- easier to amend than constitution
- initiated by legislators, lobbyists, constituents
- requirement: must be written & constitutional
- FED statutes apply to ALL STATES & trump state statutes
- the only current state law that opposes fed is legality of week
28
act
- statutes are broken up into acts
- covers an area of law, has several statutes, creates specific rights & remedies (copyright act)
- lays out all of the definitions
- 2 sections: substantive & remedial
29
substantive (section of an act)
what are the specific RIGHTS & PROHIBITIONS
30
remedial (section of an act)
- if someone violates your right... then this is the remedy you get
- defines damages
31
codes
all of the state's laws & fed statutes in one place (book & online)
32
uniform statutes
- commission of uniform laws come together & meet with judges, lawyers, scholars to talk about all the laws & propose a uniform set of laws for a particular area of the law
- every state looks at the uniform statutes & votes to either adopt the law in WHOLE or in PART
- helps to bring some consistency to statutes, UNIFORMITY
- all states have it
33
administrative law
- regulations (rules) that are created by the administrative agency (can be fed, state, local)
- created to perform a specific governmental statute
- congress can make laws, but can't ENFORCE them, so they can create agencies & regulations outside of statutes
34
common law
- judge-made law (caselaw) written in response to a specific case before the court
- interpretation of constitutions & statutes
- courts must consider the statute/constitutional provisions "plain language"... if the plain language is ambiguous, the courts are then free to consider the statute's legislative history (previous debates, drafts of the act)
35
Sherman act
- 1st antitrust act
- created to prohibit monopolies
- but failed to define what monopoly is, so courts have to interpret by caselaw
36
stare decisis
- requires courts adhere to & apply principles of law decided in prior cases in that court & courts of higher rank within that jurisdiction (city/state/fed district) to later cases involve substantially similar facts
- this law → these precedent cases → the precedent
- use history as a guide, provides consistency & flexibility
- court SHOULD apply precedent, but doesn't NEED to
37
precedent
an earlier event/action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances
38
what are 3 departures from the precedent?
- technological/medical advances
- incorrect decision (that was made in the past)
- change in social attitudes
39
Sutter v Hutchings
- precedent regarding social hosts
- mom knew daughter was hosting grad party, buys keg for underage guests
- guest gets drunk, drives, kills someone
- host gets sued & found liable in 2nd trial, court overturned precedent because of social change (ex post facto)
- they changed the law to stop drunk driving
40
ex post facto
- criminalizing conduct that was legal when originally performed
- never occurs for criminal case, CIVIL case ONLY
41
jurisdiction
the power of the courts to speak the law
42
exclusive jurisdiction
only a particular court can decide a case (fed or state)
43
concurrent subject matter jurisdiction
- both state & fed can have separate jurisdiction
- can use when you have (need both of these)...
1) diversity of citizenship
π & Δ are from different states
Amount must be > $75,000
2) federal question
Fed statute that does not state Fed courts have jurisdiction
Any CONSTITUTIONAL issue
44
state courts
- slower process (can take 10 years)
- judges serve for ~6 years
- state courts have more chance of BIAS because the judges are elected by the individuals of that state (so bad for out of state Δ’s)
45
fed courts
- faster process (<1 year)
- judges are appointed by president, approved by Senate
- serve for life
- LESS BIAS
46
personal jurisdiction/in personam
- courts have power to issue a binding judgment against an individual/biz
- jurisdiction over state residents (can be sued anywhere in your state)
- jurisdiction over non-state residents (individual purposefully availed themselves of the benefits of their own state, they must have "minimum contact" with the state
47
Intl Shoe Corp v Washington
- decided to make a statute (codify = make common law a statute)
- a corp may be subjected to the jurisdiction of a state court if it has "minimum contacts" with that state
48
minimum contacts/long arms statutes
- a nonresident civil Δ’s connections with the state where the lawsuit is brought that are sufficient for the forum state to assert personal jurisdiction over that defendant
- 5 ways you can sue out-of-state residents in your own state:
1) transact any biz in the state
2) contracts to supply goods/services in that state
3) if they commit a tortious act within that state
4) if they commit the tortious act outside of state, but the harm occurs within the state, that would lead to personal jurisdiction
5) if the Δ owns (“real”: land & anything attached) property within the state
49
specific vs general jurisdiciton
- can't sue about random thing, has to be about that minimum contact
