Exam 7: Courts and the Quest for Justice

The_______________is the dominant figure in the courtroom and therefore exerts the most influence over the values and norms of the work group.

Which of the following courts is primarily considered as a "reviewer" of judicial decisions? ​

Which amendment provides for the right tocounsel? ​

Prosecutors in every state and in the federal government are elected officials and must answer tothe voters. ​

The situation that occurs when twoor more courts have the authority topreside over the same criminal case is called____    jurisdiction. ​

Criminal jurisdiction is determined by the presiding judge where the alleged crime took place. ​

Written statements by the judges expressing the reasons for the court's decision in a case are commonly known as  ____________________. ​

The Supreme Court does not normally hear any evidence; instead it bases its decision on the written record of the case and____________________________________, which are the arguments presented in person rather than on paper.

The ranking FBI agent in a given state is considered tobe the chief law enforcement officer of that state. ​

The level of charge tobe brought against a suspect is determined by the _________ ​

First National Bank in Cleveland, ohiowas recently robbed by twogunmen. Both suspects were quickly apprehended by the ohioHighway Patrol roughly ten minutes after the actual robbery. Since the Bank is federally ensured, the FBI has been called in along with a team of Cleveland detectives since the bank is actually within city limits. You, as a federal prosecutor representing the Northern District of ohio, are now deciding on what federal charges tobring against the twosuspects. Aside from filing federal charges, the Cleveland District Attorney calls toask if he and his office could process the suspects first through their state trial system, since these twosuspects have possibly been involved in other non-federally insured robberies. As the federal prosecutor assigned tothis case, how doyou respond tothe Cleveland DA's request, and why?

At the present time, there are__________________________federal district courts in the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court will not issue a writ of certiorari unless at least four justices approve it; this is known as the _________________________. ​

Every state has at least one federal district court. ​

There is noabsolute right toappeal tothe U.S. Supreme Court. ​

As most cases are decided through plea bargains rather than through trial proceedings, the judge often offers his or  her services as a negotiator tohelp the prosecution and the defense "make a deal." ​

In the courtroom work group, whois responsible for maintaining security and order in the judge's chambers and in the courtroom? ​

Statements in which judges express the reasons for the court's decision in a case are __________ ​

Alaska is the only U.S. state that does not have one court of appeals (known as an appellate, or reviewing, court). ​

Prosecutors cannot face civil lawsuits for misconduct, even if they have deliberately sent an innocent person toprison. In practical terms, prosecutors are given this blanket of immunity based on the belief that prosecutors should not live in fear of "getting it wrong." A recently released federal inmate whowas wrongfully arrested, convicted, and later exonerated for a rape and murder he did not commit, has decided tofile a federal civil rights lawsuit against the federal prosecutor whotried his case. As a federal civil rights attorney you agree toat least review his case, and investigate further tosee if others had been knowingly and wrongfully prosecuted by this DA. After six months of intensive research, you have uncovered a lengthy list of wrongful prosecutions by this federal prosecutor. In fact, seven men, six of whom were African American like your client, were wrongfully convicted and later released from prison for violent crimes they did not commit. Some of these men had served over a decade or more in federal prison for crimes they did not carry out. As a civil rights attorney, knowing what you now know, doyou take the case under the assumption that it may be impossible todethrone this federal prosecutor and hold him accountable, or doyou walk away? Please explain your answer.