Exam 12: Core Concepts of US Court Systems

This approach advocates that the law should be interpreted (and cases should be decided) in a way that distributes economic costs and benefits to promote economic efficiency and maximize wealth.

In criminal justice the most important motion that can be made before a trial is the motion to suppress.

After an initial appeal is decided, subsequent appeals to even higher levels of appellate courts are not guaranteed as a matter of right.

Talk About: -Preliminary Hearing

This view suggests that judges apply the relevant law to the relevant facts and arrive at a decision.

Talk About: -Courtroom workgroup

Talk About: -Indeterminate sentencing

The U.S. Supreme Court typically hears only 80 to 90 cases each year, rejecting between 7,000 and 15,000 other petitions that the Court receives each year.

There are constitutional rights to discovery in criminal cases.

If the defendant pleads not guilty, the case is scheduled for _________. If the defendant pleads guilty, then the case is scheduled for ____________.

Contrary to the jury trials favored in television and film portrayals, the vast majority of criminal cases never go to trial. Rather, they are resolved by a plea bargain.

Legal process theories tried to harmonize legal formalism and legal realism.

Very few cases brought to a grand jury result in an indictment that sends the case forward.

Talk About: -Grand jury

Whatever form of plea bargaining is used, the plea agreement in any case must be agreed upon by the:

Talk About: -Legal formalism

Talk About: -Judges

The courts have frequently been the branch of government to which minority groups have turned, often successfully, in their struggles for equality.

The Supreme Court does make policy through the power of judicial review. Whether addressing injustices or inequalities, or issuing constitutional rulings, the decisions of the Supreme Court have the potential to shape:

At hearings and trials, trial courts usually: