Deck 11: The Right to Appeal and the Appellate Process

Question 1

This is a settled matter that cannot be judged again.

A) res judicata
B) per curiam opinion
C) trial de novo
D) certiorari appeal

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which is a common due-process argument in appeals?

A) flawed jury instructions
B) the defendant is innocent
C) the defendant didn't like the verdict
D) the jurors are dumb

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Who is the person who initiates an appeal?

A) the appellant
B) the petitioner
C) Both are correct.
D) Neither is correct.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

This is a panel of about three judges who listen to the same case.

A) rule of four
B) full court
C) collegial court
D) full panel

Question 5

This is when the court rules that there was no serious constitutional violation in the trial and the conviction and sentence will remain in place.

A) remand
B) remove
C) allow
D) affirm

Question 6

This is the right to initiate a legal action.

A) right
B) certiorari
C) standing
D) rule

Question 7

Which is not a condition that must be met for a first appeal?

A) The case went to trial and was not settled in a plea bargain.
B) The defense can allege that due-process rights were violated in either the conviction and/or the sentencing.
C) The defendant must prove that his/her attorney provided an inadequate defense.
D) The defendant was convicted and sentenced at trial.

Question 8

Because a defendant is granted only one _____, or mandatory appeal, such cases often argue multiple points of law because this may be the only chance to have them reviewed.

A) certiorari appeal
B) appeal by right
C) appeal by chance
D) interlocutory appeal

Question 9

To _____ an issue for appeal means that the attorney must challenge during pretrial or trial the constitutionality of that part of the case.

A) remand
B) reserve
C) preserve
D) save

Question 10

This is another term specified in the text for a serious defect in a trial.

A) big problem
B) plain error
C) res judicata

Question 11

This categorization scheme divides appeal cases based on the court's obligation and power to hear a case.

A) mandatory-discretionary
B) direct-collateral
C) pre-sentence-direct-post-conviction
D) federal-state

Question 12

This categorization scheme divides appeals into appeals that come directly from a trial court after sentencing and appeals come either before the end of a trial or after other appeals have been attempted.

A) mandatory―discretionary
B) direct―collateral
C) intermediate court―high court―final court
D) federal―state

Question 13

This categorization scheme identifies where on the chronological path the case falls.

A) federal―state
B) direct―collateral
C) mandatory―discretionary
D) pre-sentence―direct―post-conviction

Question 14

This categorization scheme separates cases based on their location in the court hierarchy.

A) intermediate court―high court―final court
B) direct―collateral
C) mandatory―discretionary
Pre-sentence―direct―post-conviction

Question 15

This categorization scheme separates cases based on geographic jurisdiction.

A) pre-sentence―direct―post-conviction
B) mandatory―discretionary
C) direct―collateral
D) federal―state

Question 16

These appeals require the court's permission to be heard.

A) appeals by right
B) direct appeals
C) discretionary appeals
D) interlocutory appeals

Question 17

This appeal is made before or during a trial and seeks to clarify an important issue that may affect the case-in-chief and cannot effectively be addressed after the trial.

A) collateral appeal
B) appeal by right
C) interlocutory appeal
D) direct appeal

Question 18

These appeals ask a state high court or the Supreme Court to review a possible error of law in the trial court and the intermediate court's ruling on it.

A) certiorari appeal
B) collateral appeal
C) habeas corpus appeal
D) direct appeal

Question 19

If the conviction and sentence have been affirmed on appeal and all other state options exhausted, the incarcerated person can still file a petition for this, as long as there is a new legal issue that was not settled in the direct appeals, and the federal court agrees to review it

A) habeas corpus
B) writ of certiorari
C) writ of en banc
D) petition for per curiam opinion

Question 20

In the Supreme Court, if four of the nine justices vote to accept a petition, it is accepted. What is this called?

A) rule of nine
B) en banc rule
C) collegial court rule
D) rule of four

Question 21

Which of the following may increase the likelihood of some courts accepting a discretionary appeal petition and granting certiorari?

A) Few or no amicus briefs are filed in support to certiorari.
B) There are similar rulings in lower courts.
C) The case has minor policy implications.
D) The federal government is filing the petition.

Question 22

This is a party's written description of the facts in the case, the law that applies, and the party's argument about the issues being appealed.

A) dissent
B) opinion
C) document
D) brief

Question 23

These occur when the attorneys summarize their briefs and answer questions from the judges.

A) oral arguments
B) written arguments
C) personal appearances
D) opinion

Question 24

Here, the petitioner argues that in the trial there was a violation of constitutional rights and that the violation was substantial, material, or prejudicial.

A) substantive due-process challenge
B) procedural due-process challenge
C) Neither are correct.
D) Both are correct.

Question 25

This brief raises legal concern about errors and constitutional violations at the trial that deprived the defendant of due process of law.

A) appellant brief
B) reply brief
C) rebuttal brief
D) response brief

Question 26

What is the tactic of arguing that the instant and precedent cases are too distinct to deduce a connection?

A) discriminating
B) distinguishing
C) separating
D) differentiating

Question 27

This means the appellate court is tossing out the case and prohibiting the state from taking action on the issue again.

A) dismissal with prejudice
B) dismissal without prejudice
C) dismissal with bias
D) dissent

Question 28

A whole new trial that excludes any illegal evidence that was introduced in the first trial is called a _______.

A) jury trial
B) new trial
C) bench trial
D) trial de novo

Question 29

These decisions generally deal with issues that the court does not view as controversial because they have been settled in earlier cases.

A) habeas corpus
B) per curiam opinion
C) writ of certiorari
D) writ of en banc

Question 30

Trial courts generally create precedent.

Question 31

Like trial courts, appellate courts deal with pretrial hearings, rulings on objections, giving jury instructions, and issuing verdicts.

Question 32

Appellate courts rule only on the case before them and never include in their ruling a new legal doctrine that becomes precedent or a nullification of an existing law.

Question 33

When cases do move up from the trial, the appellate courts generally do not even consider the verdict in the case.

Question 34

An appellate court never hears new evidence even if it rules that there was substantial error or a "clearly erroneous ruling" at the trial level.

Question 35

Appeals courts hear far more cases than do trial courts.

Question 36

According to the text, fewer than 10 percent of those convicted or imprisoned have their case heard on appeal.

Question 37

According to the text, in approximately 25 percent of the cases, the appellate court affirms the lower court.

Question 38

Neither the Constitution nor the Supreme Court has declared the right to appeal a criminal conviction.

Question 39

The Supreme Court has ruled that states that grant the right of appeal must make it available to everyone by providing counsel for the first appeal.