Chapter 11: Adjudicating the Law

Political Science 207 with Lim at Texas A&M University

About this deck

By: Joshua Dover
Textbook: Comparing the States and Communities - Looseleaf Binding
Comparing the States and Communities: Politics, Government, and Policy in the United States
Created: 2011-11-28
Size: 35 flashcards
Views: 136

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State Courts

-Handle mostly criminal cases

-Handle 99.9% of criminal cases & 99.8% of civil cases in the country

-4 states have larger court systems than the fed. gov't

Amendment V

-Guarantees jury

-Protects from double jeopardy

-Does not have to testify against oneself (right to remain silent)

Amendment VI

-speedy and public trial, with impartial jury

-informed of the charges

-confronted with the witnesses

-right to an attorney

Amendment VII

-Trial by jury and compliance with common law

Amendment VIII

-No excessive bail

-No cruel and unusual punishments

Appellate Courts

-Review the court records from the case to review how the trial procedures were handled

-Hold public hearings with the attorneys to go over errors in procedure, consistency with other court decisions, constitutionality.

-They do not retry the case

-Overruled cases have all previous conclusions vacated are sent back for retrial

State Supreme Courts

-Often the court of last resort in the appeal process

-TX and OK have two supreme cts - one criminal, one civil

-Must accept all cases involving capital punishment

amicus curiae

"friends of the court"

-arguments submitted to appellate courts by individuals and groups, that may not have been involved with the original case, with advice about the issues.

Acceptance of Appellate Cases

0.09% of all (civil, criminal, juvenile, traffic) cases reach intermediate courts

0.01% reach state supreme courts

Appeals to The Supreme Court

-Fewer than 200 per year

-Typically they appeal because a state or local law conflicts with the US Constitution

Percent Discretionary Appellate Cases vs. Discretionary Appellate Cases per 100,000 people

Strong +0.76

Judicial Activism

-Decisions that find gov't laws or behavior unconstitutional

-Courts that judge laws as constitutional are not deemed active

-Also refers to decisions that do not follow legal precedents set by previous courts' decisions in other cases.

Judicial Restraint

-more limited role of simply interpreting law rather than "law un-making" via activism

-associated with honoring the majority preferences of the "closer to the people" legislative and executive branches

Conservative vs. Liberal Activism

-Since 1995, there have been more conservative activist decisions in the Supreme Court

-Led by Chief Justice John Roberts

-Activism in state courts is not sternly related to state liberalism or liberal decisions

Majority Rule

-The idea that the support of the majority represented with legislature and executives upholds the decisions and laws that they make.

-Minority rights can be considered contrary to majority rule. Judges who support equal protection in their decisions are considered activists

Mapp v. Ohio

1961

-Evidence found without a warrant for a particular item cannot be used against a person in court,

Gideon v. Wainwright

1963

-The right to a state provided attorney to jail-time offenses (misdemeanors and felonies)

Miranda v. Arizona

1966

-Miranda rights (remain silent, to an attorney)

"Qualified" Legal Counsel

-Varies widely due to lack of national definition

-In Texas, the attorney must be qualified upon appointment but loss of attorney's license afterwards is not considered

Kennedy v. Louisiana

2008

-Declared that the death penalty for a crime that did not kill the victim as unconstitutional

Brown v. Board of Education

1954

-Declared "separate but equal" as unconstitutional

Loving v. Virginia

1967

-Declared laws against interracial marriage unconstitutional

-Declared that marriage was one of the basic civil rights and a fundamental freedom

-All but 16 states had began to allow interracial marriage before this federal decision

Lawrence v. Texas

2003

-Sexual practices between consenting adults cannot be illegal

-Overruled Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

Defense of Marriage Act

1996

-Federal gov't does not recognize same-sex marriage, even if recognized by the state.

-Allows state or local gov'ts not to honor same-sex marriages made in other states

-Most states have their own similar acts or constitutional provisions

-Full faith and credit, due process, and equal protection clause challenges.

Types of Judge Selection (5)

-Governor Appointment w/ Senate Approval (Most Common)

-Legislative Appointment

-Partisan Elections

-Nonpartisan Elections

-Missouri Plan / Merit System

-Most states use a combination of these systems for Trial & Appellate judges

Missouri Plan / Merit System

-Committee of attorneys or state bar association submits 3-6 "qualified" candidates to the governor, who makes choice from the list to fill vacant judgeship

-After 1-3 years appointee must stand for an at-large retention election

-Allows judges to run on their record as judges rather than candidates against their opponents

Changes in Judge Selection

-Last 4 decades

-Adoption of the merit system

-Change from partisan to nonpartisan elections

-West (newer) states tend to use newer systems - merit & nonpartisan

Qualifications for Judgeships

-Almost all require membership in state bar, typically for at least 5 years

-20 states have minimum age, typically 30

Judge Representation

-Large over representation of attorneys

-Both federal and state courts have about 31% women and racial minorities

-Very unrepresentative of those they judge, with almost all states having the same representation.

Judge Incumbency Advantage

-From 1986-2004, incumbent defeat in state supreme court elections was never higher than 12.3%, average was 9%

-Retention elections: 2.1%, nonpartisan: 5.2%, partisan: 28.1%

Minority Judge Leanings

Minority Judges and Democrats typically favor the "have-not" of the case (defendant in criminal, wife in divorce, debtor, etc.)

State Population vs. Criminal Cases

2006

-Strong +0.75

-Texas has many more cases than expected; NY, CA many less.

Bell v. Cone

2002

-Poor state provided legal council must be so poor to as amount to having none in order for it to be considered inadequate.

Cockrell v. Burdine

2002

-An attorney sleeping though out trial proceedings was an example of absence of legal representation

How are juries partial?

-They are pulled from only registered voters

-Exclude students, mothers of small children, small businessmen

-Attorneys for each side get to excuse jurors who won't vote for their side

-An impartial jury of one's peers has never judged anyone.

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