Exam 8: the Judiciary

The constitutional requirements of presidential appointment and senatorial advice and consent for federal judges are examples of ____________________.

The "switch in time that saved nine" refers to ____________________.

In Brown v.Board of Education,the Supreme Court invalidated the "separate but equal"doctrine articulated in its 1896 decision in Plessy v.Ferguson.The Court's decision in Brown was,therefore,a violation of ____________________.

____________________ is the official status of a litigant who is entitled to have his or her case decided by a court.

Which is an opinion written by a member of the Supreme Court offering legal reasons why the Court's majority erred in its resolution of a case?

In most modern democracies,the judiciary is independent of the elected branches and serves to check the authority of the government.By "independent" we mean ____________________.

Which of the following provisions is NOT found in Article III of the U.S.Constitution?

____________________ cases involve the government prosecuting a person for a crime against society,while ____________________ cases involve one person suing another person for violating the civil code of conduct.

What is the standard of proof in a civil case?

Compare the method of selecting federal judges with judicial selection methods used in the American states and with those used in other countries.Which system or systems promote the greatest democratic accountability? Which systems promote the greatest judicial independence? Should the U.S.Constitution be amended to alter the method of selecting federal judges? If so,which alternative systems would you propose to replace the current one? Why? If not,why is the current system favorable to the alternatives?

How many justices currently sit on the Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court does not typically hear appeals for cases in which the issue is ____________________,that is,for cases in which a decision would have no effect for the parties involved in the dispute.

Which model of judicial behavior reflects the idea that judges decide cases on the basis of their personal policy preferences?

What is the legal principle of stare decisis? Why is it important in a common law system? Why is stare decisis somewhat less important in a civil law system? Are federal courts strictly bound by stare decisis? What might be the cost or downside of making stare decisis mandatory? What might be the cost or downside of eliminating the principle of stare decisis?

What provision or provisions of the U.S.Constitution establish and empower the federal judiciary? What important institutions and grants of authority are explicitly defined in the Constitution? What aspects or practices of federal judicial power are not explicitly supported by the Constitution's text? To what extent is the practice of judicial power in the United States consistent with the intents of the Constitution's framers?

Judges said to exercise ?Òjudicial restraint?1Ó and not enter into the policy-making process,are most likely ____________________.

What is necessary for the rule of law to be beneficial to society?

By providing and enforcing an authoritative interpretation of the Constitution and federal laws,the federal courts help resolve ____________________ that arise when lower level governments act under different interpretations of the law.

Judges who examine how the law as written should be applied to contemporary affairs are ____________________.

____________________ is the authority of courts to decide whether a law or government action is constitutionally permissible.