Exam 9: Courts and Pretrial Processes

Prospective judges receive special training in law school to become professional judges in an _______________.

Very few efforts have been made to reform state courts in the twentieth century.

As __________, all judges must deal with political actors such as county commissioners, legislators, and members of the state executive bureaucracy.

Defendants state their pleas (guilty or not guilty)at the ____________________.

Judge Brown has been a superior court judge for the past seven years.  He was the first one in his family to graduate college. He is running for reelection without his political affiliation being identified.  Even though he loves his job, he would love to have more time in the courtroom instead of organizing schedules and budgets.  Instead of trying cases, he feels that he just works out agreements with the defense and the prosecution.  The way he sees it, at least a guilty plea acknowledges he is putting defendants away. Judge Brown is a judge in superior court.  He hears only cases that deal with felonies; therefore, he works in a trial court of ________  jurisdiction.

Why is it important that states develop standardized court structures?

U.S. district courts are often referred to as ______ courts.

Pretrial detention can be a very troubling experience for the defendant.

Judges have three major roles:  adjudicator, negotiator, and _________.

Nonpartisan selection allows the public to choose a judge from a list of candidates.

___________ is designed to remove politics from the selection of judges and to allow the voters to unseat judges.

An application to a court requesting that an order be issued to bring about a specified action is called a

The United States has a ____________________ court system with separate federal and state court systems.

Holding a defendant for trial, for fear that if the defendant were released on bail he or she might endanger another person or the  community, is referred to as

Which of the following principles should be used to make bail decisions?

____________ occurs when a defendant is held for trial based on a judge's finding that if the defendant were released on bail, he or she would flee or would endanger another person or the community.

What is one criticism of the bail system in the United States? Suggest a recommendation for fixing this.

The occupation of "bail bondsman" is a job unique to the United States.

Judges spend significant time as negotiators while working with prosecutors and defense attorneys regarding plea bargaining.

Judge Brown has been a superior court judge for the past seven years.  He was the first one in his family to graduate college. He is running for reelection without his political affiliation being identified.  Even though he loves his job, he would love to have more time in the courtroom instead of organizing schedules and budgets.  Instead of trying cases, he feels that he just works out agreements with the defense and the prosecution.  The way he sees it, at least a guilty plea acknowledges he is putting defendants away. Judge Brown is up for reelection.  His political affiliation is not listed on the ballot; therefore, he is running in a(n)_________ election.