Exam 3: Civil Dispute Resolution

Explain how state courts are affected by federal court decisions under the doctrine of stare decisis.

One method of appealing a case to the U.S. Supreme Court is by:

The function of appellate courts is to examine the record of a case on appeal and to determine whether the trial court committed prejudicial error.

The federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over:

A counterclaim is a document filed by a defendant denying the allegations of the complaint.

Able and Baker are both residents of Iowa, but they have a dispute regarding some land located in Kansas. Able gives Baker reasonable notice that she is filing a lawsuit in Kansas regarding the land and Baker objects, claiming the Kansas courts have no jurisdiction. In this case:

In most states, judges are elected by the voters for a stated number of years.

The U.S. Supreme Court:

An example of a special court in the federal judicial system is the:

Harris was awarded $4 million in damages in a malpractice case against Dr. Kelsoe. The doctor's attorney filed a motion for a new trial. The motion may be granted if:

The purpose of pleadings is to give notice and to establish the issues of fact and law that the parties dispute.

After a plaintiff files a complaint with the clerk of the trial court, the clerk issues a summons to be served on the defendant to notify him that a suit has been brought against him.

A court will grant summary judgment after a trial if the judge makes a final, binding determination on the merits of the case.

In the United States, there is a right to a jury trial in any federal civil case at common law, regardless of the amount of money involved.

In personam jurisdiction can only be obtained by serving process on the party within the state in which the court is located.

A deposition is a pretrial discovery process, which consists of sworn testimony of a witness or the opposing party.

The nonbinding, informal process in which a third party is selected by the disputing parties to attempt to help them reach a mutually acceptable agreement is known as:

When a trial is conducted with a jury, the judge determines issues of law and the jury determines questions of fact.

A typical state long-arm statute applies only to nonresident defendants who commit criminal acts in the state.

Subject matter jurisdiction refers to the authority of a particular court to adjudicate a controversy of a particular kind.