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9 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Name the 6 types of Law
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1. Common—judge-made law; conservative, formulated in 12th century England; offered after-the-fact justice.
2. Equity—improvement over common law in that it provided for preventative justice; major instruments—injunction, restraining order 3. Natural—derived from some higher being and discerned through reasoning; “do your own thing" 4. Positive—person-made law; formulated by duly-authorized legislative body 5. Statutory—made by duly-authorized body and predicated on and subordinate to constitutional law 6. Constitutional—expresses will of people as to basic structure and operation of government |
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HOW DO COURTS DIFFER FROM OTHER POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS?
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1. Courts rarely initiate policy decisions; “passive” appearance
2. Special rules of access (e.g., standing, case or controversy, jurisdiction, money, attorney) 3. Legal procedures—facts are presented in specified manner (requires legal skills) and decorum observed 4. Court decisions are directed to and binding on specific cases 5. Appearance of objectivity |
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Differentiate between Norm Enforcement and Policy Making.
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1. Norm Enforcement—enforcing the laws of society (that is, applying the law to specific civil and criminal cases
a. consumes most of courts’ time and resources b. usually done in trial courts 2. Policy Making—Where the constitutionality of state and local laws (ordinances), state constitutions, and officials’ actions are challenged; a. judges “re-write” laws and can be accused of “judicial legislating” b. usually done by appellate courts c. occasion to engage in this activity does not occur that often |
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Describe the METHOD OF SELECTION OF STATE JUDGES
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1. Elected in partisan elections (10)
2. Elected in nonpartisan elections (16) 3. Elected by legislature (4) 4. Appointed by governor (11) 5. Missouri or Merit Plan (5) |
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What are the influences on judicial decision making?
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2. Influence of political party affiliation, ethnicity, ideology, and role perception (self-restraint and activism)
3. Influence of role perception |
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Describe the the influence of role perception
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3. Influence of role perception
a. Self-restraint—belief that state courts should defer to and respect previous court rulings (precedent) and legislative acts and/or wisdom of legislators or local elected government officials b. Activism—belief that state courts should exercise their authority to interpret their own state constitution to guarantee individual rights and liberties beyond those protected by the U.S. Constitution In spite of the fact that the national, state, and local governments are involved in law enforcement, law enforcement in the United States is principally a local responsibility. |
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Describe the responsibilities of the sheriff
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1. Law enforcement principally in unincorporated area of counties (most likely to be given up by sheriffs in large urban counties)
2. Maintains county jail 3. Ward of the court (keeps order and processor of court papers) |
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Describe the responsibilities of State prosecutors
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Elected in all 50 states
2. Decide whether or not to prosecute a case brought by police 3. Decide what charges to ultimately file against criminal suspects 4. Office is often stepping stone to higher public office |
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Discuss the 3 Federal Court Cases and Law enforcement
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1. Mapp v. Ohio (1961)—prohibition against illegal searches and seizures; illegally seized evidence barred from court
2. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)—right to an attorney in criminal cases for indigents 3. Miranda v. Arizona (1966)—must inform criminal suspects of certain rights at time of arrest |
