Unit 3Respond to the questions below in an ESSAY format. (Definitions can be a single sentence). The Courts1. Briefly describe the development of both federal and state court systems in the united states.
2. Describe the differences between state trial courts and lower courts in the same jurisdiction.
3. List and describe the roles of the various levels of state appellate courts.
4. Discuss the implication of the following cases on the court system:
5. Define and discuss the common tasks of the state court administrator. 6. Starting with the supreme court and working your way down, list and describe the role of the various levels of courts in the federal system:
7. Explain the concept of judicial review.
8. Define and describe the steps that are taken at the first appearance.
7. Describe the role of the grand jury and trace a case through the grand jury process. 8. Describe the role of the preliminary hearing.
9. Describe the role of the arraignment and trace a case through the arraignment process.
10. Describe Plea Bargaining and explain why it is a "necessary evil."
11. Define Courtroom Workgroup. 12. Explain the qualifications of judges, the various methods of selecting judges in both the state and federal systems, the role of the judge, and the problem of judicial misconduct. 13. Explain the role of the prosecutor.
14. Explain the role of the Defense Attorney. 15. Describe the right to counsel and how the system provides legal counsel to the poor. (Hint: There are three basic three basic types: Assigned counsel, public defenders, and contractual arrangements)
16. Describe the role of the Bailiff. 17. Describe the role of the Local Court Administrator. 18. Describe the role of the Court Reporter and specify the importance of it. 19. Describe the role of the Clerk of the Court. 20. Define and Describe the role of the Expert Witness. 21. Define and Describe the role of Lay Witnesses.
22. Define and and explain the role of the juror. 23. Define the role of the victim. 24. Define the role of the Defendant.
25. Define the role of the Press
Trial and Sentencing1. Explain how the American adversarial system works. 2. Define rules of evidence. 3. Explain the provisions of the Speedy Trial Act. 4. Discuss the impact of the following cases that deal with trial delay:
5. Define jury selection. 6. List and explain the three types of challenges. 7. Explain the idea of scientific jury selection. 8. Discuss the impact of the following cases that deal with race and jury selection:
9. Explain what a sequestered jury is. 10. Explain the purpose of the opening statements. 11. Define evidence, and differentiate between the different types.
12. Define Perjury. 13. Describe the impact of the following cases dealing with child witnesses:
14. Define hearsay and the hearsay rule. In addition, describe the exceptions to the hearsay rule that the text discusses. 15. Explain the purpose of the closing arguments. 16. Describe the judge's charge to the jury. 17. Explain the jury deliberation process. 18. Explain how the verdict is reached. 19. List and describe the problems with the jury system that our author considers in the text. What are some proposed solutions to these problems? 20. Define sentencing. 21. List and describe the five goals of criminal sentencing:
22. Define and describe the characteristics of indeterminate sentencing. 23. Describe the common criticisms of indeterminate sentencing.
24. Define and describe the characteristics of structured sentencing.
25. Describe the common criticisms of structured sentencing. 26. Define Mandatory Sentencing. 27. Define truth in sentencing and describe its impact on the American prison systems. 28. Describe the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. 29. Describe the nature and importance of the presentence investigation report. 30. Describe the history of victims' rights and services, and discuss the growing role of the victim in the criminal justice process.
31. Describe both the historical and contemporary prevalence of the death penalty in the United States. 32. Outline the arguments for and against the death penalty. 33. Define the function of the writ of Habeas Corpus and explain its importance to those who face the death penalty. 34. Describe the impact of the following death penalty cases.
Leading Cases in This Unit[ Klopfer v. North Carolina | Barker v. Wingo | Strunk v. United States | United States v. Taylor | Fex v. Michigan | Doggett v. United States | Batson v. Kentucky | Powers v. Ohio | Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co. | Georgia v. McCollum | Campbell v. Louisiana | Griffin v. California | Coy v. Iowa | Maryland v. Craig | White v. Illinois ] [ Booth v. Maryland | Payne v. Tennessee | Coleman v. Thompson | Schlup v. Delo | Wilkerson v. Utah | In re Kemmler | Furman v. Georgia | Gregg v. Georgia | Coker v. Georgia | Woodson v. North Carolina | Harris v. Alabama] [ Keeney v. Tamayo-Reyes | Herrera v. Collins | Marbury v. Madison | McNabb v. United States | U.S. v. Hazzard | Brady v. United States | Henderson v. Morgan ] [ Brady v. Maryland | U.S. v. Bagley | Burns v. Reed | Ambler v. Pachtman | Powell v. Alabama | Johnson v. Zerbst | Gideon v. Wainwright | Argersinger v. Hamlin | In re Gault | Faretta v. California | Nix v. Whiteside | Crosby v. United States ] This page available at: |