Deck 13: The Appellate Process

Question 1

An appellee is:

A)the party who lost at the trial court level
B)the party who won at the trial court level
C)the plaintiff at the trial court
D)the defendant at the trial court
E)the party who brings the appeal

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Cases in the U.S.Courts of Appeals can come from:

A)federal administrative agencies that lost in a lower court
B)state supreme courts
C)the U.S.Supreme Court
D)the U.S.Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which statement best describes post?conviction remedies?

A)the Burger Court expanded the grounds upon which they can be filed.
B)defendants on probation are the most likely to win
C)reform proposals primarily reflect concerns about judicial administration
D)they are most likely to be filed in capital punishment cases.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which statement best describes post?conviction remedies:

A)they may be filed only in federal court
B)they are limited to issues raised on appeal
C)they are limited to constitutional defects
D)they are limited to one filing
E)they may only be filed in the court which convicted the defendant

Question 5

Either the plaintiff or the defendant may appeal a decision to an appellate court in:

A)a criminal case
B)a civil case
C)both a and b
D)neither a or b

Question 6

If a case is affirmed, it:

A)means the case cannot be appealed to a higher court
B)is sent back to the court that heard the case
C)means the decision of a lower court was accepted by the appellate court
D)will result in a new trial for the defendant

Question 7

When an appellate court remands a case, it:

A)affirms the lower court's decision
B)reverses the lower court's decision
C)returns the case to the lower court
D)submits the case to a higher court
E)shifts the case to another appellate court

Question 8

The writ of habeas corpus protects:

A)students who want to see their files
B)the right of association and petition
C)persons in confinement
D)criminal defendants whose trial is delayed
E)civil defendants whose case is delayed

Question 9

Which statement(s) best describe criminal appeals:

A)defendants often win on appeal
B)criminal appeals usually raise only routine issues
C)judges find criminal appeals more interesting than civil appeals
D)all of the above statements are true
E)a and c are true

Question 10

Faced with growing appellate caseload, the first response by courts was to:

A)eliminate oral argument
B)add additional courts
C)expand the clerk's office
D)write unpublished opinions

Question 11

The U.S.Constitution's Fifth Amendment prohibition of double jeopardy means:

A)every party has the right to a jury trial
B)the losing party has the right to one appeal
C)a prosecutor cannot appeal a verdict of not guilty
D)a defendant is innocent until proven guilty
E)defendants have a right to counsel

Question 12

Which of the following statement(s) is NOT true about the American appellate process?

A)judges can ask questions during oral argument
B)lawyers may introduce new evidence
C)decisions are made by a group of judges
D)there are limits on when a case can be appealed.

Question 13

Which statement best describes the appellate court process?

A)only questions of law may be appealed
B)trial court findings of fact are subject to scrutiny
C)if the record is unclear, witnesses may be called
D)single judges typically make the decision

Question 14

Protecting a person from being prosecuted a second time after he or she has been found innocent is termed:

A)double jeopardy
B)ex post facto
C)right to one appeal
D)exclusionary rule
E)fourth amendment right

Question 15

Efforts to improve the efficiency of appellate courts have included all of the following, EXCEPT:

A)eliminating oral argument
B)issuing summary affirmations
C)issuing unpublished opinions
D)eliminating dissenting opinions

Question 16

Which statement(s) best describe appellate courts?

A)appellate courts operate the same as trial courts.
B)appellate courts provide for error correction.
C)appellate courts engage in policy formulation.
D)a, b, and c are all correct
E)b and c are both correct

Question 17

Appellate court proceedings may include:

A)jurors
B)witnesses
C)cross examination
D)oral argument

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT one of the common steps in appellate procedure:

A)writing and filing briefs
B)selecting jurors
C)presenting oral argument
D)writing an opinion

Question 19

An appeals court can:

A)hold trials in certain cases
B)affirm the judgment of a lower court
C)reverse the judgment of a lower court
D)b and c are both correct
E)a, b, and c are all correct

Question 20

Compared to case filings in trial courts, filings in appellate courts have:

A)increased at the same rate
B)increased at a much faster rate
C)actually declined
D)there is no pattern.

Question 21

State supreme courts have been consistently losing influence in the U.S.legal system.

Question 22

What options are available to an appellate court as it considers how to dispose of a case?

Question 23

Provide examples of how state supreme courts differ from one another and offer an explanation for why these differences exist.

Question 24

Are appellate courts more political than trial courts? Explain your answer.

Question 25

The small group dynamics of appellate courts have been linked to their decision making.

Question 26

An appeal of a lower court decision is discretionary.

Question 27

Describe three key features of criminal appeals.

Question 28

The U.S.Supreme Court and most state supreme courts largely have mandatory jurisdiction.

Question 29

The partisan views of appellate judges have been linked to their decisions.

Question 30

What are the primary differences between trial and appellate courts?

Question 31

Explain the difference between mandatory and discretionary appellate jurisdiction.

Question 32

Which of the following social background variables has been consistently found to relate to decision making by appellate judges?

A)race
B)gender
C)pre judicial career
D)political party affiliation
E)religious affiliation

Question 33

Describe the two primary purposes of appeal in the United States legal system.

Question 34

The bulk of trial court filings are never appealed.

Question 35

Habeus corpus relief has been expanding.

Question 36

According to studies of judicial role, which phrase best describes judges who express a very narrow and traditional view of the judicial process.

A)conservatives
B)pragmatists
C)law interpreters
D)law makers

Question 37

Which of the following approaches to studying judicial decision making rests on the assumption that appellate court judges view cases primarily in terms of policy preferences?

A)judicial attitudes
B)social backgrounds
C)small group
D)judicial role

Question 38

The movement in state supreme courts to reinvigorate state constitutions as sources of individual rights over and above the rights granted by the U.S.Constitution is referred to as:

A)state's rights
B)expanded original jurisdiction
C)state judicial activism
D)new judicial federalism

Question 39

What is meant by habeas corpus relief? Explain the history of habeas corpus in the United States and relate it the current situation of enemy combatants being held by the U.S.government in Cuba.

Question 40

Contemporary approaches to solving the problem of appellate court caseloads involve which of the following:

A)adopting expedited processing techniques
B)restricting the jurisdiction of the intermediate appellate courts
C)adding additional courts
D)hiring more judges

Question 41

How has advances in DNA evidence changed the argument about innocents on death row?

Question 42

What are two important factors in understanding how appellate court judges make their decisions?

Question 43

Why do appellate courts function as multi-judge bodies and how might small group theory help us understand their behavior?