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Conflicting Roles.
Contradictory Views?
How Should the Law Function?
Citizens think the courts should be above politics.
Courts should act nonpolitically in interpreting the
Constitution.
Courts should evaluate each case without preexisting assumptions. Fairness requires neutrality.
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Conflicting Roles.
Contradictory Views?
How Should the Law Function?
Citizens want state courts to be responsive to the
electorate, if they mold and implement public policy.
Dilemma
How can Courts be above politics and responsive
to the electorate at the same time?
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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No Conflict?
Citizens think Courts should both dispense pure
justice and, at the same time, be responsive to
those who elected them.
Courts function differently from other institutions
in the dual role of policy maker and decision
maker.
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Court Decision-Making
Different from the Legislature and Governor
Dont initiate policy changes.
Evaluate individual conflicts brought to them.
Cases they decide may have impact on others.
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Court Decision-Making
A court ruling in one case may serve as legal
precedent for another.
Ex: Ordinance overturned in one city may be
challenged in another city. The ruling for each city
stands unless appealed.
Stare Decisis: Latin: to stand by that which
was decided before. Courts follow principles of
rulings in former cases.
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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In Summary:
the Work of Courts:
Courts resolve individual conflicts by
interpreting and enforcing existing rules and
laws, but, in doing so, they may create law
that plays an important role in the lives of far
more people than the individuals who
actually participated in the case.
-Text, pg. 124
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Court Decision-Making
Ideal: Objective, Impartial Decisions
Judges must base their decisions on federal
and state constitutions, statutes and earlier court
decisions.
Judges have a passive role, although their
decisions may have political or unintended
consequences and create law.
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Judges:
Maintain passive role.
Enforce rules on access to the Court.
Follow strict rules of procedure.
Confine decisions to the case at hand
Maintain the appearance of objectivity.
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Judicial Federalism
U.S. Constitution
Article III established the Supreme Court and gave
Congress the authority to create other lower federal
courts.
Article VI makes federal law the supreme law of the
land.
State Constitutions
States create their own courts, and most cases go to
state courts.
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Judicial Federalism
U.S. District Courts: Cases Involving Federal Law
Kidnapping, Bank Robbery, Credit Card Fraud, Embezzlement, and
other federal crimes.
Constitutionality of a law
Cases involving the laws and treaties of the U.S.
Disputes between two or more states
Admiralty cases (Maritime)
Bankruptcy cases
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Judicial Federalism
State Courts Hear:
Most crimes
Divorce and child custody
Probate and inheritance
Real estate
Juvenile cases
Contract disputes
Personal injury
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Localized: Jurisdiction is
a geographic area
Appellate courts
Citizens participate:
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Judges: 3,366
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Cameron County:
State District Judges
Eight District Courts
103rd
107th
138th
197th
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Cameron County:
State District Judges
Eight District Judges
357th
404th
444th
445th
(Oct. 2015)
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Texas:
How Do We Choose Judges?
The Voters Elect Them in Partisan Elections.
Trial Court Judges four year terms
Appellate Court judges six-year terms
Municipal Court Judges Most appointed by
Mayor or City Council (1,527).
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Campaign Contributions
Texas Judicial Campaign Fairness Act (1995)
Limits Contributions to Supreme Court Justices
Individuals - $5,000
Law Firms - $30,000
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72%
49.6%
79%
44.8%
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16%
38%
African-American Judges
State Population
4%
12.2%
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Appointive-Elective System
Many judges initially get on the court by
appointment and later stand for election.
Governor appoints judges to fill vacancies.
Appointed judges have the advantage of
incumbency if they seek election.
Some have suggested that Texas already has an
Appointive-Elective System.
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Judicial Selection:
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Grand Jury
Federal: U.S. Constitution requires use of grand juries to screen
cases to prevent arbitrary actions by prosecutors.
State: May use grand jury to screen criminal cases to decide
whether enough evidence exists to go to trial. Defendants lawyer
cannot be present.
Information or Administrative Hearing: Most often, the defendant
waives right to a grand jury and has a hearing before a judge.
Defendants lawyer is present.
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Death Penalty
In 1972, the death penalty was prohibited in the
U.S. in the Furman v. Georgia.
The Supreme Court ruled that it was unfairly
applied to many crimes and because there was a
lack of safeguards in place in many states.
Four years later, in Gregg v. Georgia, the
Supreme Court established guidelines under which
the states could reinstate the death penalty.
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Factors:
Large Numbers of Death Sentences
Statutes for assigning a death sentence:
Did the defendant act intentionally?
Is the defendant a future threat to society?
Standards make it easy for juries to answer yes.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rarely reverses a
death sentence.
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is reluctant to
overturn verdicts.
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Death Penalty
Research produces little evidence that suggests
that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime.
In Texas, average time from sentence to
execution is 10.6 years.
One inmate spent 31 years on death row.
Some suggest that public executions might
increase power of death sentence as a deterrent.
2014 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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