Dual Court System

The

trial process is listed below.

Step 1: Opening statement

Step 2: Presentation of evidence

Step 3: Closing statements

Step 4: Jury Deliberation

Step 5: ?

Choose the option that completes the trial process.

• jury instructions

• cross examination

• verdict

• investigation

What power is held by the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court?

• Neither court hears death penalty cases.

• Both courts may issue writs of habeas corpus.

• Neither court hears equal protection cases.

• Both courts may issue writs of mandamus.

The passage below describes a dispute between two neighbors.

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Liz’s 16 year old daughter backed into Doug’s car while it was parked in front of his house. Doug sued Liz for $1500 to cover the cost of repairing the car.

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Which court heard the case?

• county court

• Circuit Court of Appeals

• Florida Supreme Court

• appellate court

The passage below describes a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

" In 1940, the Texas Democratic Party refused to give an African-American man a ballot to select candidates to run for Congress and governor. In finding this action unconstitutional “…this Court is not constrained to follow a previous decision which…, involves the application of a constitutional principle, rather than an interpretation of the Constitution to evolve the principle itself.”

Source: Smith v. Allwright (1944)

What does this court decision illustrate?

• The court is a district court

• The court has the power of judicial

  review.

• The court has the power to accept appeals cases.

• The court is a district court.

The graph below describes appeals filed by type of appeal in the U.S. Courts of Appeals, 1990-2010.

Year Civil Criminal

1990 27116 9493

1995 34203 10162

2000 35780 10707

2005 32818 16060

2010 55992 12797

Source: United States Courts

Based on the graph, what conclusion can be drawn about court cases in the U.S.?

• More civil cases are being filed without legal representation.

• More criminal cases are being filed without legal representation.

• More criminal actions are being dropped before trial.

• More civil actions are being dropped before trial.

How are the Enlightenment ideas that influenced the Founding Fathers reflected in modern institutions

• The European Union encourages economic stability.

• The United Nations promotes universal human rights.

• Oligarchies have increased to safeguard natural rights.

• Colonies have been re-established to preserve popular sovereignty.

Read the following excerpt and answer the question below.

. . . to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.-Declaration of Independence.

Which Enlightenment principle most influenced the ideas in this excerpt?

• Thomas Hobbes’s idea of natural equality

• Voltaire’s idea of the importance of toleration

• John Locke's idea of the social contract

• Montesquieu’s idea of separation of powers

How did the Magna Carta (1215) contribute to the development of the English government?

• It limited the power of the monarch.

• It extended voting rights.

• It provided for a bill of rights.

• It created a two-house parliament.

Which political idea was violated by the Stamp Act and addressed in the Declaration of Independence?

• A government cannot deprive its citizens of the right to a trial by jury.

• A government cannot require its citizens to provide housing for its soldiers.

• A government cannot keep a standing army in times of peace without the consent of its legislature.

• A government cannot tax its citizens without first allowing for their representation in government.

Weaknesses:

-Congress did not have the power to tax

-There was no executive branch to enforce any acts passed by congress

-There was no national court system

-Amendments required a unanimous vote

-Each state had one vote, regardless of size

The chart above describes the major weaknesses of the_____________

• Articles of confederation

• Constitution of the United States

• Declaration of Independence

• Mayflower compact