judicial branch

Why did the Constitution provide for two separate court systems?

• to keep the federal court system from being overwhelmed

• to establish the federal court system as having more power than State courts

• to maintain a balance of power between the Federal Government and the States

• to strengthen the balance of power between the three branches of Federal Government

Read this excerpt from the text.
“The trial of a person charged with a federal crime, or a suit involving the infringement of a patent or a copyright, or one involving any other matter arising out of an act of Congress is . . . within the . . . jurisdiction of the federal courts." 
In a patent case being heard for the first time, this is an example of

• concurrent jurisdiction.
• exclusive jurisdiction.
• appellate jurisdiction.
• local jurisdiction.

What is the difference between original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction?

• Original jurisdiction refers to a case being heard in a federal court; appellate jurisdiction refers to a case being heard in a State court.
• Original jurisdiction refers to criminal or civil cases; appellate jurisdiction refers to only to civil cases.
• Original jurisdiction refers to a case that could be heard in a federal or a State court; appellate jurisdiction refers to a case that must be heard in a federal court.
• Original jurisdiction refers to a court where a case is first heard; appellate jurisdiction refers to a case being heard after it was tried in a lower court.

How are federal judges selected?

• The person is named to the bench by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
• The person is named to the bench by the President and does not need to be confirmed.
• The person is publicly elected to the bench and confirmed by the Senate.
• The person is nominated by the Senate and chosen by the President.

This type of jurisdiction is shared by both Federal and State judiciary.

• Appellate
• Concurrent
• Exclusive
• Original

In the federal system, a district court has the power to

• retry a case that was first decided by a State court.
• exercise original jurisdiction over a federal case.
• apply appellate jurisdiction to a federal case.
• determine if a lower court made an unconstitutional ruling on a case.

What conclusion could be drawn  considering only about 1% of the cases applied to the Supreme court are actually taken.

• The Supreme Court accepts almost all of the cases that are brought to it.
• The Supreme Court deals only with cases involving constitutionality.
• Many cases are appealed to the Supreme Court, but it could only deal with a few of them.
• The Supreme Court used three different methods with which to rule upon a case.

When a Supreme Court justice agrees with the decision reached by the Court in a case, but not with the reasons why the Court made that decision, he or she may choose to write a

• concurring opinion.
• dissenting opinion.
• majority opinion.
• unanimous opinion.

What is a possible avenue through which some cases have reached the Supreme Court?

• Congress asks the Court to review a proposed or recently passed law to see if it is constitutional.
• A State holds a convention in which the public votes to have a case sent to the Court for review.
• The Court decides to review one of its own earlier cases in order to change or modify its ruling.
• The Court issues a writ of certiorari instructing a lower court to send it a case to review.

In the federal court system, the cases tried by the district courts

• are usually appealed to a higher court by the losing side.
• make up the majority of federal cases brought to trial.
• deal only with federal crimes as defined by Congress.
• always involve the United States as a plaintiff.