Original jurisdiction of a court involves all of the following except

To prove a defendant guilty in a criminal case, the state must provide

______ refers to a situation in which the prosecutor and defense attorney negotiate an agreement whereby the accused pleads guilty to a less serious crime than originally charged or in return for a reduction in the sentance to be served.

A prisoner's initial appearance before a magistrate is called

Which U.S. constitutional amendment prohibits "unreasonable" searches?

The _______ deal primarily with civil matters and juvenile justice.

The authority of a court to review a case first heard by a lower court is referred to as

_____ refers to the power of an appeallate court to review the decisions of a lower court.

The purpose of a grand jury is to

How many courts of appeals does Texas have?

Texas has a system of two supreme courts. This is referred to as _______.

_______ is where the defendant agrees to a lesser set of charges than initially charged by the prosecutors.

The court in which the case is first heard is referred to as the court of

Courts that review legal issues of cases decided by lower courts are called

Texas has a _______ system of courts of last resort.

Cases in which individuals, corporations, or the government bring suit against another party and must prove that a harm was done to them beyond a "preponderance of evidence" are ______

What type of cases do trial courts hear?

Which court has exclusive jurisdiction to try violations of city ordinance?

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has one presiding judge and _______ other judges.

How many justices sit on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals?

The Supreme Court consists of one chief justice and _______ associate justices.

Nearly all judges in Texas are chosen by

Texas officially uses which method to select state judges?

A criminal offense that is less serious than a felony is called a ______.

The exclusionary rule prevents which of the following?

Municipal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over the following except

Duties of the justice of the peace courts may include all of the following except

Crimes are classified into two primary categories:

_____ in Texas have original and exclusive jurisdiction over violations of city ordinance and over Class C misdemeanors, the lowest level of punishment severity of all misdemeanors.

To prove a defendant guilty in a criminal case, the state must provide

How many courts of appeals does Texas have?

A ______ trial is a new trial conducted in a higher court (as opposed to an appeal).

The burden of proof standard used in civil cases is

A criminal offense that is more serious than a misdemeanor is called a ______.

The official territory and types of cases over which a court exercises authority, is referred to as

Cases in which the government brings suit against the defendant for violating the law and in which the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, are ________

Sentencing a convicted individual to death, is commonly referred to as

What type of court has original jurisdiction in all divorce cases?

_______ is where all of the justices of the court hear and consider the case.

How many justices sit on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals?

The Board of Trustees for an independent school district may do all the following except:

In the strong-mayor system, who is responsible for administration of city policy?

All local governments are _______ the state government.

Texas cities are classified as either

All of the following are examples of local government in Texas except

An administrator hired to run the day-to-day operations in a city is called a

Property appraisals in all local governments are done by which of the following?

________ is a process through which voters can oust sitting members of the city government before their terms are up.

_______ is a procedure through which local voters can repeal existing ordinances that a city council won't rescind.

Texans interact most frequently with a special district we know as our local ______. They make final decisions on district policies, personnel, textbooks and budgets.

County clerks perform which of the following duties:

Each county has a __________.

Home rule cities can choose all of the following except:

_______ is a process whereby local voters can directly purpose ordinances to city charters.

Which official maintains county records?

Dillon's Rule describes a principle that assumes _____ to be a creature of _______.

A city's governing document is its

The relationship between states and local governments follows from the fact that states have a _____ system of government.

In a council-manager form of government, which is responsible for both executing council policies and managing the day-to-day operations of city government?

Who is the county law enforcement official elected to serve as the process officer of justice of the peace courts and also has general law enforcement powers?

How many commissioners serve on the county commissioners court?

Which county official presides over the commissioners' court?

A city that is only allowed to operate under the laws that the state provides is a

A city that is allowed self-governance independent of state law is a

A single-purpose government that performs a specialized function is called a

Where home rule cities _____, general law cities ______.

Which of the following is not a special district in Texas?

Which of the following forms of city government is the most commonly found in Texas?

The county sheriff has all of the following functions except

The number of counties in Texas is now fixed at ______.

Which of the following is not a form of city government found in Texas?

The Board of Trustees for an independent school district may establish all of the following guidelines except:

The joining of unincorporated land into the boundary of an existing city is known as

To become a home-rule city in Texas, a city must have a population of at least ______ residents.

Which of the following is not a form of local government?

The cost of local government is ultimately passed on to:

A special government that provides water and sewer is called:

Which official maintains county records?

Who is the county law enforcement official elected to serve as the process officer of justice of the peace courts and also has general law enforcement powers?

An ordinance is a law enacted by a national government.

The Board of Trustees fr an independent school district may do all of the following except:

The relationship between states and local governments follows from the fact that states have a _____ system of government.

What taxes are the major source of revenue for virtually all local government, cities, counties, and special duties?

The state comptroller provides a ______ at the beginning of each regular session.

Selective sales taxes in Texas are

Property taxes are assessed based upon the ______ the taxpayer owns.

Tax rates place more of a burden on low- and middle- income taxpayers than on wealthier ones are called

A federal program that is run by the states to provide health coverage to children whose families make to much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to buy private insurance, is named

Texas's largest single indiviual revenue source is

The state controller stating that the state has enough money to cover the budget items, is known as ________ the budget.

Policies that transfer wealth from those who have more to those who have less, are called

Income measured programs that provide aid t individuals and families with low incomes, are _______ programs.

The state charges 20 cents per gallon on ________. The more you drive, the more ______ you pay.

The most costly service in Texas is

A tax imposed with the intent of exerting social or economic control by reducin taxes on approved behaviors or imposing higher taxes on undesireable activities is

_____ is a tax designed to be paid by a large number of taxpayers.

A national social insurance program for older Americans, sixty-five and above, funded by a payroll tax, premiums, and surtaxes, and administered by the federal government, is named ________.

Texas relies primarily on two sources of tax revenue:

Taxes imposed on the sale of alcohol and tobacco and on some forms of gambling, and fees imposed on "sexually oriented" businesses, are called

______ advocate that taxes on higher-income individuals should be kept low to allow them to save and invest to stimulate the economy.

The current school finance structure, which redistributes tax money from wealthy school districts to poorer ones, is known as

If you believe that your property taxes are too high, you can

Regulatory taxes are sometimes called a(n)

Broad-based taxes collected on the retail price of most items are called

What is Texas's general sales tax on retail purchases?

A tax with a rate that increases as the amount that is taxed rises is known as

The _________ has served as the state's largest single source of tax income.

Which agency coordinates, develops and evaluates higher education in Texas?

A ______ tax is a tax on raw material (such as oil and natural gas) when they are extracted from their natural site.

Which taxes may be applied to two major types of property including real property and personal property?

Medical coverage for low-income Texans provided by the federal government, is called _______.

An exercise or "sin" tax is levied on the sale, manufacture, or use of all of the following except

Texas has ______ income tax.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), is commonly referred to as ______.

Ad Valorem means

The sales tax is considered to be a

When it comes to education, Texas consistently ranks _____ other states.

Which method is most often employed to recapture property tax dollars for poorer school districts?

The state sets the sales tax rate at 6.25% and local government can add up to another _______.

The federal government pays for ______ of the Medicaid program in Texas.