SFA 2306 Texas Gov Exam 2

Secretary of State

Jane Nelson. Appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate for a 4 year term. Serves as the state's record keeper, chief international protocol officer, and TX census administrator. Maintains a list of lobbyist and campaign contributions, issues corporate charters, certifies notaries public, and keeps the official state seal.

Bureaucracy

a method of organizing a large public or private organization that includes hierarchical structure, division of labor, standard operating procedures, and advancement by merit

4 characteristics of bureaucracies

1. Hierarchy, 2. Specialization, 3. Explicit Rules, 4. Merit.

Most important state agencies

1. Department of transportation, 2. State health services, 3. Criminal Justice, 4. Railroad Commission, 5/ Board of Education, 6. Public Utility Commission.

Texas Department of Transportation

Develops public mass transportation.

Department of State Health Services

Anything involving health and hospitals.

Railroad Commission of Texas

Oversees oil and natural gas exploration and production, natural gas and hazardous liquids pipeline operations, natural gas utilities, LP gas services, and coal and uranium mining.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Oversees prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities. Supervises the process for offenders release from prison, on parole, or on mandatory suspension.

State Board of Education

Oversees public education; state curriculum and textbooks, passing scores for state educational testing, and managing a Permanent School Fund.

Public Utility Commission

Oversees electric and telecommunications industries. Protects customers from unreasonable electric/cellphone bills. Created a Texas no-call list.

Patronage system

when individuals who supported a candidate for public office are rewarded with jobs and appointments. Used in Texas.

Merit-based civil service system

a system in which people receive government jobs based upon a set of qualifications and formal training; job promotion and pay raises are based on job performance. Used in Texas.

Sunshine laws

laws designed to make government transparent and accessible to the people.

Sunset review process

a formal assessment of the effectiveness of all statutory boards, commissions, and state agencies.

Appointed regulatory commission

A governing body whose members are appointed by an executive authority (such as a President or Governor) rather than elected, often requiring legislative confirmation.

Elected board

Group of individuals chosen by stakeholders to govern, oversee, and set strategic policy for an organization.

Off-year Election

A general election held in an odd-numbered year when neither a presidential election nor a midterm election takes place.

Permanent School Fund

Provides continuous funding for K-12 public education.

Political Ambition Ladder

The career path a politician takes, moving from lower-level offices to higher-level, more powerful positions over time.

Texas courts are...

more confusing than they need to be. There is a jurisdictional overlap between courts.

Judicial federalism

a system in which judicial authority is shared between levels of government

Original Jurisdiction

Evidence establishes the court record

Appellate Jurisdiction

Reviews the process in the original court

Exclusive Jurisdiction

Held by a particular court to hear a specific type of case

Concurrent Jurisdiction

Shared among different courts

2 types of trial courts

1. Municipal courts, created by state legislature for cities, and appointed by city council

2. Justice of the Peace courts; precinct level courts, marriages/notaries. No formal education requirements.

3 types of trial courts

1. Constitutional County courts - municipal court cases and justice of the peace cases,

2. County courts at law - statutory courts and civil disputes

3. Statutory probate courts - probate matters.

District courts

State-level trial courts. Divorces, land claims, felony cases, juvenile matters; traditional trial.

Appellate courts

Court of Appeals. Highest courts are the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme Court.

Court of appeals

with the exception of death penalty cases, all civil and criminal appeals from the county and district courts are initially heard here

Supreme Court

9 justices, including a chief justice popularly elected in a partisan statewide election. Statewide jurisdiction. Final appellate jurisdiction in civil cases and juvenile cases. Makes procedural rules for lower courts, approves the state's law schools, and appoints the Legal Board of Examiners

Court of Criminal Appeals

9 judges, including a presiding judge elected in a partisan statewide election. Statewide jurisdiction. The highest court for criminal appeals. The final court of appeal for questions of state law and the state constitution. Hears automatic appeals in death penalty cases.

Judicial Selection

All judges in Texas, with the exception of municipal judges, are elected in partisan elections. The majority of judges reach their positions via appointment.

Problems with the Texas Judiciary

Lack of coherent court structure with overlapping jurisdictions, judges with no legal training, and justice for sale.

Alternative systems of judicial selection

Appointment, merit system.

Criminal cases in Texas

Defended is charged with a violation of law. The state brings the suit. The prosecutor accuses the defendant. Grand jury indictments and true bills. Petit jury determines guilt. The burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt falls on the prosecutor.

Texas Civil Dispute Cases

Defendant has been charged with wronging the plaintiff, plaintiff sues for renumeration, the burden of proof falls on the plaintiff, and damages (compensatory and punitive).

Affirm

To formally confirm, ratify, or approve a lower court's decision, declaring it valid.

At-large election

A system where candidates are elected to represent an entire jurisdiction, such as a city or county, rather than specific geographic districts or wards within it. All eligible voters within the jurisdiction cast their votes for all available seats.

Beyond a reasonable doubt

The highest legal standard of proof required in criminal cases, forcing prosecutors to present evidence that leaves a juror or judge firmly convinced of a defendant's guilt.

Civil case

A legal dispute between individuals, businesses, or government agencies, typically seeking monetary compensation or a court order to resolve non-criminal matters.

Civil defendant

An individual, business, or entity being sued by a plaintiff in a non-criminal lawsuit. They are accused of wrongdoing; such as breaching a contract or causing injury. Liability involves paying damages rather than imprisonment.

Compensatory damages

Court-ordered monetary payments intended to compensate a victim for losses suffered due to a defendant's actions.

Concurring opinion

A written statement by an appellate judge or Supreme Court justice who agrees with the majority's final decision but disagrees with the legal reasoning, rationale, or interpretation used to reach that conclusion.

Criminal case

A legal action initiated by the prosecutor against an individual or organization (defendant) for allegedly breaking criminal laws.

Criminal defendant

An individual or entity formally accused of committing a crime in a criminal case.

De novo

A completely new trial.

Dissenting opinion

A formal, written statement by one or more judges or justices in an appellate court who disagree with the majority ruling.

En banc

Refers to a legal procedure where all judges of an appellate court hear a case together, rather than in the standard small panel. It is used for exceptionally important, complex cases or to reconcile conflicting decisions within the same circuit.

Enhanced penalties

Increased punishment applied to a defendant when specific aggravating factors are present, such as repeat offense, using a weapon, or targeting public servants, allowing the court to exceed standard sentencing guidelines.

Grand jury

A group of citizens convened to determine if there is probable cause that a person committed a crime. They do not determine guilt or innocence, only whether enough evidence exists to issue an indictment and proceed to trial.

Incumbency advantage

A concept that refers to the benefits and higher likelihood of reelection that a current officeholder (the incumbent) has compared to challengers in an election.

Indictment

A formal charge or accusation of a serious crime.

Judicial federalism

The division and interaction of judicial power between the federal and state court systems in the US. It enables state courts to independently interpret their own state constitutions.

Jurisdiction

The official power to make legal decisions and judgements.

Magistrate functions

A civil or judicial offer with limited authority who oversees preliminary legal proceedings, issues warrants, sets bail, and handles minor civil or criminal cases.

Majority opinion

A ruling in a case that is joined by more than half of the judges or justices hearing it, establishing the binding legal precedent.

Name recognition

The extent to which a person's name or brand is known and associated with specific goods, services, or a distinct identity by the public.

Petit jury

A jury who try the final issue of fact in civil or criminal cases and pronounce a verdict.

Plaintiff

A person who brings a case against another in a court of law.

Preponderance of evidence

The standard of proof in most civil cases, requiring that the evidence presented by one side is "more likely than not" to be true compared to the opposing evidence.

Prosecutor

A lawyer who conducts the case against a defendant in a criminal court.

Punitive damages

Monetary compensation awarded in civil lawsuits.

Reverse

An appellate court overturns or sets aside a lower court's judgment because the original decision was wrong, based on errors of law or procedure. IT renders the original verdict void, often leading to a new trial or ruling.

5 types of justice theories in Texas

Retribution, just deserts, incapacitation, rehabilitation, and restorative justice.

Retribution theory

an approach to criminal justice that emphasizes punishment because the guilty violated societal rules. The punishment is justified because it is deserved. Rules of society reflect a moral order, violating those rules requires punishment; circumstances are irrelevant

Just deserts theory

an approach to criminal justice in which the purpose of the criminal justice system is to enact punishment fitting the crime. Punishment should be consistent across all offenders.

Incapacitation theory

an approach to criminal justice that emphasizes removing the guilty from society to prevent new or additional crime. "Career criminals" should be removed from society for long periods.

Rehabilitation theory

an approach to criminal justice that focuses on therapy or education to reform criminal behavior, including efforts addressing why the behavior was wrong and how to prevent recidivism. Crime is a social disease that requires treatment. Punishments should be tailored to the individual offender.

Restorative justice theory

an approach to criminal justice that sees crime as a break in society between the community, the perpetrator, and the victim and focuses on healing this break. Focuses on healing victims, communities, and offenders.

Incarceration rate

A calculation of how many prisoners a state has per 100,000 people, which controls for population size. Texas has 751 per 100,000 residents.

Recidivism

a former inmate's resumption of criminal activity after their release from prison

Why is there a shift to rehabilitation in Texas

Budget concerns, concern to reduce repeat criminals. Gives treatment (parole, counseling) to nonviolent or substance abuse offenders.

Prison conditions in Texas

Lack of medical care and air-conditioning. Poor security. Overcrowded.

Private prison

a private, for-profit prison corporation that staffs and runs prison facilities in a state. Pros - lower costs to the state and job creation. Cons - poor conditions and poorly trained guards.

Tort

a wrongful act by a person that results in injury to another person or property in civil law

Loser pay law

Texas law that requires litigants to pay those they sued if they lose their lawsuits in certain cases involving physicians and hospitals

Castle doctrine

Texas law that allows the use of deadly force to defend your home, or "castle." Justifies deadly force anywhere 'a person has the right to be' (home, vehicle, place of work).

Capital punishment

the death penalty; when the state puts an individual to death for certain crimes. Texans may seek this penalty if found guilty of murdering state officials and officers, firefighters and correctional employees, children under six, or are guilty of multiple murders.

Indigent defense

The legal representation provided to criminal defendants who are financially unable to hire their own attorney.

Probable cause

The legal standard requiring police to possess reasonably trustworthy facts and circumstances that would lead a cautious person to believe a crime has been committed and that a specific person committed it or that evidence exists in a certain location. More than a hunch, less than absolute certainty.

Voting registration and qualifications

States get to determine when and how people vote, requirements to vote, and how long you have to register. In Texas, you have 30 days to register between voting time.

Motor Voting Act

may register to vote when getting a driver's license

Suffrage

the legal right to vote

5 Barriers to voting in the US

1. Grandfather clause

2. Literacy test

3. Poll tax

4. White primary (used in Texas)

5. Intimidation (used in Texas).

Equal protection clause

Eliminated the grandfather clause

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Eliminated the literacy test

24th amendment in 1964

Eliminated the poll tax in national elections

Harper v Virginia Board of Elections (1966) eliminated poll tax for state and local elections

Nixon v Herndon (1924), Smith v Allwright (1944), and Terry v Adams (1953)

eliminated the white primary

Voting Rights Act renewal of 1975

required bilingual ballot for elections

Voting rights in Texas

Was slightly more progressive in the extension of voting to women and in lowering the age to 18.

Getting on the ballot in Texas

A party nomination has to file a fee and gather signatures to win a primary election. An independent candidate has to obtain signatures based on turnout from the last election.

Help America Vote Act of 2002

federal statute enacted after the 2000 presidential election to effectively standardize election procedures. This was partly issued due to Florida's butterfly ballot, which led to mass confusion among voters.

Early Voting

began in 1998 in Texas. Allows voting before the specific election day without giving a specific reason.

Primary elections

essentially intraparty elections, where candidates compete to represent a particular political party in a general election

Direct primary

a primary election in which the winning candidate directly receives the party nomination

Indirect primary

a primary election in which voters elect delegates to a party convention; delegates are pledged to support a specific candidate seeking the party nomination

Preference primary

a primary election in which voters indicate their choice to hold office, but the actual selection is left to the political party elites

Closed primary

an electoral contest restricted to a party loyalists that excludes supporters of the other political parties and independent voters

Open primary

an electoral contest in which voters are not required to declare apart affiliation to participate but must request a specific party's ballot at the primary; voters are subsequently barred from participating in the other party's primary