JOUR 302 Quiz #1

What is the basic structure of the U.S. Court system (federal v. state and what are the roles of each?)

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. District Courts

• One in each 50 states and DC

• Primary duty is to be trial courts of general jurisdiction

Circuit Courts/ U.S. Court of Appeals

• 13

• Losing party in District court trials may appeal decision to circuit court of that region

• No juries; hear appeals from federal administrative agencies (FTC/FCC)

California is ninth circuit

What is the difference between trial and appellate courts?

Trial courts: decide issues of fact (guilt or innocence of someone accused of a crime)

Appellate courts: make “precedent-setting decisions that interpret the meaning of law”

How many justices are on the Supreme Court and what are their names? Who is the chief justice and what is his role?

Chief Justice: John Roberts

Brett Kavanaugh

Samuel Alito

Clarence Thomas

Neil Gorsuch

Amy Coney Barrett

Sonia Sotomayor

Elena Kagan

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Is a law that contradicts the U.S. Constitution still a valid law? Why or why not?

No; Constitution is the supreme law of the land

What are some key roles of the U.S. court system? For state law, do state supreme courts have the final say?

• Interpret laws and maintain rule of law

• Settle disputes

• Determine guilt or innocence

• Safeguard people’s liberties

• Determine if laws violate the Constitution

YES, state supreme courts have final say on interpretation of their own states laws\

decisions can be appealed to supreme court if case involves federal law or constitution

Do courts have the power to establish legal precedent? Do they always follow precedent?

Yes, but not all court decisions establish legal precedent

List and briefly explain the different types of law

U.S. Constitution - The Supreme law of the land

Common Law - The oldest form of law developed out of English court decisions. Follows legal precedent

Statutory law - Encompasses acts of Congress, laws enacted by state legislators, and even ordinances adopted by city and county governments

Administrative law - Regulating agencies, judicial review, checks and balances that limit authority for government agencies like the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and FTC (Federal Trade Commission)

Equity law - An alternative to the law; remedy for legal wrongs

Criminal law - Criminal offense against society as a whole

Civil law - Dispute between two individuals, corporations or government agencies

What are the different standards of proof for criminal v. civil law?

Criminal case: Must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt bc defendant could have life or liberty at stake

Civil case: Lower burden'; preponderance of evidence (greater than 50% probability); evidence by one side is more likely true than not

What are the basic steps in a lawsuit?

1. Initiating the lawsuit, file the papers

2. Serve the papers

3. Pretrial motions (demurrer or motion to dismiss OR summary judgement, no factual basis for the suit)

4. Discovery (each side finds strengths and weaknesses of the other side’s case)

5. Trial — If it goes to trial, not all cases do

6. Appeal

What are torts? What is an example of a tort?

Any civil wrong that creates a right for the victim to sue the perpetrator. Almost any time one party injures another, the resulting lawsuit is a tort action.

Ex. negligence, medical malpractice, products liability, libel

Is the First Amendment absolute? Why or why not, and in which landmark case did Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., say “free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.”

The Supreme Court said the First Amendment is not absolute in Schenck v. U.S.\

• “Congress may abridge freedom of speech whenever that speech presents a “clear and present danger” to some other national interest that is more important than freedom of speech at the moment.””

• Does not protect true threats and intimidation, incitement (imminent lawless action), fighting words, defamation, obscenity, harassment (must be targeted, discriminatory, and part of a pattern of behavior), or lawful conduct (like vandalizing property)

What’s the difference between ethics and law?

The law is a system of rules enforced by the state, which can result in punishment.

Ethics are standards of behavior or moral principles guiding conduct

Which landmark Supreme Court case “made it clear that prior restraints are generally improper in America?”

Near v. Minnesota (1931) – A newspaper may not be

censored before publication except under very

exceptional circumstances.

In which case did the government seek for the first time to censor major newspapers to prevent them from publishing secret documents that would allegedly endanger the national security? What did the U.S. Supreme Court decide in this particular case?

New York Times v. U.S./Pentagon Papers

The Supreme Court voted 6-3 to set aside the prior restraint and allow publication of the articles. Many journalists declared it a victory for the press, but was it a true victory?

Who were the key players in The Post?

Katherine Graham (publisher

Ben Bradlee (executive director)

Badigkian (Top reporter on the story)

Which landmark Supreme Court case protects First Amendment rights to free speech, unless it’s likely to produce imminent lawless action?

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
Imminent lawless action— the current incarnation of the clear and present danger test; speech can be suppressed if it causes or results in immediate violence or other lawlessness.

Chapter 2 mentions a famous seditious libel

case that “became a cause celebre on both

sides of the Atlantic. What was this case (trial

about) and who was the defense attorney in

that case?

John Peter Zenger in 1735. He

was a German immigrant who published and printed

the New York Weekly Journal. “His paper was a

leading voice of oppositions to particularly unpopular

royal governor, William Cosby. Cosby had Zenger

jailed and charged with printing and publishing a

false, scandalous and seditious libel.”

Andrew Hamilton defended Zenger. Hamilton

appealed to the jury on the basis of liberty and the

right to write and speak truth, and the jury found

Zenger not guilty.

Who were the copperheads as mentioned in chapter 2?

They were a “vigorous antiwar movement” during the Civil War that had

emerged in the North, and antiwar editors came to be known as

Copperheads. They openly advocated for Southern victory and hindered

recruiting efforts for the Union Army.