DOC PREVIEW
TAMU POLS 207 - Final Exam Study Guide
Type Study Guide
Pages 21

This preview shows page 1-2-20-21 out of 21 pages.

Save
View full document
View full document
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 21 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience
View full document
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 21 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience
View full document
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 21 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience
View full document
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 21 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience
Premium Document
Do you want full access? Go Premium and unlock all 21 pages.
Access to all documents
Download any document
Ad free experience

Unformatted text preview:

POLS 207 1st EditionFinal Exam Study Guide: Lectures: 16 - 21Lecture 16What makes state courts, part of the judicial branch, different from the legislative and executive branches?Example of a precedent set by higher court to be followed in lower courts:- Mapp v. Ohio = Supreme Court decision that police had no legal justification to enter Mapp’s house so could not use the obscene material as evidenceAppearance of Objectivity > We expects courts to be unbiased!Range of decision making & Precedents (stare decisis) Procedures are more formal (ex: micus curaie brief)Special requirements to obtain access to the courts Courts are reactive rather than proactive!STATE COURTS (part of the Judicial Branch)- precedent set = Exclusionary Rule > If police enter without a warrant, they cannot use that evidence in the trial What is the structure of the state court system? Details on Level #4 Courts of Last Resort: - also called the State Supreme Court - about 5-9 justices look at procedural mistakes not innocent/guilty- After State Supreme Court, appeals go directly to National Supreme Court and only if there is a federal issue involved!Due to the US’s dual system of courts, some cases go to state/local courts and some go to federal courts. Some even can go to either state or federal courts, in which case the courts “venue shop” for the case. What are 5 Judicial Selection Methods for selecting judges (mainly Major Trial Court judges)?Criticisms of Missouri Plan:- is the Judicial Nominating Commission really nonpartisan in selecting nominees - judges rarely lose the retention election, which means it is not really necessary, just wasting moremoney on another election/campaign Lecture 17TRIAL COURTS AND SUPREME COURTS What is the importance of plea bargaining?- plea bargaining = negotiation between the defense and prosecutor where the defendant pleadsguilty in exchange for some benefit from the state prosecutoro reduction of charges, less punishment, recommend lighter sentences in court- important because decides over 90% of criminal cases - people argues it allows defendant to get off easy or that it pressures innocent people to plead guilty- however, it mainly >>o reduces court case load which the US system would not be able to handle o allows a prosecutor with a weak case to still give the defendant a punishment o sometimes provide a better option for the defendant What is a Jury verse a Judge?- Jury = citizens responsible for evaluating evidence and determining defendants innocent/guilty (1 in 20 cases go to Jury Trial, but less than 1% criminal cases are resolved by a jury trial)- Judge = overseer to the process in order to prevent reversible error o reversible error = procedural error that would allow appellate courts to reverse the decision of the case o oversees selection of jury, evidence allowed into the case, etc. to make sure no mistake is made such that the case can be reversed in an appellate court o also in charge of determining the sentence What is the court tier system in TEXAS?More Details about Texas Courts - What are the 2 Courts of Last Resort in Texas?o Texas Supreme Court – only for civil caseso Court of Criminal Appeals – only for criminal cases- Judges are selected in TEXAS by Partisan Elections - Interim Appointments in TEXAS are made by the Governor - Jean Kelley – won the Democratic nomination for the TX Supreme Court in 1990s because people confused his name with the famous actor- Court Procedures in TEXASo Grand Juries = screening mechanisms in criminal cases that evaluate a case to see if it is strong enough to go to trial (not deciding innocent/guilty)o Petit Juries = juries selected randomly (voter registration, DL list) to be screened to serveon the trial jury to determine innocent/guilty Police Protection in the States:Three Strikes and You’re Out Reform 1990s Reform in California – 3rd time you commit a crime, you serve the time for life  increased prison inmate number and prison costs  increased court case loads due to reduced plea bargaining on 3rd crime  US Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional as “cruel & unusual punishment” for normal crimes It was modified to focus more on violent crimes, so continues to exist today!Death Penalty Overtime1972 Furman v. Georgia = US Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty because it was being abused1976 Supreme Court Guidelines = allowed state to reinstate, all but 12 states reinstatedTexas = since 1976, Texas has executed 493 prisoners (1/3rd of the 1400 prisoners executed in US)About 80% of executions in the US occur in the SouthSome states sentence a lot of people but rarely execute them (California sentenced 600, only 10 executed)Why does Texas have such a large number of death sentences? Least complicated statutes o eligible if… committed murder while committing another crime killed 2 or more people  killed a police officer, firefighter, or child  involved in murder for hire o if the juror says yes to… did the defendant act intentionally? is the defendant a future threat?o then judge can decide on the death sentence  public support for the death penalty in TX is about 10% higher than the national average o citizens both support and believe it is an effective deterrent Money and the Death Penalty  very expensive because of long trials, numerous lawyers, make sure all procedures are followed  Harris County in Texas = about $30 million budget (5th in terms of executions in states) Dallas County = only $20 million budget (2/3rds of Harris county budget)Lecture 18LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENTITIESWhat are the drawbacks versus benefits of the multiplicity and fragmentation of local government?What is the Tiebout Model and how it is used to explain local government competition?- Tiebout’s Model argues that fragmented local government helps create competitively LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENTITIESCOUNTIESMUNICIPALITIES / CITIESSPECIAL DISTRICTS (Single Purpose Governments)-administrative extensions of the state-manage activities of STATE wide concern at the local level, such as car registration, elections, etc.THREE TYPES1. Board of Commissioners / Supervisors (run the county as a group)2. Elected-Executive Plan (elect a board & elect one head executive mainly in charge)3. Council Administrator Plan (the board hires one person to be mainly in charge)-meet LOCAL concerns, such as police, transportation, sewage-generally


View Full Document

TAMU POLS 207 - Final Exam Study Guide

Type: Study Guide
Pages: 21
Documents in this Course
CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

129 pages

Finance

Finance

4 pages

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

13 pages

Exam 1

Exam 1

5 pages

Exam 3

Exam 3

23 pages

Exam 2

Exam 2

18 pages

Load more
Download Final Exam Study Guide
Our administrator received your request to download this document. We will send you the file to your email shortly.
Loading Unlocking...
Login

Join to view Final Exam Study Guide and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or
We will never post anything without your permission.
Don't have an account?
Sign Up

Join to view Final Exam Study Guide 2 2 and access 3M+ class-specific study document.

or

By creating an account you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use

Already a member?