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How many courts of various, overlapping jurisdiction in Texas |
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Anything from a tenant breaking lease to manufactures liability of faulty tires causing death. |
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Set Public policy by reviewing the actions of the executive and legislative branches of government. |
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Can be range from fines to death penalty |
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Some streamlining of Texas' judicial process was accomplished in ___(year) |
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The Supreme Court declared the white primary election unconstitutional in the case of - |
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The US and Texas _____ form the basic legal framework of the Texas Court system. |
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In criminal Cases, the __ initiates action agains a person accused of a crime. |
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The body of Texas law that defines criminal offenses and sets a range of punishments that can be assessed is the- |
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Minor Crimes, usually punishable by a fine and/or a short sentence in county jail are called- |
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Grounds for civil lawsuits |
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Noncriminal, between 2 or more businesses, governments, or entities. |
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Governs contract and property rights between private citizens |
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provides an avenue of relief against coporate abuses |
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Statutes and constitutional laws are subject to change through what means? |
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Legislative action and popular consent of the electorate. |
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How many levels of Texas courts |
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These courts do not hear new evidence. |
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These courts are empowered to reverse the judgments of lower courts and to order case to be retried if mistakes were made. |
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A judicial system which as two courts at the highest level to handle appeals from two seperate areas of law is called a- |
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Vacancies on the district and appellate benches are filled by- |
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Vacancies on the Justice of the Peace or County court are filled by- |
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How long is the term of a federal judge in TX |
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A court of limited jurisdiction that hears cases involving city ordinances and primarily handles traffic tickets is the- |
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Municipal and justice of the peace courts are courts of ___ jurisdiction |
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Many of these courts are accused of serving as revenue raisers for local governments |
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Limited jurisdiction courts |
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The second level of courts in tX, offering 14 courts and 80 justices |
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Each of Texas' highest appellate courts have ___ justices |
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Drunken driving cases are usually heard first by a ___ court |
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The primary trial court in Texas |
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By 2003, almost ___ of the judges at the ditrict court level and higher were Republicans |
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A nine member court with final appellate jurisdiction over civil cases is the Texas- |
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A nine member court with final appellate jurisdiciton over criminal cases is the Texas- |
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Court of Criminal Appeals |
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There are ___ persons who sit on a grand jury, selected by a district judge from a list proposed by a jury commission |
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The ___ is appointed by the local district judge or judges to compose a list of potential grand jury members. |
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At least ___ members of the grand jury have to agree before an indictment can be issued |
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Another word/phrase for indictment is- |
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A document formally charging an individual with a misdemeanor based on a complaint filed by a private citizen is an- |
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A person called to serve on a jury who refuses can be- |
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fined for contempt of court |
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Memebers of a panel from which a petit jury is chosen are known as |
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___ jurors have to vote that a person is guilty in order to convict him or her of a crime. |
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If a person who is accused of a crime other than capital murder chooses, they can ___ jury trials. |
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Petitions for review are usually filed by- |
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a court order directing a lower court or another public official to take a certain action |
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These cases are automatically appeals to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals |
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The Texas Judicial Affairs Committee accused Justices C.L. Ray and William Kilgarlin of- |
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improper contact with attorneys practicing before court |
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CBS-TV's 60 minutes in 1987 and 1998 concluded that- |
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the partison system of electing judges had remained unchanged. Justice may still be for sale in TX. |
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After 1988, the Texas Supreme court tended to favor- |
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business defendents over plaintiffs. |
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In a 1999 study released by Texas Watch, ___ were determined to be the big winners before the Texas Supreme court during the previous 4 years. |
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doctors, hopitals, and other business litigations |
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the 1st Hispanic was seated on the Texas Supreme Court in __ (yr) |
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the 1st hispanic to be seated on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals was in in __(yr) |
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1st woman to serve as a state district judge in TX was appointed to the bench in- |
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Elections in which judges run on their own records rather than against candidates are called- |
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Refers to partisan politics linked to political favoritism |
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Due process is intended to protect an idividual from |
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Defendants may plead guilty, not guilty, or__ |
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If a jury cannot return a unanimous verdict in a criminal case, the judge must declare- |
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In 1972, the US Supreme court halted exectutions in all the states and held that capital punishment violated the constitutional prohibition against- |
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crual and unusual punishment |
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there were ___ individuals executed in Texas from 1924 to 1964, when executions were suspended because of legal challenges |
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The first execution under Texas' current 1973 law was in |
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By 2008, more than ___ men and women had been executed in Texas by lethal injection. |
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1st degree felonies are punishable by |
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prison sentence of 5-99 years or life |
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2nd degree felonies are punishable by |
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a prision sentence of 2-20 years |
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most minor crimes are classified as Class A, B, or C- |
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The early release of an inmate from prison, subject to certain conditions, is called- |
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Which US Supreme Court cases resulted in Texas building more prisions? |
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Racial and class biases at the trial level cause the Texas Supreme Court to ___ 42% of the cases appealed to it during the 1st quarter of the 20th century. |
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by 1966, the Texas Supreme courts reversal rate had dropped to- |
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Rick Perry has issued___ for serveral men after DNA evidence proved they were wrongly convicted |
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the 1994 election brought the 1st __ majority to the Texas Supreme Court since Reconstruction |
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The TX school finance case in 1989 that led to major changes in financing between poor and rich schools |
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TX supreme court rule against this in 1996. The group had sued the republican party for not allowing the to set up a booth at the republican state convention in San Antonio |
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Hispanics make up this percent of TX population |
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There are ___ regional courts of Appeals with ___ judges |
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Lubbock is located in the ___ Texas Court of Appeals |
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Houston is located in the ___ Texas Court of Appeals |
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1600s, puritan, early colonies, job to vote, govt is a tool. Still effective but highly diluted- New England States |
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Westward Expansion, self reliant, community |
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