pols

Created by

Perrin Pilgreen

Cards (94)

Compare and contrast the following aspects of criminal and civil law: (some information will be further along in the slides that others)
—Origin of cases
—Parties involved and their objectives
—Percent of cases that go to trial
—Location of trials
—Bases of decisions/outcomes
origin of cases:

criminal - harmful to society as a whole (both misdemeanor and felony)
civil - legal disputes between "individuals" over unmet obligations or perceived harms

parties involved and their objectives:

criminal - the state (as both the accuser and prosecutor)
civil - plaintiff files complaint or legal suit against defendant. objectives are monetary damages, determination of rights, etc.

percent of cases that go to trial:

criminal - 10% (most cases end in plea bargain)
civil - 90%

location of trials:
criminal - county courtrooms w/ county prosecutors and judges
civil - start in country/state courts. deal with question of fact and law

bases of decisions/outcomes:
criminal - "beyond a reasonable doubt"
civil - "preponderance of evidence"
Overview the prosecution process under criminal law.
- arrest made
- charge(s) filed, arraignment hearing held
- evidence presented to grand jury, indictment returned
- trial process begins (multiple hearings, then trial)

very lengthy
Describe the similarities and differences between the two types of criminal offenses in Texas.
misdemeanors - less serious punishment: shorter times in county jail, community service, and/or fine

felonies - more serious punishment: longer sentences in state prison or county jail, community service, and/or fine
Using the fallen-tree example, highlight the aspects of the civil trial process that are unique from a criminal one.
- "loser" must compensate "winner"
- hear from witnesses and present evidence
- can be totally or partially responsible
Discuss the case loads of both federal and state courts and explain the differences.
State courts handle issues under state law
- 99.9% of 22 million criminal cases in US annually
- 99.8% of 27 million civil cases nationwide annually

Federal courts handle issues under federal law
- very few cases compared to state courts
Describe the hierarchy of three main groups of state courts.
trial courts --> intermediate appellate court --> supreme court
Explain the types of questions considered in each of these levels. Provide examples. Also explain the implications of a type of question NOT being considered at a particular level.
trial courts deal with:
- questions of fact
answered by jury if a jury trial, otherwise by judge
ex: where was the accused that night?
- questions of law
always answered by judge
ex: may the attorney ask that question?

courts of appeal hear objections to lower court decisions
- appeals can only be based on questions of law
Describe or draw out the diagram that shows all of the types and subtypes of courts in Texas. Include the flows of appeals from all of the lower courts.
justice courts or municipal courts
-->
county level courts
constitutional, statutory, or statutory probate courts
-->
district courts
-->
courts of appeals
-->
supreme court or court of criminal appeals
In general terms, differentiate between the roles and the jurisdictions of each of these courts. (Use the lecture as your guide as to level I'm expecting.)
justice courts:
small claims courts (less than $10000), limited civil actions (misdemeanors)
municipal courts:
criminal misdemeanor by fine only
-->
county level courts
constitutional:
civil actions and juvenile matters
statutory:
all civil, criminal, original, and appellate actions prescribed by constitutional county court
statutory probate courts:
probate matters
-->
district courts
original jurisdiction in civil actions over $200 and felony crimes
juvenile matters
-->
courts of appeals:
intermediate appeals from trial courts
-->
supreme court:
final appellate jurisdiction in civil and juvenile cases
court of criminal appeals:
final appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases
Describe how state residents participate in the judicial system and how they are selected.
grand juries
- decide whether or not to indict accused individual and send them to trial
- reviews state's evidence: does it justify putting the charged person on trial?
Explain the issues with fairness and peremptory strikes in jury trials. Discuss whether this is a partisan issue.
"key man" was the method used in tx through august 2015 to select grand juries
- grand jurors were selected by "jury commissioners" picked by the district judge
- system was accused of persistent economic bias

"random selection" is new process for grand jury selections (as of sept 2015)
- makes system function similarly to how trial juries are selected in order to "better represent the community"

***
"jury of peers" usually over-represents professionals, managers, small business owners
***
Discuss the qualifications of attorneys and judges/justices in Texas.
attorneys:
law degree mandatory
-must be licensed by at least one state bar association
- must pass test, meet character requirements for each state in which they will practice

judges:
- many were first attorneys, but not all!
- tx qualifications vary widely by level
municipal - set by each city
justice of the peace - no law degree or judicial experience required, but must take a special course if elected
county & district - >4 yrs as attorney/judge, > 25 years old
appellate - >10 yrs as attorney/judge, >35 years old
Compare and contrast the systems that US states use to select their judges/justices. Explain why there may be differences within a given state as to the selection method for trial courts and for appellate courts.
different methods of election/appointment:
- nonpartisan election
- partisan election
- legislature appoints
- governor appoints
-missouri plan (merit plan)

states mix and match to have multiple ways of getting judges
11C -
Describe the "Choose Well" video, including its strengths and weaknesses.strengths:
- question of is that judge able to run a fair courtroom
- don't pick strictly off of party
- judges are important
weaknesses:
- criticism of texas for doing whatever it wants(no fairness?)
- little detail
Based on the "Red, White, and Blue" video, explain the rationales provided for appointing or electing judges/justices.
appointing:
would make judiciary more independent don't need to seek funding and owe things to certain groups. a lot of people that vote in judicial race don't know who they vote for
electing:
why shouldn't people choose, can reflect the people more
Based on the Democracy Now! video, describe how campaigns have changed in state judicial races and how and why this may threaten the fairness of the courts.
judicial elections have become a playground for business interests. this may threaten the fairness in the court because it might flip the court from the current part to another.
Based on the article by former-Chief-Justice Cobb, discuss the role of campaign donations in a state with elected judges/justices, their effect on the judiciary, and the expectations of donors.
campaign donations are the only way judges/justices can win. the effect on the judiciary and the expectations of the donors is that the contributions that are being sought do not impact the way they rule and that their courts are not for sale.
Describe the two examples she provided about judicial conduct in Texas that was unethical, but legal.
one judge emailed her firm that other firms were donating a certain amount of money therefore she emailed her firm so that they could contribute the same donation.
the second example explains how the amount that a lawyer donated was not enough and contributed to the election loss.
Describe the distribution of executions in the US since 1977. Characterize the frequency of executions in Texas since 1996.
executions in 1977 were severe and practiced to frequently, tx accounted for more than 1/3 of the executions (518). since 1996 there has been a gradual decrease in use of the death penalty.
Discuss Judge Price's dissent in the Panetti appeal, including his rationale and the reasons it could be thought-provoking.
price stated that the death penalty should be abolished. this was thought provoking because at first he implied that the death penalty was justified for people that committed a capital murder.
Explain the reasons that capital punishment is losing US public support.
capital punishment is losing support since life-without-parole sentencing is now available in all 50 states (in Texas since 2005) and the deterrence effect is doubted (no scientific support).
Discuss the disagreement between the conservative researcher and the National Research Council report on whether the death penalty has a measurable deterrence effect.
some conservatives believe that the death penalty deters crime and saves lives. the national research council says that three decades of research show no correlation.
Describe the problems posed for the death penalty by the timeline, expense, and errors in these capital cases.
it can cause delays of up to 25 years and cost 2-4x the amount of life imprisonment just to produce a trial. there are also errors in terms of wrongful convictions that cannot be undone. the can be caused by false accusation/confession, witness ID, etc.
Use the example of the capital crime in Van Zandt County to illustrate those problems.
a problem faces is that in order to prosecute for the death penalty, substantial amounts of witnesses and expert opinion are required. this is not only expensive, but could get him out of the death penalty when he is guilty.
Discuss the frequency and reasons for exonerations. Discuss the role of DNA and non-DNA factors in the three cases of Texans previously imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.
there have been about 150 innocent people that have been removed from the death row since 1973 and 12 of those were in tx. in tx, 54 innocent inmates (all types) were exonerated in 2015.

first case: accused of a crime he didn't commit, sentenced to 75 years, and served 17 years before DNA tests proved his innocence.

second case: confessed to a crime he didn't commit and spent 12 years in prison before DNA testing proved his innocence.

third case: spent 12 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit. no DNA testing was conducted because the houston police found - incorrectly - that there was no semen on the sheet. this evidence would prove his innocence 12 years later
Characterize the exonerations US-wide in capital cases since 1973.
- across the US, 150 innocent people have been removed from death row since 1973
- 2,280 exonerations since 1989
- 20,267 years lost total
- 8.9 years lost - average/case.
Discuss the recent spikes in exonerations in Texas. Also list the number of death-row exonerations within the state.
- In tx, 54 innocent inmates (all types) were exonerated in 2015
- most of any state, and over 1/3 of nation's total
- 2014: 40 exonerations

"we average nearly three exonerations a week"

- no current irrefutable cases of execution of an innocent person in the past
- anti-death penalty activists point to 3 strongly suspected cases in tx
Highlight why the judiciary should matter to state residents.
Corporate and special interest big-spenders think it does, and increasingly so
- Effects of that money is questionable
- But is money neutral, OR is money an expression of power?

Will you vote in the judicial elections?
- Will the candidates be unknown names on the ballot?
- Will you simply pick the Republican or Democrat?
- Will you attempt to assess the records of fairness?

Will you or a loved one commit a crime or go to court on a civil matter?
- If a criminal matter, will you be wrongfully convicted? (As an elite, the odds say "no," but what about someone else?)
12 Intro - 1.)
Describe the range and variety within the concept of policy.the positions and/or actions that result when government takes a formal position on a matter at hand, or when it declines to do so. it can be:
- broad or specific
- any combination of principles, promises, and action
- consistent or inconsistent
- serve a select few or many
2) Explain how silence can be a policy and how it achieves its intended outcome. Do the same for "doing nothing" as policy.
silence leverages the short attention span of americans, and so once the issue is ignored, americans will forget about it and turn to something else. an issue ignored can quickly become an issue forgotten by enough people that the status quo will not change. brings illegitimacy to cause and advocates.

"doing nothing" creates an all words and no action, so no actual change. can be partisan or incidental. also leverages the infamously short attention span of americans.
3) Discuss the policy cycle along with pertinent examples and questions at each step.
people shape policy and policy impacts people.

people: (elected officials, parties, interest groups, donors, public, etc.)
which people?
how?
why?

shaping:
legislating, lobbying, contacting, donating, vetoing, silencing

policy:
budgets, laws, rules, court decisions, executive action, and letting status quo stand

impacts:
how?
to what degree?
for how long?

people:
me? us? them?
why?
winners or losers?
4) Explain the components of the 3-P analysis framework, its objectives, examples of each component, and how it overlays the policy cycle.
the 3 p's are: principles, practicalities, people
- contents of each "p," and prioritization between the 3 p's will vary across persons and situations
- some aspects of each "p" may overlap
- individuals may prioritize each "p" differently
- principles is shaping
- practicalities is impacts
5) Describe the basic policy questions when it comes to poverty, healthcare, education, and immigration policy answered by states in general, and by Texas specifically.
poverty: more or less assistance? to whom?
health: more or less coverage? for whom?
education: more or less funding? for whom?

in tx:
poverty: Less assistance. focused on kids and pregnant moms.
health: Less coverage. focused on kids and elderly.
education: Less funding. focused on richer districts.
6) Explain how recognizing our own areas of advantage and disadvantage in society can be important when considering policy options.
recognizing ourselves as winning or not in a particular area is acknowledging a reality. (not intended to be shaming or guilt-inducing) this recognition is powerful in how he view ourselves, how we view others, and how we are viewed. not all of us have same advantages, nor do all of the advantages come to us in the same way: some by luck, some by hard work
7) Discuss the connections between winning, losing, and worth.
winners often don't understand those who are losing and losers often don't understand those who are winning. the winners get more, and the rules say they deserve to get more- otherwise they wouldn't be winners.
8) Describe how our policy preferences can depend on our knowledge of who is not winning and why this is so.
- consider principles because policy needs a deliberate direction and intent
- include practicalities because policy needs to work well and not break more things than it fixes
- center on people because they are the source and the reason of government
12A1 -
1) Explain the concept of poverty as both a relative and ubiquitous condition.- it is a relative condition: someone you label as in poverty may not see themselves that way, but instead, someone else that is struggling more than them
- it is the lower end of a continuous spectrum of economic class, without any precise starting point
2) Compare and contrast generational and situational poverty and their non-monetary effects.
generational: enduring phenomenon for >2 generations
situational: circumstances-driven, lasts shorter time

- has pervasive effects on individuals & families: how they think, how they dream, how they interact with society
- even if income level rises, changes to thought patterns, social interactions, cognitive strategies come much more slowly
3) Describe how hidden rules work and are different based on one's socio-economic status.
"Could You Survive in Poverty?"
ex concerning food:
poverty: quantity is important - did you have enough?
middle class: quality is important - did you like it?
wealth: presentation is important - was it presented well?

ex concerning education:
poverty: valued and revered as abstract, but not as reality
middle class: crucial for climbing success ladder and making money
wealth: necessary tradition for making and maintaining connections
4) Define the poverty measure used by the federal and state governments, then describe the problems associated with it, how they came about, and why they likely won't be fixed soon.
"Federal Poverty Line" is outdated measure based on tripling the cost of buying food for a year in 1963, then adjusted every year since then based on inflation
- major expense is no longer food
- major expenses now: housing, transportation, healthcare, childcare
- measure underestimates # of people experiencing poverty
- this single number is used by feds and most states and not adjusted for cost of living, except in Alaska and Hawaii
politicians don't want to correct this measure "on their watch" because count of impoverished would increase sharply