Questions and Answers of Law Courts And Justice In America

Should jurors be provided a copy of the jury instructions? What do you see as the advantages of giving these to them? Disadvantages?
Given the low level of juror yield rates, what else do you think should be done to improve the level of citizen participation?
If a jury serves as the conscience of the community, what can jurors do if they feel that applying the law would bring about injustice? Should they simply disregard the law and vote based on their
Is jury nullification always a bad thing? When might it be a correct outcome?
What is the meaning of probable cause?
What is the difference between an information and an indictment?
What are the "focal concerns" that guide prosecutors' charging decisions?
What factors influence prosecutors' charging decisions?
Explain how the legal sufficiency charging policy and the trial sufficiency charging policy would produce different outcomes in criminal cases.
What are the types of pleas, and how do they differ?
Do you think plea bargaining should be eliminated? Why or why not?
What is the purpose of bail?
Why are there so few trials and so many plea bargains?
What is the difference between a challenge for cause and a peremptory challenge? Why is the use of the peremptory challenge controversial?
Do you believe that individuals such as the defendant's spouse, priest, doctor, or lawyer should or should not be compelled to testify against the defendant? What are the arguments in favor of
Consider the information discussed in the box "Controversy: Is the Victim's Prior Sexual Conduct Relevant in a Rape Case?” Do you believe that a victim's prior sexual conduct is relevant in a rape
Take into consideration the cases cited in the discussion of "playing the race card" and pay close attention to the years in which the cases occurred. Are you surprised that such discrimination
What are the consequences of jury instructions being given in technical legal terms to jurors? What are the pros and cons to making the jury instruction process more comprehensible to laypeople?
Should jurors be allowed to base a decision to sentence an offender to death rather than to life in prison on predictions of future dangerousness? Why or why not?
What problems could arise from requiring all juries to return a unanimous verdict in order to convict an individual of a crime? Allowing nonunanimous verdicts?
Should juries be notified by the judge that they are allowed to nullify the law? Are there situations when jury nullification can be justified? Where it produces injustice rather than justice?
Do you agree or disagree with Paul Butler's call for "race-conscious jury nullification"? What are the dangers inherent in allowing jurors to nullify the law based on the race of the defendant?
Why do you believe criminal trials in the United States follow such an orderly sequence of events such as that described in this chapter?
How would a judge using a retributive justification for punishment answer the question, "Why do we punish those who violate the law?" How would a judge using a utilitarian justification answer the
According to retributive theory, why do those who violate the law deserve to be punished?
What problems do each of the philosophical perspectives on sentencing-retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation-encounter in attempting to determine "how much to punish"?
Why did Judge Lynch conclude that the sentence he was required to impose on "Eddie" was "unjust"? Do you agree or disagree with his conclusion?
What are the most common types of sentences imposed by judges in state and federal courts in the United States? Why are intermediate sanctions used so infrequently?
How do researchers "model" the sentencing process?
What are the "key determinants" of judges' sentencing decisions? Why are these two factors so important?
What explains the fact that offenders convicted of crimes in the United States are sentenced more harshly than those convicted of crimes in England and Wales?
Should judges take the characteristics of the victim or the relationship between the victim and the offender into consideration when determining the appropriate punishment? Why or why not? According
Is it legitimate for judges to impose a trial penalty or jury tax on defendants who refuse to plead guilty? What are the arguments in favor of the trial penalty? Against the trial penalty?
Why is sentencing referred to as an "inexact science"? Could it be made more "exact"? Should it be?
What purpose do appeals serve in criminal cases? Why is this important?
What is the double jeopardy clause? How does it affect the appellate process?
Why is the writ of habeas corpus referred to as "the Great Writ"?
How does habeas corpus differ from a direct appeal? Can anyone convicted of a crime petition for a writ of habeas corpus? What are the advantages/disadvantages of the use of habeas corpus?
Do you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court's restrictions on the use of the habeas corpus petition? Why?
Most criminal appeals are not heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Why do you think that the Court agreed to accept Clarence Earl Gideon's in forma pauperis petition for a writ of certiorari?
What is the "harmless error rule," and how does it affect the appellate process? In your opinion, does the rule have a positive or negative effect on the quality of justice meted out in criminal
Describe the processes by which a state case can make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court (see the "Warren McCleskey's Odyssey" box).
What types of cases are heard by the U.S. Supreme Court? What functions does the U.S. Supreme Court serve?
Why is it important for prosecutors to have the ability to file an interlocutory appeal?
Explain the types of appeals that are guaranteed by the Constitution. Do those convicted of crimes have the right to at least one appeal? If so, who guarantees this right?
What is the goal of the case method?
What is meant in saying that courts have neither the power of the purse nor the power of the sword?
How did Marbury v. Madison (1803) affect the Supreme Court?
What are the administrative duties of a court manager?
What are the three major administrative reforms for state court systems?
Why do private attorneys overbook?
How is a public defender’s office usually organized?
What is meant by Alternative Dispute Resolution?
How does the goal of mediation differ from that of adversarial justice?
What is the Med-Arb approach?
What is the main criticism of Med-Arb?
What are Community Mediation Centers?
How is arbitration like the adversarial process?
What are criticisms of arbitration?
What is the purpose of a one-side mock trial?
What is the purpose of a corporate mini-trial?
What is the “net-widening” criticism of ADR?
What is the disparity criticism of ADR?
What is the criticism of inserting clauses into retail contracts mandating arbitration?
What is the “predictability” problem inherent in ADR?
What are the goals of community courts?
How is law defined?
What are examples of laws that facilitate voluntary actions?
What is meant by “natural law”?
What was hypocritical about the way natural law was applied in the United States?
What is revolutionary about natural law?
How is natural law expressed in the United States?
What is the conflict between natural law and positive law?
In the United States, how is natural law operationalized?
What is a rational legal system?
Why does capitalism require a rational legal system?
What are the origins of British common law?
Why is common law sometimes referred to as “unwritten law?”
What is the concept of res judicata?
How does the principle of stare decisis enable lawyers to predict the likely outcome of a legal dispute?
How does equity reduce predictability?
How does the role of precedent differ in civil law systems and common law systems?
What was the role of Napoleon in the development of the French civil code?
In civil law systems, what is the only authoritative source of law?
How do judges in civil law countries differ from those in the United States?
In the United States, how do trial courts differ from appellate courts?
How do appellate courts in Continental Europe differ from those of the United States?
How does an inquisitorial approach differ from an adversarial approach?
How does the role of an attorney differ in civil law system and adversarial system trials?
What is the purpose of a code of procedure?
In the United States, what are two basic types of statutory law?
When are statutes not superior to judicial decisions?
Why do legislatures create administrative agencies?
Why do administrative agencies exercise executive, legislative, and judicial authority?
How were lawyers educated in Colonial America?
What was the formal education of John Marshall, America’s greatest chief justice?
Why was the work of William Blackstone influential in early America?
What is the relationship between Blackstone’s organization of common law and modern law school education?
What is the importance of Harvard in the development of legal education?
Why did colleges incorporate private law schools in the early 1820s?

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