Review Questions - Fasttrack Civics
   Unit CE 10 - The Court System
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Review Questions for CE 10 in Fasttrack Civics - The Court System


1.  Why is the court system in America called a "dual court system"?

2.  What document is the jurisdiction and organization of the federal court system based on?

3.  What document is the jurisdiction and organization of the Virginia court system based on?

4.  What does it mean to say the U.S. Supreme Court has the power of judicial review?

5.  Does the Virginia Supreme Court have the power of judicial review within the state of Virginia?

6.  What is the name of the famous legal case that established the power of judicial review at the federal level?


Use the chart below to help you answer questions 7 to 12.



7.  Which Virginia court hears felony criminal cases, such as a murder or armed robbery, by an adult?

8.  Which Virginia court would most likely hear a civil case involving a small amount of money?

9.  In which court can the person accused of a crime have his or her case heard by a jury?

10.  In which court would a 16 year old accused of stealing a computer be heard?

11.  In which court would a misdemeanor (a less serious crime) committed by an adult most likely be heard?

12.  What do the arrows on the Virginia Courts chart represent or show?


Use the chart below to help you answer questions 13 - 16.



13.  In which court do most federal cases, criminal or civil, begin?

14.  What does it mean to say the U.S. District Courts have “original jurisdiction” in most federal court cases?

15.  What does it mean to say that the U.S. Court of Appeals has "appellate jurisdiction"?

16.  What court is the highest court in the federal court system?

17.  What document must the U.S. Supreme Court consider as "the supreme law of the land" when it decides any case?

18.  Do Virginia courts have to follow the Virginia Constitution only, the U.S. Constitution only, or both?

19.  What is the difference between a criminal case and a civil case?

20.  Put these steps of a criminal case in proper order:  trial; arrest; arraignment; bail hearing; appeals.

21.  Put these steps of a civil case in proper order:  appeals; complaint filed by plaintiff; trial.

22.  Who is the defendant in a court case?

23.  Who is the plaintiff in a civil court case?

24.  In a civil case, the court settles a ___________ between two parties.  (Answer choices:  physical fight, disagreement, crime.)

25.  What happens at the arraignment if you are arrested and accused of a crime?

26.  What is "bail"?

27.  What is the term for the level of evidence officials need to make an arrest or obtain a search warrant?  (Answer choices:  proof, suspicion, probable cause.)

28.  What does the legal phrase "due process" or "due process of law" mean?

29.  What amendment requires the national (federal) government to follow due process?

30.  What amendment requires state and local governments to follow due process?




Copyright 2007, 2015 by David Burns
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Copyright 2006, 2015 by David A. Burns.  All rights reserved.  No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.   Contact:  Fasttrack Civics Project, 6215 Lavell Court, Springfield, VA 22152.

This work is a guide to the Virginia Civics SOL exam, and follows the organization and content of the Virginia Standards of Learning framework for that subject.  Some pages necessarily include phrases or sentences found in the Virginia SOL, which is available online from the Virginia Department of Education.  The author’s copyright extends to this work's original text and graphic content, unique design and layout, and other related material.
                       
Illustrations appearing in this publication are taken from sources in the public domain and from private collections used by permission.  Sources include: the Dover Pictorial Archive, the Library of Congress, The Hart Publishing Co., Corel Corporation and its licensors, Nova Development Corporation and its licensors, and others.  Maps were created or adapted by the author using reference maps from the United States Geological Survey and Cartesia Software.