Cahn Chapter 8

  1. Provides expanded individual rights beyond those mandated under the U.S. Constitution. This __________ doctrine has, at times, encouraged the California Supreme Court to follow a more liberal interpretation.
    "Independent State Grounds" Doctrine
  2. These are essentially the state's trial courts, with jurisdiction in both civil and criminal law cases. ________ __________ judges are selected in non-partisan races; however, many superior court judges reach the bench initially through gubernatorial appointment.
    Superior Courts
  3. The state is divided into six court of appeals districts, with more than 88 percent elected for 12-year terms. These courts serve as a screening mechanism to reduce the workload of the state supreme court. They usually grant appeals considering only questions of law, not questions of fact. There are no juries, no introductions of evidence, and no interrogations of witnesses. The ________ __________ ________ also has jurisdiction over decisions of quasi-judicial state boards. While most lower-court verdicts are upheld by the appellate court, an appeal is still possible directly to the state supreme court.
    District Court of Appeals
  4. The ________ __________ ___________ is composed of one chief justice and six associate justices. As the highest court in the state, it has been an active participant in the major public policy debates, from civil rights to the death penalty to the status of immigrants in the state. The state ________ __________ has original jurisdiction to issue writs (or orders) over the following areas: (1) habeus corpus, (2) prohibition, and (3) mandamus (or mandate). It is the state's final court of appeals.
    California Supreme Court
  5. An active partner in shaping major public policy debates.
    Judicial "Activism"
  6. Courts filled with conservative appointees. For example, in the area of criminal law, the post-Bird counts have rarely turned down a lower-court-order death penalty decision, except in some unusual cases where gross trial errors were made.
    Judicial "Restraint"
  7. Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose Bird and two associate justices, Cruz Reynoso and Joseph Grodin, were removed from office by the voters. Bird, who had overturned 61 death sentences, had become a lightening rod of the voters' frustration.
    Supreme Court Recall, 1986
  8. The Supreme Court Chief Justice who was removed by the voters in 1986. She overturned 61 death sentences, which caused her to become a lightening rod of the voters' frustration - losing by a landslide of 32 points, the first time this had happened in California's 52 years under its judicial-retention election process.
    Rose Bird
Author
Anonymous
ID
43400
Card Set
Cahn Chapter 8
Description
POLSC-20
Updated