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COMM LAW EXAM 1

Terms in this set (18)

A. Five (5) sources of law in the U.S. Common
Equity, Statutory, Exec Order/Administrative Rules, Constitutional
B. The three (3) branches of government created by a constitution and the function of each.
Legislative/make law, executive/enforce law judiciary/interpret law.
C. The various levels of a state court system and the role of each in terms of its jurisdiction or kinds of cases that it hears.
Limited jurisdiction (traffic, juvenile, family), general jurisdiction (most criminal & civil cases), Appellate (consider ruling from lower) and State Supreme Court (final authority on state law).
D. At least three (3) examples of cases in which federal courts have jurisdiction.
Directly related to Constitution US law or treaties, US is a party in suit; two or more states; state & citizen of another; citizens from 2 states.
E. The various levels of the federal court system and the process by which judges are assigned to federal court positions.
(District, Circuit Courts of Appeals, US Supreme. Fed judges appt by President, confirmed by Senate, lifetime terms.
F. The four (4) steps in the process of how courts interpret the law (this was discussed as part of the "Constitution Bill of Rights and Nasty Politics lecture).
Read law carefully, is there precedent, look to law givers, look at history (what was going on).
G. The four (4) types of opinions that are typically issued in U.S. Supreme Court cases and a brief description of each.
Court's or majority, concurring, dissenting, plurality.
H. The process that takes place once the U.S. Supreme Court accepts a case. Request all documentation from lower courts; attorneys from both sides file legal briefs; oral arguments scheduled and presented; justices ask questions; move to chambers to discuss and vote on decision.
Precedent, (relying on past rulings), Stare decisis (literal translation...let the decision stand), legislative intent (what they meant when drafted law), limited jurisdiction (traffic, probate, etc.), general jurisdiction (most civil & criminal), circuits (as in "4th Circuit Court of Appeals"...geo areas where court has jurisdiction), legal briefs (written arguments), amici curiae (literal translation "friends of the court" and general meaning).
A. The exact wording of the First Amendment as it pertains to this class (not the entire text).
"Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech or of the press."
B. The diagram used to illustrate the "balancing act" faced by the Court in interpreting First Amendment rights and the meaning reflected by the opposing viewpoints.
(Freedom - flow of info to public and Control - compelling interest to restrict)
C. The one type of speech that receives complete and unfettered protection under the First Amendment.
(political)
D. The primary purpose of the Alien & Sedition Act of 1798.
(make it a crime to criticize the govt)
E. The type of speech subject to governmental censorship as ruled by the Court in Schenck v. U.S. (1919).
Holmes...that which presents a clear and present danger to the nation.
F. The concept used by Oliver Wendell Holmes in Abrams v. U.S. (1919) that described an atmosphere of free robust expression.
(Marketplace of ideas)
G. The concept introduced by the opinion in Gitlow v. New York (1923) that changed the future course of First Amendment jurisdiction
(Think 14th amendment). Fourteenth amendment right of due process of the law include free speech and free press and makes Constitution trump state law)
H. How the Court redefined the concept of "clear and present danger" in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969).
Speech may be restricted when it is likely to produce incitement of "imminent lawless action."
Lewis Text Freedom for the Thought We Hate Introduction: A. The meaning of the statement: "Judges do not operate in a vacuum"?
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Chapter 3: B. In his dissent in the Abrams v. U.S. decision (1919) Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. called this "an experiment as all life is an experiment." To what was he referring?
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