Christopher Columbus Langdell, Dean of the Harvard law school appointed in 1870, had a lasting impact on ______. He implemented changes that were emulated by other schools and that carry on in some form to the present day. These changes included strict entrance requirements, adoption of a three year program by 1876, students had to pass end of year exams to continue on to the next year, implementation of a case method of teaching, (rather than textbooks, cases chosen to teach and explain various principles of law), and use of a question and answer socratic method of teaching.
Chief Justice William Howard Taft wrote in a 1925 Yale Law Journal article that “The function of the Supreme Court had become not the remedy of a particular litigant’s wrong, but the consideration of cases whose decision involves principles, the application of which are of ___ governmental or public interest, and which should be authoritatively declared by the final court.”
In part a result of Chief Justice Taft's lobbying, Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1925, replacing mandatory appeals with petitions for ___, extending the Court’s discretionary jurisdiction.
The Court has struggled over the years with establishing and maintaining its desired norm of ___. ___ is expected, but in conflict of the growth of the Supreme court staff and bureaucracy.
The Court has responded to the rising caseload and workload in ways that can be categorized into three broad institutional responses, including (1) ___ responses (Court’s terms lengthened, time allowed for oral arguments shortened, and staff grew) (2)
jurisdictional changes (enlarging power of discretionary review, and creating new lower appellate courts so that the justices may decide only those cases of national importance), and (3) changes in procedures and processes (formal procedural rules and informal processes and practices in the screening and disposing of cases may be modified by the justices, such as raising filing fees, changing formal requirements for accepting cases, and charging penalties for bringing frivolous cases.) (Describing these institutional responses to increasing caseloads, with examples, would be a good essay question.)
The title of the federal prosecutor in each federal judicial district responsible for federal law enforcement in that district is the US _____. Describing the origin of this position and describing their responsibilities and how they are carried out would be a good essay question.
Chief Justice John Marshall cultivated collegiality by having all of the justices room at the same boardinghouse, dine together, and discuss cases
in the evenings, thus working toward Marshall's goal of arriving at
___ opinions.
He believed ___ opinions would build the Court’s prestige.
The ways in which the legal ___ changed in the 1900's would be a great essay question.
For the first few decades of its existence, the Supreme Court did not even have its own ____.
The impact the Great ___ (Dec 2007-June 2009) had on the legal profession would be a great essay question.
There are both constitutional and statutory restrictions on ___ bargaining, the process involving the prosecutor bargaining with the criminal defendant's attorney to extend some form of leniency in exchange for a guilty ___.
____ is the theory that justices disproportionately grant cases in which one or more of the following cues are present:
1) a civil liberties issue, 2) disagreement in lower courts and 3) the involvement of the federal government as the petitioner.
Studies show that the strongest correlation between any of these cues is the participation of the government.
A felony is a serious crime, defined by the severity of its defined punishment of death or imprisonment, or in some jurisdictions, imprisonment for a minimum certain length of ___ in prison.
___ the judicial policy of “letting the prior decision stand” is usually followed by the Supreme Court, meaning most precedents are not reversed, but the Court can and does ignore this principle under certain circumstances. Describing the circumstances under which reversals of prior decisions are more likely to occur would be a good essay question.
Chief Justice ___ contributed to the development of the Court’s institutional identity by successfully lobbying Congress for the construction of a magnificent building of its own.
A misdemeanor is a relatively ____ crime, punishable by fines and/or confinement of a relatively short period of time.
___ procedures, following an arrest include appearance before a magistrate, the grand jury process or preliminary hearing, the arraignment, and the possibility of a plea bargain.
Important group of outside actors in the judicial process are ___ groups. Describing their role and impact would be a good essay question.
One important part of the US Department of Justice is the Office of Solicitor ___. Describing the work of this office and the impact it has on the docket of the US Supreme Court would be a good essay question.
From 1860 until 1935, the Supreme Court met in its “old ___ Chamber” on the ground floor of the Capitol.
Four considerations that justices are looking for in selection of ___ clerks include: 1) their particular law school
2) specific geographic regions
3) prior clerking experience on certain courts or with certain judges
4) ideological and personal compatibility.