3- 5 paragraphs
Public Opinion: Please state your opinion about the article below: Please click the link and respond accordingly.
More in Western Europe think mandatory voting is important, but Americans are split
Chapter 9
The American Legal System and the Courts
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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After You’ve Read This Chapter, You Will Be Able To: (1 of 2)
Describe the role that law plays in a democratic society.
Discuss the role of Congress and the Constitution in establishing the judiciary.
Explain how federalism plays out in the dual court system.
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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After You’ve Read This Chapter, You Will Be Able To: (2 of 2)
Outline the institutional rules and political influences that shape the Supreme Court and the decisions it makes.
Describe the relationship between citizens and the courts in America.
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Law and the American Legal System
Provide security
Provide predictability
Resolve conflict
Reflect and enforce conformity to society’s values
Distribute benefits and rewards society has to offer and allocate the costs of those good things
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The American Legal Tradition
Common law tradition
a legal system based on the accumulated rulings of judges over time, applied uniformly–judge-made law
Precedent
a previous decision or ruling that, in common law tradition, is binding on subsequent decisions
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Kinds of Law (1 of 3)
Substantive laws versus procedural laws
Substantive law: laws whose content, or substance, defines what we can or cannot do
Procedural law: laws that establish how laws are applied and enforced–how legal proceedings take place
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Kinds of Law (2 of 3)
Criminal laws versus civil laws
Criminal law: laws prohibiting behavior the government has determined to be harmful to society; violation of a criminal law is called a crime
Civil law: laws regulating interactions between individuals; violation of a civil law is called a tort
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Kinds of Law (3 of 3)
Constitutional laws
Come from both state constitutions and the U.S. Constitution
Statutory laws
From legislatures, both the U.S. Congress and state legislatures
Administrative laws
From bureaucracies
Executive orders
From presidents and governors
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The Least Dangerous Branch
Federalist No. 78
Hamilton argued that the judiciary was the least dangerous branch
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John Marshal and Judicial Review
Judicial review: the power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of laws
Marbury v. Madison
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Understanding Jurisdiction
Courts with original jurisdiction
U.S. district courts
State trial courts
Courts with appellate jurisdiction
U.S. courts of appeals
State intermediate appellate courts
State supreme courts
Court with both original and appellate jurisdictions
U.S. Supreme Court
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State Courts
The state court structure is the same: trial courts (all courts where trials happen), appellate level courts, and state supreme courts
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Federal Courts
The federal court system has three levels: federal district courts, circuit courts of appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court
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U.S. District Courts
Lowest level of federal court system
94 district courts (each state has at least one)
Hear both criminal and civil cases
Juries responsible for verdict
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U.S. Courts of Appeals
Arranged into 12 circuits
Solely appellate jurisdiction
No new evidence or witnesses
Panel of three judges makes ruling, not a jury
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Outline the institutional rules and political influences that shape the Supreme Court and the decisions it makes.
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Selection of Judges
States
Method varies by state:
– Appointment
– Nonpartisan election
– Partisan election
Federal
All federal judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate
Senatorial courtesy is often invoked for lower level federal courts
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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The Supreme Court (1 of 3)
How members of the court are selected
Criteria
Merit
Political ideology
Reward
Representation
Confirmation by the Senate
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The Supreme Court (2 of 3)
Choosing which cases to hear
Petitioning the Supreme Court
Role of law clerks
Rule of four: the unwritten requirement that four Supreme Court justices must agree to grant a case certiorari in order for the case to be heard
Other influences
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The Supreme Court (3 of 3)
Deciding cases
Judicial attitudes
Judicial activism
Judicial restraint
External factors
Writing opinions
Dissenting
Concurring
Political effects of judicial decisions
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Citizenship and the Courts
Equal treatment by the criminal justice system is the goal, but not always a reality. Prejudice against certain individuals remains
Equal access to the civil justice system is not always a reality either, since few can afford an attorney to pursue smaller cases, and the system itself is not “user-friendly”
Almost all individuals, in civil or criminal cases, expect a fair trial when they need one, yet everyone avoids jury duty
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Chapter 10
Public Opinion
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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After You’ve Read This Chapter, You Will Be Able To: (1 of 2)
Explain the role of public opinion in a democracy.
Evaluate how well American citizens measure up to notions of an ideal democratic citizen.
Identify key factors that influence our individual and collective political opinions.
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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After You’ve Read This Chapter, You Will Be Able To: (2 of 2)
Describe different techniques used to gauge public opinion.
Give examples of ways in which public opinion enhances or diminishes the relationship between citizens and government.
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Public Opinion
Public opinion: the collective attitudes and beliefs of individuals on one or more issues
Public opinion polls: scientific efforts to estimate what an entire group thinks about an issue by asking a smaller sample of the group for its opinion
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The Role of Public Opinion
in a Democracy
Why public opinion should matter:
The government’s legitimacy rests on the idea that government exists to serve the interests of its citizens
Why public opinion does matter:
Politicians act as though they believe the public is keeping tabs on them
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Two Competing Views of Citizenship
The ideal democratic citizen:
A virtuous citizen concerned for the common good
Recognizes that democracy carries obligations as well as rights
Informed about politics and current events
The apolitical, self-interested citizen:
Inattentive and ill
informed
Easily manipulated
Politically intolerant
Unlikely to participate
Apathetic
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Citizen Values
Political knowledge and interest
The ideal democratic citizen understands how government works, who the main actors are, and what major principles underlie the operation of the political system
Tolerance
A key democratic value
Participation
Criticism that citizens do not participate enough
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What Influences Our Opinions About Politics? (1 of 3)
Political socialization: the process by which we learn our political orientations and allegiances
Patriotism: a strong emotional attachment to one’s political community
Spiral of silence: the process by which a majority opinion becomes exaggerated because minorities do not feel comfortable speaking out in opposition
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What Influences Our Opinions About Politics? (2 of 3)
Differences in public opinion
Race and Ethnicity
Gender
Gender gap
Marriage gap
Stages of life
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What Influences Our Opinions About Politics? (3 of 3)
Partisanship and ideology
Partisan sorting
Education
Economic self-interest
Religion
Geographic region
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Measuring and Tracking Public Opinion
The quality of opinion polling today
Random sample
Sample bias
Nonresponse bias
Sampling error
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Types of Polls (1 of 3)
National polls: include Gallup, CBS News, and so on
Campaign polls:
Benchmark poll
Tracking poll
Exit poll
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Types of Polls (2 of 3)
Pseudo-polls:
Self-selection
Push poll
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Types of Polls (3 of 3)
Survey experiments
survey questions are manipulated in an effort to get respondents to disclose more information than they think they are disclosing
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How Accurate Are Polls?
Polls do make predictions, and we can tell by the vote count whether the polls are correct
The record of most polls is quite good
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Citizenship and Public Opinion (1 of 2)
Rational ignorance
The state of being uninformed about politics because of the cost in time and energy
Shortcuts to political knowledge:
On-line processing
Two-step flow of information
Opinion leaders
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Citizenship and Public Opinion (2 of 2)
The rational electorate: a third competing view of citizenship?
Analogy to football fans from the text
Constitutes rational ignorance
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