Catherine Boljen
1. Explain how state courts differ from federal courts.
Answer: Each state court has its own court system. There are minor courts, trial
courts and appellate courts. Minor courts handle misdemeanors which are mior
violations of state and local laws. Trial courts on a state level are also called
county courts and have circuit courts, superior courts, district courts and
common pleas courts. In state courts, felonies are tried in trial courts.
2. Describe the justice of the peace system and identify its chief weakness.
Answer: Justices of the peace are elected for short terms usually 2-6 years. There
are no trained in the law and their authority is limited to performing marriages,
notarizing documents, handling traffic violations and hearing misdemeanors and
minor civil disputes. The main weaknesses are that these people are not trained
in the law, so many times criminals go free because of the leniency of the judges.
3. Define and discuss the duties of minor courts, trial courts of general
jurisdiction, and appellate courts.
Answer: minor courts handle minor violations such as traffic cases and civil suits
involving little amounts of money. Trial courts of general jurisdiction handle
felonies, criminal and equity cases. Appellate courts can hear cases from the
trail court and have the authority to appeal the verdict of those courts.
4. What are the four different ways judges are selected? What are the
advantages and disadvantages of each?
Answer; The 4 ways judges are elected are by appointment of the governor and
election by legislature, popular election, merit selection, and judicial conduct.
When Judges are appointment by the governor, they are then confirmed by the
state senate. This usually occurs when a prior judge has retired or died. In a
popular election, people vote for judges based on their decisions and objectivity.
The merit selection is when a vacancy occurs and a special nominating
commission occurs—3 layers and 3 citizens appointed by the governor and the
chief justice nominate 3 candidates.
5. Describe the dangers of hotly contested judicial elections.
As judicial elections have become more hotly contested, campaign spending has
escalated. This puts pressure on candidates to raise money in election years.
There is increased reliance on TV advertisements. Candidates regularly face
attack ads that are aggressive and serve to target specific candidates in a hostile
manner. Even though more people are getting involved in judicial elections, the
campaigning processes are become extremely un-civil and serve to attack the
