Sunday, February 10, 2008

Quiz Review

Post your questions here and I will answer them.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Professor Davis,
You had mentioned in class that you expect us to know all nine Supreme Court justices. Do you expect us to just know who they are, or what President appointed them, their background, etc.? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

What specifically do you mean by "political question" When you ask if an issue raises a political question

Anonymous said...

Professor Davis,
Could you be more specific as to the variety/subject coverage of the questions on the quiz? (i.e. how many hypotheticals, etc)

Anonymous said...

For the cases should we just know the issues and the decision or do we need to know the background information? Thanks

Professor Davis said...

The most important things to know about the cases are the legal rule and the reasoning. Some questions may ask about dissents, or other parts of the opinion - if we discussed it in class.

Professor Davis said...

The quiz has 22 or 23 questions. Around 5 of them are based on hypotheticals.

Professor Davis said...

A political question is an issue that, according to the court, should be resolved by one of the political branches of government - congress or the president. The doctrine is used to keep the court from treading on the authority of the legislative and executive branches. If the text of the constitution delegates the issue to another branch (the senate should try impeachments) it is likely to be a political question.

Professor Davis said...

Just know the names of the current justices.

Anonymous said...

do you expect us to know about process of getting to the supreme court, the checks, and the constitutional interpretations?

Professor Davis said...

Yes, I expect you to know the basics of getting a case to the supreme court, the checks, and the constitutional interpretation methods.

Anonymous said...

Im having trouble understanding exactly what appellate juristiction is and what it is applied to and where it is used. Can you briefly describe it and maybe give an eample of where its used. Thanks!

Professor Davis said...

Appellate jurisdiction is the power of the court to hear a case after it has already been decided by another court. Almost all Supreme Court cases are decided under the court's appellate jurisdiction. Original jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear a case first - to hold a trial.

Anonymous said...

Professor Davis,

Could you please advise us on the meaning of life?

Thanks!