POL 150 Chapter 9 Review Name: Dan Ngo 1. Give an example of how courts are politicized. According to an article of Pew Research Center, there is widespread suspicion among the public’s view that justices are affected by politics. Only 16% of respondents say Supreme Court justices do an excellent or good job of keeping their political opinions out of their rulings, even though the majority of adults (84%) believe they should not bring their personal political views into the issues they decide. 2. Give an example of: Law on the books: The first crime of trafficking in several Schedule I and II restricted drugs is punished by at least 5 years in jail. If a person was gravely hurt because of the crime, the minimum punishment is increased to 20 years. Individual trafficking offenses can result in fines of up to $5 million. With a mandated minimum sentence, a judge cannot often impose a criminal sentence that is less than what the guidelines require. Law in action: The Supreme Court decided in United States vs. Booker (2005) that the federal Sentencing Guidelines should be considered advisory rather than obligatory, providing judges more latitude to sentence defendants to less than the maximum period provided by the Guidelines. Mandatory minimum legislation, on the other hand, remained in effect, and defendants in many drug cases are still facing hefty sentences. 3. List 3 functions of courts from the textbook. - Dispute Resolution: Courts use formal procedures to resolve conflicts in a peaceful manner. Those accused of crimes are charged by the state. A corporation files a lawsuit against another for breaching a contract's conditions. Someone files a malpractice complaint against a doctor, accusing him of being incompetent. The courts fulfill this purpose by allowing citizens to resolve their disagreements in an orderly, coordinated, and authoritatively regulated manner. This strengthens the government's legitimacy. - Policymaking: Officially, Supreme Court judges are expected to utilize the official United States Constitution to resolve high-stakes conflicts between policymaking branches of government, such as the official Congress and the official United States president. Whether the official subject is the death sentence, abortion, sexual harassment, or any of the hundreds of other issues the courts are involved with, it is apparent that the courts shape policy by hearing cases and issuing decisions. - Monitoring Government: The courts' policy-making role in prohibiting school boards from imposing intelligent design into the classroom echoes the courts' last functional duty: government oversight. The courts serve as a check on the executive and legislative branches of the United States government. The courts have the responsibility of overseeing the conduct of the government and government officials to ensure that they follow all applicable laws and regulations, including those that regulate other people's behavior. 4. Underline or Bold the phrases that are most appropriate for the film, My Cousin Vinny. Type of Legal System: Civil Law Common Law Customary Law Type of Case: Civil Criminal Type of Court: Trial Appellate Religious Law 5. Identify the characters from My Cousin Vinny that you think were the most lawful and least lawful. Explain why. Most lawful – Judge Chamberlain Haller: Judge Haller, played by Fred Gwynne, is an excellent example of how a court's strictness does not always imply that the judge is unjust. Haller has a suspicion that Vinny isn't who he says he is, so he starts looking into his credentials. Vinnie, too, is able to deceive him, but only after leaping through a series of hoops ("Jerry Gallo to Jerry Callo"). Vinnie's disregard for court clothing codes and contempt for court processes are not allowed by the judge due to his status, and he is imprisoned for contempt of court. Judge Haller is also irritated by his poor communication “Once again, the communication process has broken down between us. It appears to me that you want to skip the arraignment process, go directly to trial, skip that and get a dismissal. Well, I’m not about to revamp the entire judicial process just because you find yourself in the unique position of defending clients who say they didn’t do it.” Despite this, he remains a joy to watch, as patient as he was willing in giving Vinny Gambino a second chance. Least lawful – Mona Lisa Vito: Lisa initially wants to assist Vinny with the case since she sees him suffering. Despite Vinny's protests, she studies the legal book and photographs the crime scene for him, establishing Stan and Bill's innocence. She took the initiative to use her resources to help them win the lawsuit. This part of the story is progressive since it is Lisa, a strong, independent woman, who gathers the evidence to establish Bill and Stan's innocence. Furthermore, if Vinny confronts her, she is quick to defend herself and swear back: “You wanna know what I'm nervous about? I'll tell you what I'm nervous about! I am in the dark here with all this legal crap. I have no idea what's going on. All I know is that you're screwing up and I can't help.” Despite her loud attitude, Lisa has a deep understanding of autos, a trade generally associated with males. As a result, her character defies the gender roles that have been ascribed to her as a woman, because she possesses such powerful, strong, and independent attributes, and she refuses to accept the identity of being an obedient and subservient wife.