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However, it is unlikely that one system will ever be sacrificed entirely. Also, there are cases when jurisdiction between federal and state overlap, such as "any lawsuit where citizens of different states are involved in disputes concerning at least $50,000, the person being sued can insist on federal court," and "some criminal acts that involve single events or multiple events that violate both federal and state laws simultaneously ("Michigan Court System, the Civics Institute, 2004). This also means that combining the two systems would not be feasible, especially given how the system of laws in America currently exists.
Outline the various sentencing goals. hich of these goals do you find most acceptable as the primary goal of sentencing? How might your choice of goal vary with the type of offense? Can you envision any circumstances which might make your choice less acceptable?
Chapter 10: The American Legal System and the Courts." Chapter Summary from Keeping the Republic. Washington DC: CQ Press. 2007.
Maxfield, Linda Drazga. "Final Report: Sentencing." Office of Policy Analysis.
There are many aspects to investigations as they pertain to courts and upholding the law. An investigation is systematic inquiry to determine the facts surrounding an event or situation to determine who, what, where, when, how, and why an event or incident occurred that might be of particular interest to the courts. In the modern age, mainly due to anti-terrorism enforcement, US lawmakers and courts have changed the scope of police surveillance authority. As a result, a new privacy paradigm has emerged where police power to gather information in criminal investigations has expanded (Bloss, 2009).
Bloss, W. (2009). Transforming U.S. police surveillance in a new privacy paradigm. Police Practice & Research, 225-238.
McNichol, A. (2013). PRIVACY IN THE AGE OF SMARTPHONES: A Better Standard for GPS Tracking . Arizon State Law Journal, 1277-1250.
The results of these judicial performance evaluations then are dispersed to the public (Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, n.d.).
Kelly, W. (n.d). Show-Me Institute Study: State of Missouri's court plan as good as any. St.
Discrimination is one of the most critical issues of the present times. It refers to the societal practices and behaviors which deprive a certain group of people or minorities from enjoying equal rights in a society (Yang & Li, 2009). Discrimination separates people on the basis of racial and ethnical differences, religious beliefs, gender, class and power, etc. To encounter this issue and eliminate it from their societies and workplaces, nations from all over the world have been devising their own anti-discrimination laws and practices (Wilson, 2012).
Associated Press. (2016). With email probe nearing end, FBI may question Hillary Clinton.
Beckwith, R. (2015). Read the 7 Most Memorable Passages in the Gay Marriage Decision.
Of the five criteria set by the courts for the reliability test, which one do you believe to be the weakest? Why?
Nisbett, R.E. And Wilson, T.D. (1977). Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84, 231-259.
As with many governmental agencies, law enforcement is partitioned by agency type, organizational mission, overall size, and jurisdiction. The law enforcement agency spectrum is broad, spanning a range from small town police departments to extensive federal agencies. The brief descriptions below correspond to the categorical jurisdictions and authority of U.S. law enforcement agencies.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the largest employers of Federal officers are as follows: Federal Bureau of Prisons, the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Each of these agencies has over 10,000 officers authorized to carry firearms and make arrests ("Discover Policing," 2015). The duties and responsibilities of Federal officers include corrections, court operations, criminal investigation and enforcement, inspections, police response and patrol, security and protection ("Discover Policing," 2015).
There are three branches of the federal government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The federal courts were established by Congress, which is given the power to establish them in the Constitution. The Constitution also empowers the Congress to establish the jurisdiction of the federal courts, determine the number of judges needed in the federal court system, to confirm Executive appointments of judges, and to manage the judiciary's budget. Congress impacts the establishment of the courts in several other ways as well. The various state-level governments have the same three basic branches, and their divisions of power and responsibility are likewise determined by their Constitutions or other founding documents.
Until Bob Woodward wrote his book, The Bretheren: Inside the Supreme Court (Woodward, 1996), the inner workings of the United States Supreme Court were considered off-limits. For nearly two hundred years no one had the courage to investigate how the Supreme Court operates on a day-to-day basis but Bob Woodward, one of the reporters who broke the Watergate scandal to the world, stepped forward and in doing so provided the American public with its first real view of how the Court operates.
Hathaway, O.A. (2001). Path Dependence in the Law: The Course and Pattern of Legal Change in a Common Law System. Iowa Law Review, 101-165.
Hood, R. (2001). Capital Punishment. Punishment & Society, 331-354.
Toobin, J. (2007). The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. New York: Doubleday.
Woodward, B. And Scott Armstrong.(1996). The Brethren: Iniside the Supreme Court. New York: Avon Books.
The drug courts have become part of the solution, not the problem in the lives of thousands of children and adolescents across the country (Schwebel, 176).
Juvenile drug courts are increasing in the United States, as a result of increasing availability of external funding, raising the question of what constitutes a "serious" juvenile drug user. Nearly half of all adolescents in the United States will try some form of illegal drug before they reach 18 years of age. However, the majority of these drug users are able to control their behavior and go on to lead productive lives (Church II, Wesley, 2006, 89)."
Residents of the United States have been noted many times for their poor understanding of American history and government. This is, no doubt, connected with the broken public education system at the K-12 levels. Many Americans not understand the political theory behind the U.S. Constitution and the principles of limited government. (Feith, xi). Thus, they cannot grasp the Constitutional principles governing the role of the Judge, the Jury, and the Prosecution in deciding a court case. (Feith, 13).
Carlson, J.M. (1985). Prime time law enforcement. New York: Praeger.
Rottman, D.B., & National Center for State Courts. (2003). Perceptions of the courts in your community: The influence of experience, race, and ethnicity: executive summary. Williamsburg, VA: National Center for State Courts.
Champion, D.J. (2007). The juvenile justice system: delinquency, processing, and the law, 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Print.
Siegel, L. And Tracy, P. (2007). Juvenile law: a collection of leading U.S. Supreme Court cases. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Print.
According to Merrill and Fox (1999) the total impact of substance abuse on Federal entitlement programs is more than $77 billion. This constitutes in excess of $66 billion directly associated with substance abuse. Further, the amount of taxpayer dollars spent on substance abuse would accounts for nearly 10% of total Federal spending (Merrill and Fox, 1999). The cost of drug use affects the entire criminal justice system, overburdening current resources at each stage of the arrest, adjudication, incarceration, and post-release supervision process (National Drug Threat Assessment, 2010).
Western, B., Pettit, B. (2002). Beyond Crime and Punishment: Prisons and Inequality. Contexts 1:37 -- 43.
Wilkinson, D. (2006). The Ambiguity Advantage: What great leaders are great at. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
American courts have established a number of important precedents that helped define the direction of both American society and law. This short paper describes the outcome and initial controversy of the case of Roe vs. ade, which provided an important precedent for both American law and the people.
A precedent can be defined as a "legal principle, created by a court decision, which provides an example or authority for judges deciding similar issues later" ('Letric Law Library). Precedents set by the U.S. Supreme Court are especially influential as they are generally binding on all lower courts throughout the country, in addition to influencing all of the citizens of the nation.
About.com. Roe vs. Wade - What You Need to Know About Roe vs. Wade. 11 May 2005.
U.S. 113, Roe v. Wade. 11 May 2005.
There is no question that there is gender disparity in the rate at which men and women are given the death penalty. As of January 1, 2010 there were 61 women on death row, which was 1.87% of the total death row population of about 3,261 persons (Death Penalty Information Center, 2010). Over the past 100 years, over 40 women have been executed in the U.S. (Death Penalty Information Center, 2010). Twelve female offenders have been executed since 1976 (Death Penalty Information Center, 2010). This pales in comparison to the number of men who have been executed; throughout American history, women have comprised approximately 2.8% of executions in the United States.
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135-142. Virginia: National Drug Court Institute.
Goldkamp, J. (1994, Oct.). Justice and treatment innovation: the drug court movement.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Dobrish, Robert Z., "A Lawyer's Considerations in Selecting a Mental Health Expert," pp. 13-20.
Fraser, Mark W. And Mary A. Tenzian, "Risk and Resilience in Child Development," pp. 55-71.
On Linda Greenhouse's Op-Ed: "Lessons Maybe Learned"
Linda Greenhouse in her New York Times article titled Lessons Maybe Learned reminds us that the federal courts still exist, despite the weakening of Constitutional protections for privacy, free speech, and due process, and against cruel and unusual punishment since 9/11. She opens her opinion piece by relating her sentiment of the almost invisibility of judicial branch in the post-9/11 America. Of course this is an overstatement intended to catch the attention of readers, because numerous cases have been heard and decided, such as challenges to military tribunals, indefinite detentions of 'enemy combatants', and elements of the PATRIOT Act. Yet, Greenhouse seems to have captured the arguably pervasive feeling that the federal courts have been effectively sitting on the sidelines while the executive branch and the Congress set domestic policy that often undermines Constitutional protections.
Greenhouse, Linda. "Lessons Maybe learned." New York Times 7 Sept. 2011. Web. 10 Sept. 2011.
The Judiciary of Pennsylvania consists of a supreme court, superior court, commonwealth court, court of common pleas and minor courts. The commonwealth, superior and supreme courts are appellate courts responsible for hearing and reviewing the appeals of cases that have already been heard at lower level courts, with Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court being the highest court level for appeals to go to.
The structure and platform on which the legal system is based upon is very important in understanding the total landscape of how justice is carried out within the confines of the government. The purpose of this essay is to explore the inner workings of both the federal and state court systems and highlight their similarities and differences. Also, this essay will investigate the roles of court administrators in the different types of functions that a court serves. A investigation into the state of Colorado and its court structure will also be presented to help give a practical example of the court system. Finally, the essay will address quasi-judicial bodies and their impact on the courts and legal system.
Administration and management of courts is filled with challenges. Often depending upon the geographical context of the court, such challenges will include resource shortage, a perpetual docket of criminal cases and the broader complexity of providing civil order and justice to communities while balancing constitutional law and local ordinance. Moreover, the complexity of administering justice in and of itself plays a part in the difficulty of court management, with issues such as the deepening ethnic diversity of encountered populations and shifting ideas about victims' rights playing defining roles in the tasks before any given court. The discussion here on language interpretation services and the timeline in the evolution of victims' rights are offered within the context of court administration.
Missouri Courts (MC). (2010). Court Interpreter Services. Courts.mo.gov.
Muraskin, R. & Roberts, A. (2004).Visions for Change: Crime and Justice in the Twenty-First Century. Prentice Hall.
Robinson, M. (2002). Justice Blind? Prentice Hall.
Appel, J.M. (2009, August 22). Anticipating the incapacitated justice. Huffington Post.
Robertson, P. (2004). Courting Disaster: How the Supreme Court is usurping the Power of Congress and the People. Integrity: Brentwood, TN.
How does a court system cope with a changing of the guard when a new administration is elected and key executives and managers are replaced, and/or when policy changes direction as a new political party assumes power?
Glannon, J. (2008). Civil Procedures. Frederick, MD: Kluwer Law.
Howard, J. (1999). The Shifting Wind. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Koopmans, T. (2003). Courts and Political Institutions. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Lane, S. (2012). Highway 420. Staten Island, NY: Sandi Lane.
This study reviews Pat obertson's "Courting disaster: How the Supreme Court is usurping the power of Congress and the people." Pat obertson is the founder and chairperson of the Christian Broadcasting Network, founder of egent University, and The Center for Law and Justice. He and his wife have four children and thirteen grandchildren. They reside in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Using both legal and religious points-of-view, obertson attempts to prove that the current operation of the judicial system is dangerous to both the republican form of government and our individual freedoms. While seeking to strengthen his argument, the author has compiled fascinating facts, quotes, case decisions, and opinions of the Court (Mu-ller-Fahrenholz, 2007).
Barrett, P., & Smolla, R.A. (2010). A year in the life of the Supreme Court. Durham [u.a.: Duke Univ. Press.
Edwards, L., & Meese, E. (2011). Bringing justice to the people: The story of the freedom-based public interest law movement. Washington, DC: Heritage Books.
Melashenko, E.L., & Smith, D.B. (2009). Rock-solid living in a run-amok world. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Pub. Association.
Mu-ller-Fahrenholz, G. (2007). America's battle for God: A European Christian looks at civil religion. Grand Rapids, Mich. [u.a.: William B. Eerdmans Publ.
In his joint aticle with Oleg Sminov, "Dift, Daft, o Dag: How the Supemes React to New Membes," Smith takes an even close look at the Supeme Cout and the histoy of its political (o intepetive) makeup. Specifically, these authos find that the Cout counte-balances changes to its ideological makeup though the addition of new membes by changes in the oveall intepetative stances of opposing justices -- the addition of moe libeal justices esults in consevative justices becoming moe consevative, and the addition of consevative justices leads to moe libeal thinking on the pat of libeal justices. This view sees the Supeme Cout and couts in geneal as an essentially political body, just like any othe political body at wok in the fedeal govenment o at othe levels of govenment within any given society, whethe past o pesent.
references. This increases the politicization of the court system as a whole and makes individual judges and courts less responsive to the individuals appearing in the courts than they otherwise would be.
A fully accepted explanation of the court system has yet to be achieved in the literature, and is certainly beyond the scope of this paper. The agreement that exists between the disparate arguments presented above, however, suggests that these authors are formulating a new trend in judicial theory that could soon replace the inadequate and simplified view taken by many of the courts. This understanding will doubtless continue to be refined for decades, if not centuries.
As the text by Thompson indicates, one of the crucial dimensions of the Biblical orldview is its attention to the relationships formed between men. The interest in assuring justice in the affairs between individuals, this view holds, is part and parcel to the interest of protecting God's morality through the court of law.
Baker, J. (1997). Fast Eddie v. Hall. Court of Appeals of Indiana.
Thompson, G.R. (2003). A Biblical Worldview. The Laws of Nature and Nature's God.
One of the pending cases involved a dispute between France and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Like the dispute with Belgium, this involved France's attempt to hold one of the Congo's ministers responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. France sought to compel the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to appear as a witness, which the Congo claimed was a violation of its sovereignty.
nternational Court of Justice. (2008). Judge Kenneth Keith. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from nternational Court of Justice.
nternational Court of Justice. (2008). Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from nternational Court of Justice.
International Court of Justice. (2008). Summary of the Judgment of 14 February 2002.
Retrieved April 10, 2008, from International Court of Justice.
U.S.C. § 48 is not aimed at specific instances of animal cruelty, but specifically at the creation and distribution of depictions of such abuse for the purposes of interstate and/or foreign commerce. This is the act that the appellant was unarguably engaging in when apprehended by law enforcement, and the fact that the law is not aimed at those participating directly in acts of animal cruelty does not in and of itself create a constitutional objection.
year-old Nicholas Lindsay was charged for the murder of Officer David Crawford. esides Lindsay's own confession to the murder, there is no other evidence that he committed the murder. Lindsay made this confession at the urging and in the presence of his mother, without a lawyer present. He told the police officers that he shot David Crawford after being apprehended by Crawford.
The official police report stated that, after apprehending Lindsay, Crawford was reaching for his notepad when Lindsay pulled out his own handgun and shot him five times in the chest. Hence, Lindsay was arrested and charged for murder. The prosecution, which included the State Attorney, decided to prosecute 16-year-old Lindsay as an adult.
"2 officers killed, man found dead after shootout inside Florida home." CNN. 2010-10-18.
9/11 terror attacks was characterized by enactment of new laws and executive orders that focused on enhancing homeland security. However, these laws and orders have become controversial because they have ceded power to the executive branch and limited people's rights. Some examples of these limitations include restrictions on privacy, limitation of free speech and association rights, and limitation of religious freedom. While these actions were necessary to help prevent another attack, they are inappropriate since they compromise civil rights and checks and balances established in America's democracy. The federal government would have taken less drastic measures through reordering priorities of law enforcement instead of generating fundamental changes in law.
hat is a Court Order Used for?
To provide temporary relief to an aggrieved party; or Facilitate the smooth functioning of a trial through, for example, clarification of a law typical example of an interim court order to maintain status quo is the issuance of a TRO or a Temporary Protective Order (TPO) in a case of domestic violence to prevent any further violence or threat of violence by a spouse.
Examples of providing temporary relief may occur in family law trials in which temporary child custody, rights of visitation, spousal support and/or maintenance are ordered by the court pending final judgments.
The difference between Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and Injunction is that an injunction may be temporary or permanent while TRO is always temporary; secondly, although most injunctions, like TROs are orders that restrain action by a party, some injunctions may order a party to carry out a positive act.
In recent times, no court case has attracted as much attention as that of George Zimmerman. In this text, I summarize the most significant facts of the said case and explore the key laws that were violated. Further, amongst other things, I will also summarize the outcome of the case and my opinion on the outcome.
Clark, D.S. & Ansay, T. (Eds.). (2002). Introduction to the Law of the United States (2nd ed.). The Hague: Kluwer Law International.
Gaines, L.K. & Miller, R.L. (2009). Criminal Justice in Action (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Scheb, J.M. (2011). Criminal Law (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Lindsey was arraigned in court the next day, and the judge ordered that he be held in custody without bail. A grand jury which convened the following week indicted Lindsey on first-degree murder of a police officer, whereupon the state Attorney General charged Lindsey as an adult based on the seriousness of the offense and that he was over age 14.
Winship was decided by the Burger Court in 1970, Docket number 778. The case involves a twelve-year-old boy, Samuel Winship, who was arrested for stealing $112 from a woman's locker. Section 744(b) of the New York Family Court Act provided that determination of a juvenile's guilt differs from an adult defendant, requiring only a "preponderance of evidence" and not evidence "beyond a reasonable doubt." Based on the "preponderance of evidence" clause, the Family Court initially found Winship guilty, "despite acknowledging that the evidence did not establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," ("In Re Winship"). Winship appealed, and the appeal was rejected and later sent to the Supreme Court, which granted certiorari and deemed "preponderance of evidence" methods unconstitutional based primarily on the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause.
It takes place during the war in 1916, (before America became involved), and it shows the attack by French soldiers of a German position known as the "Ant Hill." The position is on the Western Front, near Verdun in France, and it is a gripping look at the trench warfare tactics of the war. The French soldiers are clearly unready for an attack, but the crazy General makes them attack in spite of their worthiness, because of his own selfish needs and wants. Ultimately, it is no surprise that the attack fails, the men simply were not ready, and some of them will not even leave the trenches because they know it is hopeless. The General is enraged because of this, and he convinces his commander that he must discipline the men because of their "mutiny." He chooses three men to court-martial as an example to the other soldiers.
I must admit that when I entered the courthouse I was a bit nervous. It was my first time to attend any trial, let alone a criminal one. However, I thought that a criminal case would be far more interesting than a civil one. Yet, despite my decision, and my belief that it would be "no big deal" to watch a criminal court case, I began to feel very nervous the minute I hit the line for the metal detector. It's funny -- but I always feel just a little bit paranoid before I go through one of those machines -- almost as if I really were hiding some kind of weapon without knowing it.
Ohio State University Case Study (1999) Survey Research Center at Ohio State University. Online available at http://www.truthinjustice.org/ohiostate.htm ..
How does a court system cope with a “changing of the guard” when a new administration is elected and key executives and managers are replaced, and/or when policy changes direction as a new political party assumes power?
Furthermore, the media has been known to slant certain criminal trials in particular directions. For example, the Casey Anthony trial of just a few years ago, some argue, was slanted in such a manner that the entire nation thought she was guilty. The jury, however, found her not guilty. Given the portrayal of this woman in the media, an entire nation thought that justice had not been served. Jurors were ridiculed and even threatened. An entire uproar had occurred. By allowing court proceedings to be covered by the media, there's a lack of authenticity which is surrendered for recording everything on television.
She has the right to call witnesses on her behalf and have them testify for her and she has the right to face and question any witnesses that are brought forth by the opposition.
There are several possible alternative solutions to this problem. The first solution is that the girl can be grandfathered in. Being grandfathered in means that a situation existed before a particular situation was decided upon. In this case the girl had the tattoo long before the decision was made to seek out and stop gang symbols. If she was grandfathered in it would mean that her tattoo would be ignored because she had it on her hand before the new rules applied.
BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 403 ET AL. v. FRASER, a MINOR, ET AL.
Some of the best military leaders of the time ignored him, and that is a pretty sad statement about our country's military. Mitchell was a war hero, but he was a real hero too, because of the way he stood up to the military and made matters public.
Paths of Glory. Dir. Otto Preminger. Perf. Gary Cooper, Charles Bickford, Ralph Bellamy, and Rod Steiger. Warner Brothers, 1955.
Obtaining a warrant to take blood sample of a person suspected of drunk driving but has refused to take breath test takes longer time and undermines the essence of time in this process. The Chief Justice John G. oberts Jr. together with other judges; however, expressed discomfort with what they termed government sanctioned bodily intrusions using sharp needles (Liptak, 2013).
Liptak, a. (2013, Jan. 9). Justices Look at Legality of Drunken-Driving Test. New York Times.
etrieved 21 Mar. 2013 from http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/65mcrm.htm#9-65.700.
Doyle, Charles. (2011). Crimes of violence committed against federal official or employees: A brief overview of federal criminal law. Congressional esearch Service. etrieved 21 Mar. 2013 from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/41574.pdf.
New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. (2005). Crimes Against Police Act. Criminal Justice.NY.gov. etrieved 2 Apr. 2013 from http://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/legalservices/ch765_crimes_against_police_act.htm.
Office of Coast Survey. (n.d.). Law of the sea. History of the maritime zones under international law; From the cannon shot rule to UNCLOS. Office of Coast Survey, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. etrieved 2 Apr. 2013 from http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/staff/law_of_sea.html.
References to the Matter of Each Act and to the Subsequent Acts on the Same Subject and Copious Notes of the Decisions of the Courts of the United States Construing those Acts, and upon the Subjects of the Laws. Boston, MA: Charles C. Little and James Brown. Retrieved 2 Apr. 2013 from http://books.google.com/books/download/The_public_statutes_at_large_of_the_Unit.pdf?id=wyY3AAAAIAAJ&output=pdf&sig=ACfU3U1p_NxuSBziJjvhBnUoaVRPjOo_lA.
Santos, Fernanda. (2012, Nov. 8). Gunman in Giffords shooting sentenced to 7 life terms. New York Times, A16. Retrieved 21 Mar. 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/09/us/gunman-who-shot-giffords-to-be-sentenced.html?ref=jaredleeloughner.
United States v. Jared Lee Loughner 672 F. 3d 731 (2012).
T.C. Memo 2010-54: The court decision located at T.C. Memo 2010-54 is that of David J. And Letitia B. Crawford v. Commissioner of Internal evenue, appearing as the petitioners and respondent respectively.
The Court that Heard the Case: The United States Tax Court. This particular court according to aabe, Whittenburg, Sanders, Sawyers, and Gill (2011) hears and determines Federal tax cases. In the words of the authors, "its jurisdiction is limited to cases concerning the various Internal evenue Codes and evenue Acts that were adopted after February 26, 1926" (aabe et al., 2011, p. 156).
Raabe, W., Whittenburg, G., Sanders, D., Sawyers, R., & Gill, S. (2011). Federal Tax Research (9th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
5% of capacity. The court condemned California governor Brown for insisting that mental health services were not compromised in California prisons due to prison over-crowding.
Your Remarks: Largely a continuation of a prior event, but a worthwhile development nonetheless. Basically, it's a matter of some people in California government having a spat with the courts regarding whether inmates are being treated and otherwise processed effectively given the significant overcrowding in California prisons.
Holding: Summary judgment was given to Sony Pictures and Mr. Quirk's accusations about copyright infringement was dismissed. The ruling was justified on the grounds that Quirk's claim was inherently flawed and that copyright pertains to "expression, not ideas."
S. COUT SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0999/ijde/fine.htm)."
The highest tier of this federal system is the United States Supreme Court. This court has nine Supreme Court Justices who are appointed for the term of their life unless they choose to step down. A majority is not needed to win a Supreme Court hearing request. If four of the nine think the case brought before them is worth hearing then the case will be heard.
Cases involving the state constitution -- Cases involving the interpretation of a state constitution.
State criminal offenses -- Crimes defined and/or punished by the state constitution or applicable state statute. Most crimes are state criminal offenses. They include offenses such as murder, theft, breaking and entering, and destruction of property.

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