Mr. Eddlem - U.S. History I



Street Law – Practice Test -- Chapter 1

1 Vocabulary

jurisprudence

criminal law

civil law

defendant

plaintiff

prosecutor

preponderance of the evidence

beyond a reasonable doubt

felony

misdemeanor

separation of powers

statutes

case law

regulations

checks and balances

judicial review

Bill of Rights (English and U.S.)

Petition of Right (British)

Magna Carta (British)

Common law

Human rights/individual rights

constitution

unconstitutional

federalism

checks and balances

Name: ________________________ Period: ________ Mr. Eddlem

Street Law – Practice Test -- Chapter 1

1. The study of the law and legal philosophy is called ________________, and in English-speaking systems this is a study of the __________ law.

2. There are two paths in the American legal system. The first involves ________________, which involves the “people” in the form of the government charging a person with a crime. In that case, the government representative, usually an assistant district attorney serves as the _____________________ in the legal case. The party being charged with a crime is called the _________________. In a criminal case, the jury can only find the person being charged is guilty “_______________________________.”

3. Non-criminal cases, such as two private individuals suing each other, are _______________ cases. Those cases are decided by juries upon this evidence standard: ______________________________.

4. Serious criminal cases are called felonies, which involve maximum penalties of _______________, while less serious crimes are called ____________________ and involve lesser maximum penalties.

5. America adopted the British legal system called ___________________, and the U.S. Constitution established a hierarchy of laws. The highest law in the land is _________________________, followed by laws enacted by Congress called __________________. The lowest form of laws, those which aren't really laws at all are executive branch decisions about how to apply laws called ___________________ and how judges apply the laws in individual cases called _______________. If judges find a congressional law conflicts with the constitution, they declare the law __________________.

6. The American legal system is based upon limited government, and a complex strategy of preventing a monopoly of power in the hand of the government. The enactment of three separate branches of government is called __________________________. The Constitution also reserves most powers to the states, which is callled ____________________. Finally, some powers are denied to government altogether, based upon the idea of __________________________ enshrined in the U.S. Bill of Rights, which is ___________________________________________________.

7. Judges who decide cases of congressionally-enacted laws against the standard of the U.S. Constitution are engaging in what's called _____________________.

II. Short essay questions (answer in about 5 complete sentences)

Give reasons for the law listed in the book, and give a practical example of a law enacted for each reason.

List the goals of the law, and give a practical example of a law that represents each goal.

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