1. What does it mean to INTERPRET a law? What is “freedom of speech?”

2. You be the administrator On the day of the Chapter 18 Exam, Billy enters Mr. Baldwin’s room with answers/notes written in the palm of his right hand. Although he intends to use them to “cheat” on the exam, Billy realizes that the process of writing them out has caused him to memorize the material, and he does not need them to complete the exam. Mr. Baldwin sees the notes on Billy’s palm as he turns the exam in, and gives him a zero for cheating. Billy appeals the case to his dean, claiming he didn’t cheat. You are the dean. Did Billy cheat? HandbookHandbook

4. Federal Court Jurisdiction Jurisdiction is defined as the authority of a court to hear (to try and to decide) a case. Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution provides that the federal courts may hear a case because either: (1) the subject matter (i.e. Constitutional issue, Congressional law, treaty or crime on a “high sea”) or (2) the parties involved in the case (i.e. Fed. government, state, citizens of different states, foreign nation or foreign citizen). See chart on page 508 or textbook.

5. Types of Jurisdiction Exclusive and Concurrent Jurisdiction Some cases can only be heard in federal courts. In that case, federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Many cases may be tried in a federal court or a State court. In such an instance, the federal and State courts have concurrent jurisdiction. Original and Appellate Jurisdiction A court in which a case is first heard is said to have original jurisdiction over that case. A court that hears a case on appeal from a lower court has appellate jurisdiction over that case. The Supreme Court exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction.

6. Federal or State cases? A man files suit against the Bloomington police department for violating his 4 th Amendment rights when searching his house. A women is arrested in Normal, IL for robbing a convenience store in Indianapolis, IN. A man commits murders in Illinois and Indiana before being arrested for robbing a bank in Ohio. The ambassador from Iran is arrested for public drunkenness in New York City. A woman from Iowa files a suit against a mail order company in Illinois. A woman from Florida is arrested for mailing marijuana to her cousin in Chicago. A teenager from Bloomington is arrested for blowing up a mailbox. A gun shop owner in Normal is arrested for selling handguns to his customers without requiring they wait the federally mandated five days for a background check to be done. A mailman in Bloomington is arrested for reckless driving that led to an accident that killed a pedestrian. A retired U.S. Army captain files suit against the Veteran Affairs Department for unpaid benefits.