Selection of judges

State court judges are selected in a variety of ways, including: election, appointment for a given number of years, appointment for life, combination of these methods.

Types of cases heard

Most criminal cases, probate (involving wills and estates)

Most contract cases, tort cases (personal injuries), family law (marriages, divorces, adoptions), etc.

State courts are final arbiters of state laws and constitutions. Their interpretation of federal law or the US Constitution may be appealed to the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court may choose to hear or not to hear such cases.

LISTENING

1. Washington, d.C.

1. Read and memorize the following words and word combinations:

estimate – оценка: Students enrollment estimates show more than eighty thousand students studying in Saratov higher education establishments.

below the poverty level – за чертой бедности: Many elderly people live below the poverty line.

yearly earnings – годовой доход: Average yearly earnings in Russia are lower than in Europe.

tax – налог:

representation – представительство: Each U.S. state has its representation in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

vote – голосовать: A right to vote is a fundamental democratic right.

statehood – амер. статус штата: Wyoming received it’s statehood on July 10, 1890.

bill – законопроект: To become an Act of Parliament a bill must pass three readings.

2. Listen and complete the sentences using the prompts:

1.  … estimates from two thousand seven show more than five hundred eighty-eight thousand people living within D.C. borders.

2. The … population in D.C. is about fifty-five percent black and thirty-nine percent white.

3. Just over seventeen percent of Washingtonians live below … the in the United States.

4. The D.C. stands for District of Columbia, a … district.

5. Residents must pay federal taxes like other … .

6. Washington’s delegate to the House of Representatives has no right to … .

7. D.C. residents were not permitted to vote in presidential … until nineteen sixty-four. 

8. Many Washingtonians and the city … are fighting for D.C. statehood.

9. The United States Senate passed a bill to give D.C. a voting … in the House of Representatives.

Prompts: poverty level, population, vote, federal, government, racial, elections, citizens, member.

3. Listen again and answer the following questions:

1. How did the city’s population grow between two thousand and two thousand seven? 2. How did the United States population increase during that period? 3. Where does the poverty line begin for a family of two? 4. Why is Washington, D.C., like no other place in the United States? 5. What do popular license plates on many D.C. cars say? Why? 6. What is a House committee now working on?

2. A New Look at Abraham Lincoln's Life, and Death,