After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand:

• the role of state courts in the American judicial system
• what activist judges are and why they invoke such controversy
• how criminal cases and civil cases differ
• the structure of state-level appellate and trial courts
• the different methods for selecting and retaining judges
• the roles of prosecutors and defense attorneys
• the difference types of sentencing methods utilized by states
• the methods available to states to reduce judicial caseloads