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33 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Courts
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institutions that sit as neutral third parties to resolve conflicts according to the law
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Civil Law Tradition
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a legal system based on a detailed comprehensive legal code, usually created by the legislature
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Common Law Tradition
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a legal system based on the accumulated rulings of judges over time, applied uniformly -- judge-made law
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Precedent
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a previous decision or ruling that, in common law tradition, binding on subsequent decisions.
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Adversarial System
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trial procedures designed to resolve conflict through the clash of opposing sides, moderated by a neutral, passive judge who applies the law.
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Inquisitorial Systems
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trial procedures designed to determine the truth through the intervention of an active judge who seeks evidence and questions witness.
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Substantive Laws
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laws whose content, or substance, define what we can or cannot do.
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Procedural Laws
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laws that establish how laws are applied and enforced -- how legal proceedings take place
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Procedural Due Process
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procedural laws that protect the rights of individuals who must deal with the legal system
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Criminal Laws
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laws prohibiting behavior the government has determined to be harmful to society; violation of a criminal law is called a crime
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Civil Laws
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laws regulating interactions between individuals; violation of a civil law is called a tort
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Constitutional Law
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law stated in the Constitution or in the body of judicial decisions about the meaning of the Constitution handed down in the courts
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Statutory Laws
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laws passed by a state or the federal legislature
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Administrative Law
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law established by the bureaucracy, on behalf of Congress
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Executive Orders
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clarifications of congressional policy issued by the president and having the full force of law.
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Judicial Review
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the power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of laws
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Marbury v. Madison
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the landmark case that established the U.S. Supreme Court's power of judicial review.
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Jurisdiction
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a court's authority to hear certain cases
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Original Jurisdiction
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the authority of a court to hear a case first
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Appellate Jurisdiction
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the authority of a court to hear a case first
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Appeal
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a rehearing of a case because the losing party in the original trial argues that a point of law was not applied properly
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Senatorial Courtesy
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tradition of granting senior senators of the president's party considerable power over federal judicial appointments in their home states
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Strict Construction
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a judicial approach holding that the Constitution should be read literally, with the framers' intentions uppermost in mind
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Judicial Interpretivism
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a judicial approach holding that the Constitution is a living document and that judges should interpret it according to changing times and values
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Writ of Certiorari
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formal request by the U.S. Supreme Court to call up the lower court case it decides to hear on appeal
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Rule of Four
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the unwritten requirement that four Supreme Court justices must agree to grant a case certiorari in order for the case to be heard
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Solicitor General
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Justice Department officer who argues the government's cases before the Supreme Court
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Amicus Curiae Briefs
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"friend of the court" documents filed by interested parties to encourage the court to grant or deny certiorari or to urge it to decide a case in a particular way
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Judicial Activism
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view that the courts should be lawmaking, policymaking bodies
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Judicial Restraint
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view that the courts should reject any active lawmaking functions and stick to judicial interpretations of the past
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Opinion
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the written decision of the court that states the judgement of the majority
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Concurring Opinions
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documents written by justices expressing agreement with the majority ruling but describing different or additional reasons for the ruling
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Dissenting Opinions
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documents written by justices expressing disagreement with the majority ruling
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