Chapter 9 (The American Legal System And The Courts)

Front 1

Administrative law

Back 1

law established by the bureaucracy, on behalf of Congress

Front 2

Amicus curiae briefs

Back 2

“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.

Front 3

Appeal:

Back 3

a rehearing of a case because the losing party in the original trial argues that a point of law was not applied properly.

Front 4

Appellate jurisdiction

Back 4

the authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.

Front 5

Civil laws

Back 5

laws regulating interactions between individuals; violation is called a tort.

Front 6

Common law tradition

Back 6

: a legal system based on the accumulated rulings of judges over time, applied uniformly – judge-made law.

Front 7

Concurring opinions:

Back 7

documents written by justices expressing agreement with the majority ruling but describing different or additional reasons for the ruling.

Front 8

Constitutional law:

Back 8

law stated in the Constitution or in the body of judicial decisions about the meaning of the Constitution handed down in the courts.

Front 9

Courts:

Back 9

institutions that sit as neutral third parties to resolve conflicts according to the law.

Front 10

Criminal law

Back 10

laws prohibiting behavior the government has determined to be harmful to society; violation is called a crime.

Front 11

Dissenting opinions

Back 11

documents written by justices expressing disagreement with the majority ruling.

Front 12

Executive orders

Back 12

clarifications of congressional policy issued by the president and having the full force of law.

Front 13

Judicial activism

Back 13

view that the courts should be lawmaking, policymaking bodies.

Front 14

Judicial interpretivism

Back 14

a judicial approach holding that the Constitution is a living document and that judges should interpret it according to changing times and values.

Front 15

Judicial restraint

Back 15

view that the courts should reject any active lawmaking functions and stick to judicial interpretations of the past.

Front 16

Judicial review

Back 16

power of the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionalityof laws.z

Front 17

Jurisdiction

Back 17

a court’s authority to hear certain cases

Front 18

Marbury v. Madison

Back 18

the landmark case that established the U.S. Supreme Court’s power of judicial review.

Front 19

Opinion

Back 19

the written decision of the court that states the judgment of the majority.

Front 20

Original jurisdiction

Back 20

the authority of a court to hear a case first.

Front 21

Precedent:

Back 21

a previous decision or ruling that, in common law tradition, is binding on subsequent decisions.

Front 22

Procedural due process

Back 22

procedural laws that protect the rights of individuals who must deal with the legal system.

Front 23

Procedural laws

Back 23

laws that establish how laws are applied and enforced--how legal proceedings take place.

Front 24

Rule of Four

Back 24

the unwritten requirement that four Supreme Court justices must agree to grant a case certiorari in order for the case to be heard.

Front 25

Senatorial courtesy:

Back 25

tradition of granting senior senators of the president’s party considerable power over federal judicial appointments in their home states.

Front 26

Solicitor General

Back 26

Justice Department officer who argues the government’s cases before the Supreme Court.

Front 27

Statutory laws

Back 27

laws passed by a state or the federal legislature.

Front 28

Strict constitutionalism

Back 28

: a judicial approach holding that the Constitution should be read literally, with the framers’ intentions uppermost in mind.

Front 29

Substantive laws

Back 29

laws whose content, or substance, defines whatwe can or cannot do.

Front 30

Writ of certiorari

Back 30

formal request by the U.S. Supreme Court to call up the lower court case it decides to hear on appeal.