Government Ch.11 Vocab

Front 1

Power of the courts, especially the Supreme Court, to declare laws of Congress, laws of the president unconstitutional and invalid

Back 1

judicial review

Front 2

laws made by act of Congress or the state legislatures, as opposed to constitutional law

Back 2

statutory laws

Front 3

judicial philosophy under which judges attempt to apply the values of the Founders to current issues

Back 3

orignal intent

Front 4

self-imposed limitation on judicial power by judges deferring to the policy judgements of elected branches of government

Back 4

judicial self-restraint

Front 5

making of new law through judicial interpretations of Constitution

Back 5

judicial activism

Front 6

judicial precept that the issue has already been decided in earlier cases and the earlier decision need only be applied in the specific case before the bench; the rule in most cases, it comes from the Latin for "the decision stands"

Back 6

stare decisis

Front 7

Legal principle that previous decisions should determine the outcome of current cases, the basis for stability in law

Back 7

precedent

Front 8

power of a court to hear a case in question

Back 8

jurisdiction

Front 9

refers to a particular court's power to serve as the place where a given case is initially argued and decided

Back 9

original jurisdiction

Front 10

particular court's power to review a decision or action of a lower court

Back 10

appellate jurisdiction

Front 11

in general, requests that a higher court review cases decided at a lower level.

Back 11

appeal

Front 12

original jurisdiction trial courts of the federal system

Back 12

district courts

Front 13

Juries called to hear evidence and decide whether defendants should be indicted and tried

Back 13

grand juries

Front 14

juries called to determine guilt or innocence

Back 14

petit (regular) juries

Front 15

the twelv appellate courts that make up the middle level of the federal court system

Back 15

circuit courts

Front 16

documents submitted by an attorney to a court, setting out the facts of the case and the legal arguments in support of the party represented by the attorney

Back 16

brief

Front 17

noncriminal court proceedings in which a plantiff sues a defendant for damages in payment for harm inflicted

Back 17

civil cases

Front 18

method of decision making in which an impartial judge or jury or decision maker hears arguments and reviews evidence presented by opposite sides

Back 18

adversarial system

Front 19

requirement that the party who files a lawsuit have a legal stake in the outcome

Back 19

standing

Front 20

individual or party who initiates a lawsuit

Back 20

plaintiff

Front 21

parties against whom a criminal or civil suit is brought

Back 21

defendants

Front 22

legal doctrine that individuals can sue the government only with the government's consent

Back 22

sovereign immunity

Front 23

cases initiated by parties acting on behalf of themselves and all others similary situated

Back 23

class action suits

Front 24

Fees paid to attorneys to represent of the plantiff in a civil suit and receive in compensation an agreed-upon percentage of damages awarded (if any)

Back 24

contingency fees

Front 25

orders of a court to correct a wrong, including a violation of the Consitution

Back 25

remedies and relief

Front 26

a prosecutor appointed by a federal court to pursue charges against a president or other high official. This position was allowed to lapse by Congress in 1999 after many controversial investigations by these prosecutor

Back 26

independent cousel ("special prosecutor")

Front 27

in political terms, a person's stand on a key issue that determines whether he or she will be appointed to public office or supported in elector campaigns

Back 27

litmus test

Front 28

custom of the U.S. Senate with regard to presidential nominations to the judiciary to defer to the judgment of senators from the president's party from the same state as nominee

Back 28

senatorial courtesy

Front 29

Writ issued by the Supreme Court, at its discretion, to order a lower court to prepare the record of a case and send it to the Sumpreme Court for review. Most cases come to the Court as petitions for writs of certiorari

Back 29

writ of certiorari

Front 30

at least four justices must agree to hear an appal (writ of certiorari) from a lower court in order to get a case before the Supreme Court

Back 30

rule of four

Front 31

literally, "friend of the court", a person, private group or institution, or government agency that is not a party to a case but participates in the case (usually through submission of a brief) at the invitation of the court or on its own initiative

Back 31

amicus curiae

Front 32

attorney in the Department of Justice who represents of U.S. government before the Supreme Court and any other courts

Back 32

solicitor general

Front 33

The U.S. government's chief legal counsel, presenting the government's arguments in cases in which it is a party or in which it has an interest

Back 33

U.S Solicitor General

Front 34

Opinion in a case that is subscribed to by a majority of the judges who participated in the decision

Back 34

majority opinion

Front 35

opinion by a court that agrees with the result reached by the court in the case but disagrees with or departs from the court's rationale for the decision

Back 35

concurring opinion

Front 36

opinion by a member of a court that disagrees with the result reached by the court in the case

Back 36

dissenting opinion