Media Law Test 1

Front 1

rule of law

Back 1

the framework of a society in which reestablished norms and procedures provide for consistent, neutral decision making

Front 2

vague laws

Back 2

laws that either fail to define their terms or use such general language that neither citizens nor judges know with certainty that the laws permit or punish

Front 3

discretion

Back 3

the authority to determine the proper outcome

Front 4

overboard law

Back 4

violates the principles of precision an specificity in legislation

Front 5

stare decisis

Back 5

literally"stand by the previous decision"

Front 6

precedent

Back 6

case judgment that establishes binding authority and guiding principles for cases to follow on closely analogous questions of law within the courts jurisdiction

Front 7

facial challenges

Back 7

a broad legal claim based on the argument that the challenged law or government policy can never operate in compliance with the constitution

Front 8

jurisdiction

Back 8

the geographic or topical area of responsibility and authority of a court

Front 9

forum shopping

Back 9

a plaintiff choosing a court in which to sue because he or she believes the court will rule in the plaintiff's favor

Front 10

due process

Back 10

fair legal proceedings. due process is guaranteed by the 5th amendments to the us constitution

Front 11

de novo

Back 11

literally "anew" or "over again" On appeal, the court may review the facts de novo rather than simply reviewing the legal posture and process of the case

Front 12

amicus brief

Back 12

a submission to the court from an amicus curiae

Front 13

amicus curiae

Back 13

"friend of the court" an interested individual or organization who is boat a party in the case

Front 14

en banc

Back 14

literally "on the bench" but now meaning "in full court." the judges of a circuit court of appeals will it en banc to decide important or controversial cases

Front 15

affirm

Back 15

to ratify, uphold or approve a lower court ruling

Front 16

overrule

Back 16

to reverse the ruling of a lower court

Front 17

concurring opinion

Back 17

separate opinion of a minority of the court or a single justice agreeing with the majority opinion but applying different reasoning or legal principles

Front 18

dissenting opinion

Back 18

a separate opinion of a minority of the court or a single justice disagreeing with the result reached by the majority and challenging the majority's reasoning or the legal basis of the decision

Front 19

original jurisdiction

Back 19

the authority too consider a case at its inception,as contrasted with appellate jurisdiction

Front 20

writ of certiorari

Back 20

a petition for review by the supreme court, "to be informed of"

Front 21

moot

Back 21

word used to describe a case in which the issues presented are no longer "live" or in which the matter on dispute has already been resolved. a case is not moot if it is susceptible to repetition but evading review

Front 22

originalists

Back 22

supreme court justices who interpret the constitution according to the perceived intent of its framers

Front 23

textualists

Back 23

judges-in particular scotus justices-who rely exclusively on a careful reading of legal texts to determine the meaning of the law

Front 24

constitutional law

Back 24

the set of laws that establish the nature,functions, and limits of government

Front 25

statutory law

Back 25

written law formally enacted by city, county,state and federal legislative bodies

Front 26

black letter law

Back 26

formally enacted,written law that is available illegal reporters or other document

Front 27

equity law

Back 27

law created by judges to apply general principles of ethics and fairness,rather than specific legal rules,to determine the proper remedy for legal harm

Front 28

common law

Back 28

unwritten, judge made law consisting of rules and principles developed through custom and precedent

Front 29

doctrines

Back 29

principles or theories of law

Front 30

administrative law

Back 30

the orders rules and regulations promulgated by executive branch administrative agencies to carry out their delegated duties

Front 31

executive orders

Back 31

orders from a government executive, like president governor or mayor, that have the force or law

Front 32

political questions

Back 32

questions that the courts will not review because they re either outside the jurisdiction of the court or they are not capable or judicial resolution. an issue that can and should be handled more appropriately by another branch of gov't

Front 33

federalism

Back 33

a principle according to which the states are related to yet independent of each other, and related to yet independent of the federal govt

Front 34

modify precedent

Back 34

to change or revise rather than follow or reject precedent

Front 35

distinguish form precedent

Back 35

to justify an outcome in a case by asserting that differences between that case and preceding cases outweigh any similarities

Front 36

overturn precedent

Back 36

to reject the fundamental premise of a precedent

Front 37

deference

Back 37

and act in which courts give weight to the judgment of expert administrative agencies or legislative policies and strategies

Front 38

probable cause

Back 38

the standard of evidence needed for an arrest or to issue a search warrant. more than mere suspicion, it is a showing through reasonably trustworthy information that a crime has been or is being committed

Front 39

grand jury

Back 39

a group summoned to hear the state's evidence in criminal cases and decide whether a crime was committed and whether charges should be filed, they don't determine guilt, can be called from county to federal level

Front 40

plaintiff

Back 40

the party who files a complaint, the one who sues

Front 41

defendant

Back 41

the party accused of violating a law, the one being sued

Front 42

tort

Back 42

a private or civil wrong for which a court can provide remedy in the form of damages

Front 43

strict liability

Back 43

liability without fault. liability for any and all harms, foreseeable or unforeseen which result from a product or action

Front 44

motion to dismiss

Back 44

a request to a court for a complaint to be rejected because it does not state a claim that can be remedied by law or because it is legally lacking in some other way

Front 45

demurrer

Back 45

a request that a court dismiss a case on the grounds that although the claims are true they are insufficient to to warrant a judgment against the defendant

Front 46

discovery

Back 46

the pretrial process of gathering evidence and facts, also refers to the evidence gathered

Front 47

subpoena

Back 47

a command for someone to testify in court

Front 48

venue

Back 48

the locality of a lawsuit and of the court hearing the suit. thus, a change of venue means a relocation of trial

Front 49

venire

Back 49

literally "to come" or "to appear" the term used for the location from which a court draws its pool of potential jurors, who must then appear in court for voir dire, a change o venire means a change of the location from which jurors are draws

Front 50

voir dire

Back 50

"to speak the truth" the questioning of prospective jurors to assess their suitability

Front 51

peremptory challenge

Back 51

during jury selection, a challenge in which an attorney rejects a juror without showing a reason. attorneys have the right to eliminate a limited number of jurors through preemptory challenges

Front 52

appellant

Back 52

the party making the appeal, also called the petitioner

Front 53

appellee

Back 53

the party against whom an appeal is made

Front 54

summary judgment

Back 54

the quick resolution of a legal dispute in which a judge summarily decides certain points and issues a judgment dismissing the case

Front 55

holding

Back 55

the decision or ruling of a court

Front 56

original intent

Back 56

the perceived intent of the framers of the FIrst Amendment, the incept of original intent guides contemporary 1st Amendment application and interpretation

Front 57

ad hoc balancing

Back 57

making decisions according to the specific facts of the case under review rather than more general principles

Front 58

categorical balancing

Back 58

a judge's or court's practice of developing rules by weighing different broad categories, such as political speech, against other categories of interests, such as privacy. the rules may be applied in later cases with similar facts

Front 59

prior restraint

Back 59

action taken by the government to prohibit publication of a specific document or text before it is distributed to the public, a policy that requires government approval

Front 60

defamation

Back 60

a false communication what harms another's reputation and subjects him or her to ridicule and scorn, includes both libel and slander

Front 61

seditious libel

Back 61

communication mean to incite people to change the government, criticism of the government

Front 62

injunction

Back 62

a court order prohibiting a person or organization from doing some specific act

Front 63

content-neutral laws

Back 63

laws that incidentally and unintentionally affect speech as they advance other important government interests

Front 64

rational review

Back 64

a standard of judicial review that assumes the wisdom of reasonable legislative or administrative enactments and applies minimum scrutiny to their review

Front 65

content-based laws

Back 65

laws enacted because of the message, the subject matter or the ideas expressed in the regulated speech

Front 66

strict scrutiny

Back 66

a test for determining the constitutionality of laws restricting speech, under which the government must show it has a compelling interest at stake that is advanced by the least restrictive means available

Front 67

compelling interest

Back 67

a government interest of the highest order, an interest the government is required to protect

Front 68

time/place/manner laws

Back 68

a first amendment concept that laws regulating the conditions of speech are more acceptable than those regulating content; also, the laws that regulate those conditions

Front 69

symbolic expression

Back 69

action that warrants first amendment protection because its primary purpose is to express ideas

Front 70

intermediate scrutiny

Back 70

a standard applied by the courts to the review of laws that implicate core constitutional values and heightened review

Front 71

O'brian Test

Back 71

a three-part test used to determine whether a content neutral law is constitutional

Front 72

important government interest

Back 72

an interest of the government that is substantial or significant

Front 73

public forum

Back 73

government property held fur use by the public, usually for purposes of exercising rights of speech and assembly

Front 74

traditional public forum

Back 74

lands designed for public use and historically used for public gathering, discussion and association. free speech is protected in these areas

Front 75

designated public forum

Back 75

government spaces or buildings that are available for public use (within limits)

Front 76

nonpublic forum

Back 76

government held property that is not available for public speech an assembly purposes

Front 77

laws of general application

Back 77

laws such as taxes and equal employment laws that fall within the express power of government, laws of general application are generally reviewed under minimum scrutiny

Front 78

categorical balancing

Back 78

the process through which courts reach judgments by weighing different broad categories, such as political speech, against other categories of interests, such as privacy

Front 79

USA PATRIOT Act

Back 79

passed in the wake of 9/11 the act was designed to give law enforcement agencies greater authority to combat terrorism

Front 80

chilling effect

Back 80

the discouragement of a constitutional right, especially free speech, b any practice that creates uncertainty about the proper exercise of that right

Front 81

clear and present danger

Back 81

doctrine establishing that restrictions on the first amendment rights will be upheld if they are necessary to prevent an extremely serious and imminent harm

Front 82

incorporation

Back 82

the 14th amendment concept that most of the bill of rights applies equally to the states

Front 83

fighting words

Back 83

words not protected by the first amendment because the cause immediate harm or illegal acts

Front 84

hate speech

Back 84

a category of speech that includes name-calling and pointed criticism that demeans others on the basis of race, color, gender, ethnicity, religion, national origin, disability, intellect or the like

Front 85

under inclusive

Back 85

a first amendment doctrine that disfavors narrow laws that target a subset of a recognized category for discriminatory treatment

Front 86

viewpoint-base discrimination

Back 86

government censorship or punishment of expression based not eh ideas or attitudes expressed. courts will apply a strict sturdy test to determine whether the government acted constitutionally

Front 87

true threat

Back 87

speech directed toward on or more specific individuals with the intent of causing listeners to fear for their safety

Front 88

establishment clause

Back 88

the portion of the first amendment that prohibits government from setting up an official religion or passing laws that favor a specific religious doctrine

Front 89

standing

Back 89

the position of a plaintiff who has been injured or has ben threatened with injury. No person is entitled to challenge the constitutionality of an ordinance or statute unless he or she has the required standing, that is, if he or she has been affected by the ordinance or statute

Front 90

Lanham Act

Back 90

a federal law that regulates the trademark registration process but that also contains a section per missing business competitors to sue one another for false advertising

Front 91

Federal Trade Commission

Back 91

federal agency created in 1914. Its purpose is to promote free and fair competition in interstate commerce, this included preventing false and misleading advertising

Front 92

puffery

Back 92

advertising that exaggerates the merits of products or services in such a way that no reasonable person would take the ad seriously. Usually, puffery is no illegal given that a reasonable person understand that the claim is not to be taken literally

Front 93

opinion letter

Back 93

a letter requested by an advertiser from the FTC containing advice about an advertising technique

Front 94

advisory opinion

Back 94

in advertising,a FTC measure that suggests to an advertiser how a specific advertisement my be false or misleading and how to correct it

Front 95

industry guides

Back 95

in advertising,a FTC measure that outlines the FTC's policies concerning a particular category of product or service

Front 96

trade regulation rule

Back 96

a broadly worded statement by the FTC that outlines advertising requirements for a particular trade

Front 97

voluntary compliance

Back 97

in advertising, the opportunity granted by the FTC to an advertiser to abide but he FTC's rules

Front 98

cease and desist order

Back 98

an administrative agency order prohibiting a person or business from continuing a particular course of conduct.

Front 99

consent order

Back 99

in advertising, an agreement between the FTC and an advertiser stipulating the terms that must be folioed to address problematic advertising, also called a consent agreement

Front 100

litigated order

Back 100

a federal trade commission order to stop a specific advertising claim.

Front 101

substantiation

Back 101

in advertising, the authority of the federal trade commission to demand that an advertiser prove the claims made in its advertising

Front 102

corrective advertising

Back 102

in advertising, a requirement imposed but the federal trade commission forcing an advertiser to conclude information in future advertisements that corrects false or misleading claims made in previous ads