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79 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Amicus Curiae |
A friend of the court and used for a brief filed by someone who is interested in but not party to a case |
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Appellate court |
A court that reviews cases already decided by a lower or trial court and that may change the lower courts court's decision |
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Appellate jurisdiction |
The power of a court to hear a case on appeal from a lower court and possibly change the lower courts decision |
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Associate justice |
A member of the supreme court who is not the chief justice |
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Brief |
A written legal argument presented to a court by one of the parties in a case |
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Chief justice |
The highest ranking justice on the supreme court |
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Circuit courts |
The appeals courts of the federal court system that review decisions of the lower district courts also called courts of appeals. |
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Civil law |
A non criminal law defining private rights and remedies |
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Common law |
The pattern of law developed by judges through case decisions largely based on precedent |
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Concurring opinion |
an opinion written by a justice who agrees with the Court’s majority opinion but has different reasons for doing so |
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Conference |
closed meeting of the justices to discuss cases on the docket and take an initial vote |
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Courts of appeals |
the appellate courts of the federal court system that review decisions of the lower (district) courts; also called circuit courts |
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Criminal law |
a law that prohibits actions that could harm or endanger others, and establishes punishment for those actions |
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Dissenting opinion |
an opinion written by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion of the Court |
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District courts |
the trial courts of the federal court system where cases are tried, evidence is presented, and witness testimony is heard |
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Docket |
the list of cases pending on a court’s calendar |
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Dual court system |
the division of the courts into two separate systems, one federal and one state, with each of the fifty states having its own courts |
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Judicial activism |
a judicial philosophy in which a justice is more likely to overturn decisions or rule actions by the other branches unconstitutional, especially in an attempt to broaden individual rights and liberties |
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Judicial restraint |
a judicial philosophy in which a justice is more likely to let stand the decisions or actions of the other branches of government |
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Judicial review |
the power of the courts to review actions taken by the other branches of government and the states and to rule on whether those actions are constitutional |
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Majority opinion |
an opinion of the Court with which more than half the nine justices agree |
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Marbury v Madison |
the 1803 Supreme Court case that established the courts’ power of judicial review and the first time the Supreme Court ruled an act of Congress to be unconstitutional |
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Oral argument |
words spoken before the Supreme Court (usually by lawyers) explaining the legal reasons behind their position in a case and why it should prevail |
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Original jurisdiction |
the power of a court to hear a case for the first time |
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Precedent |
the principles or guidelines established by courts in earlier cases that frame the ongoing operation of the courts, steering the direction of the entire system |
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Rule of four |
a Supreme Court custom in which a case will be heard when four justices decide to do so |
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Senatorial courtesy |
an unwritten custom by which the president consults the senators in the state before nominating a candidate for a federal vacancy there, particularly for court positions |
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Solicitor general |
the lawyer who represents the federal government and argues some cases before the Supreme Court |
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Stare decisis |
the principle by which courts rely on past decisions and their precedents when making decisions in new cases |
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Trial court |
the level of court in which a case starts or is first tried |
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writ of certiorari |
an order of the Supreme Court calling up the records of the lower court so a case may be reviewed; sometimes abbreviated cert |
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Blue law |
a law originally created to uphold a religious or moral standard, such as a prohibition against selling alcohol on Sundays |
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Civil liberties |
limitations on the power of government, designed to ensure personal freedoms |
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Civil rights |
guarantees of equal treatment by government authorities |
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Common law right |
a right of the people rooted in legal tradition and past court rulings, rather than the Constitution |
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Conscientious objector |
a person who claims the right to refuse to perform military service on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion |
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Double jeopardy |
a prosecution pursued twice at the same level of government for the same criminal action |
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Due process clause |
provisions of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments that limit government power to deny people “life, liberty, or property” on an unfair basis |
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Economic liberty |
the right of individuals to obtain, use, and trade things of value for their own benefit |
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Eminent domain |
the power of government to take or use property for a public purpose after compensating its owner; also known as the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment |
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Establishment clause |
the provision of the First Amendment that prohibits the government from endorsing a state-sponsored religion; interpreted as preventing government from favoring some religious beliefs over others or religion over non-religion |
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Exclusionary rule |
a requirement, from Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio, that evidence obtained as a result of an illegal search or seizure cannot be used to try someone for a crime |
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Free exercise clause |
the provision of the First Amendment that prohibits the government from regulating religious beliefs and practices |
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Miranda warning |
a statement by law enforcement officers informing a person arrested or subject to interrogation of his or her rights |
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Obscenity |
acts or statements that are extremely offensive by contemporary standards |
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Patriot act |
a law passed by Congress in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that broadened federal powers to monitor electronic communications; the full name is the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) |
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Plea bargain |
an agreement between the defendant and the prosecutor in which the defendant pleads guilty to the charge(s) in question or perhaps to less serious charges, in exchange for more lenient punishment than if convicted after a full trial |
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Prior restraint |
a government action that stops someone from doing something before they are able to do it (e.g., forbidding someone to publish a book he or she plans to release |
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Probable cause |
legal standard for determining whether a search or seizure is constitutional or a crime has been committed; a lower threshold than the standard of proof needed at a criminal trial |
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Right to privacy |
the right to be free of government intrusion |
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Search warrant |
a legal document, signed by a judge, allowing police to search and/or seize persons or property |
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Selective incorporation |
the gradual process of making some guarantees of the Bill of Rights (so far) apply to state governments and the national government |
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Self incrimination |
an action or statement that admits guilt or responsibility for a crime |
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Sherbert test |
a standard for deciding whether a law violates the free exercise clause; a law will be struck down unless there is a “compelling governmental interest” at stake and it accomplishes its goal by the “least restrictive means” possible |
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Symbolic speech |
a form of expression that does not use writing or speech but nonetheless communicates an idea (e.g., wearing an article of clothing to show solidarity with a group |
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Undue burden test |
a means of deciding whether a law that makes it harder for women to seek abortions is constitutional |
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Affirmative action |
the use of programs and policies designed to assist groups that have historically been subject to discrimination |
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Black codes |
laws passed immediately after the Civil War that discriminated against freed slaves and other blacks and deprived them of their rights |
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Brown v board of education |
the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that struck down Plessy v. Ferguson and declared segregation and “separate but equal” to be unconstitutional in public education |
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Civil disobedience |
an action taken in violation of the letter of the law to demonstrate that the law is unjust |
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Comparable worth |
a doctrine calling for the same pay for workers whose jobs require the same level of education, responsibility, training, or working conditions |
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Converture |
a legal status of married women in which their separate legal identities were erased |
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De facto segregation |
segregation that results from the private choices of individuals |
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De jure segregation |
segregation that results from government discrimination |
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Direct action |
civil rights campaigns that directly confronted segregationist practices through public demonstrations |
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Disenfranchisement |
the revocation of someone’s right to vote |
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Equal protection clause |
a provision of the Fourteenth Amendment that requires the states to treat all residents equally under the law |
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Equal rights amendment |
the proposed amendment to the Constitution that would have prohibited all discrimination based on sex |
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Glass ceiling |
an invisible barrier caused by discrimination that prevents women from rising to the highest levels of an organization—including corporations, governments, academic institutions, and religious organizations |
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Intermediate scrutiny |
the standard used by the courts to decide cases of discrimination based on gender and sex; burden of proof is on the government to demonstrate an important governmental interest is at stake in treating men differently from women |
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Jim crow laws |
state and local laws that promoted racial segregation and undermined black voting rights in the south after Reconstruction |
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Plessy v Ferguson |
the 1896 Supreme Court ruling that allowed “separate but equal” racial segregation under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment |
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Rational basis test |
the burden of proof is on those challenging the law or action to demonstrate there is no good reason for treating them differently from other citizens |
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Reconstruction |
the period from 1865 to 1877 during which the governments of Confederate states were reorganized prior to being readmitted to the Union |
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Strict scrutiny |
the standard used by the courts to decide cases of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion; burden of proof is on the government to demonstrate a compelling governmental interest is at stake and no alternative means are available to accomplish its goals |
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Title IX |
the section of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits discrimination in education on the basis of sex |
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Trail of tears |
the name given to the forced migration of the Cherokees from Georgia to Oklahoma in 1838–1839 |
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Understating test |
tests requiring prospective voters in some states to be able to explain the meaning of a passage of text or to answer questions related to citizenship; often used as a way to disenfranchise black voters |
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White primary |
a primary election in which only whites are allowed to vote |
