Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
68 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
plaintiff |
the person/group bringing the charges in court. (as opposed to the charges being against them.) |
|
|
defendant |
the person/group who the charges are being place on |
|
|
Class action suit |
"group" lawsuit where the plaintiffs share similar complaints against a common defendant. ex: car recall, group of owners who had the car in this case would make up the group of plaintiffs |
|
|
how many district courts are there currently in the U.S? |
94 |
|
|
Moot |
case that is irrelevant to the court. ex: if half of a family wanted to keep a person on life support and the other half of the family wanted him off life support, and they were in court fighting it and the person dies while the case is still going on, the case is then irrelevant to the court b/c the person whom the case is for is dead. |
|
|
civil action suit |
cases involving conflicts between individuals, brought to enforce and protect the rights of individuals. not a criminal proceeding |
|
|
criminal law suit |
cases involving crimes that threaten public order/safety |
|
|
statutory law |
written laws enacted by lawmaking bodies--(congress/state legislatures) |
|
|
common law |
laws established by court decisions rather than statutes--(statutory law [written laws]) |
|
|
writ of certiorari |
decision by the Supreme Court to hear a case from a lower court |
|
|
rule of four |
when 4 / 9 of the Supreme Court justices grant a writ of certiorari--or in other words--agree to hear a case from a lower court. |
|
|
appellate jurisdiction |
the power of a court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts |
|
|
dissenting opinion |
opinion in a legal case of 1 or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court making the judgment |
|
|
majority opinion |
opinion made by the majority of the court |
|
|
concurring opinion |
opinion made by 1 or more judges of a court who agree with the decision made by the majority of the court, but telling why they agree for different reasons than the majority |
|
|
original jurisdiction |
the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a court has the power to review a lower court's decision |
|
|
plurality opinion |
opinion from a group of judges in which no opinion received support from the majority (half) of the court, BUT received more support than any other opinion |
|
|
judicial review |
the Supreme Court's authority to review and declare any acts of the legislative or executive branch unconstitutional |
|
|
Honeymoon Period |
the period of time [first 100 days] when the president--or new gov't official--has just began their term, called this because it seems to be all happy and good for them so far because no one has criticized them yet |
|
|
100 days |
the Honeymoon Period of the president's term, the first 100 days of their term is considered the honeymoon period |
|
|
incumbent |
the current holder of a political office |
|
|
Stare decisis |
"to stand by that which is decided." The principal that the precedents or decisions made by previous courts are to be followed by the courts |
|
|
precedent |
rules or decisions established in previous decisions of other judges |
|
|
chief of state |
president viewed as head of the nation--different point of view of the president than head of gov't--president viewed as a living symbol of the nation (or celebrity in a way) |
|
|
proportional representation |
a method of voting by which political parties are given legislative representation in proportion to their popular vote--different than the electoral college system, where it's all or nothing |
|
|
constituent |
voting member of a community |
|
|
gerrymandering |
for one party to manipulate voting district boundaries in a way that gives their party an unfair advantage in elections. |
|
|
franking/franking privilege |
franking is the pen-signed or stamped signature of a gov't official with the franking privilege. privilege of sending certain matter through public mails without paying for the postage |
|
|
filibuster |
an action made to slow down or prolong a case in court |
|
|
CBO |
Congressional Budget Office - gives Congress nonpartisan analyses for economic and budget decisions and with estimates required for the budgeting process |
|
|
GAO |
Government Accountability Office - tracks how the legislative and executive branch is spending tax dollars, and reports their findings directly to Congress |
|
|
Appropriations |
money set aside by the government for a specific purpose--excluding it from all other uses |
|
|
Standing |
party placing a suit in court--with the ability to show the court evidence to support it |
|
|
Lame Duck |
term used referring to a president who is currently the president, rerunning for election and then losing, the time period after losing before his presidency is over, he is a lame duck |
|
|
grand jury |
a jury, normally of 23 jurors, selected to examine the validity of an accusation in court |
|
|
electoral college |
a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president based on the plurality of the popular vote for the state that they represent |
|
|
civil code |
a collection of laws designed to deal with civil cases--such as for dealing with business and negligence lawsuits
|
|
|
senatorial courtesy |
an unwritten political custom in the United States whereby the president consults the senior U.S. Senator of his political party of a given state before nominating any person to a federal vacancy within that Senator's state. |
|
|
chief executive |
a principal executive official, president of the nation's government and politics--opposed to chief of state-(celebrity/symbol)
|
|
|
reapportionment |
the process of redividing the 435 seats of the US House of Reps. based upon each state's population |
|
|
Pork Barrel politics |
A slang term used when politicians or governments "unofficially" apportion gov't spending that benefits a group of citizens in their district in return for that group's support |
|
|
President term limits? |
2 term limit, 4 years per term -22 amendment enacted this |
|
|
Congress term limits? |
House of Reps: 2 year terms, no limits Senate: 6 year terms, no limits |
|
|
Redistricting |
To redivide districts, giving new boundaries to party/election districts |
|
|
Logrolling |
an agreement by legislators to vote for one another's bills -most common when legislators are trying to secure votes for bills that will benefit their home districts. |
|
|
Standing committees |
permanent legislative committees established by rules of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate |
|
|
CRS |
Congressional Research Service AKA Library of Congress - the official research library of the US Congress |
|
|
Malapportionment |
an inappropriate or unfair proportional distribution of representation |
|
|
How many seats in the House of Reps. and how is the allocation of these members determined? |
435, allocated to State based on population |
|
|
How many senators in the US Senate & how many per state? |
100, 2 per state |
|
|
is the House of Reps. currently Republic or Democratic controlled? |
Republican |
|
|
is the US Senate currently Republic or Democratic controlled? |
Republican |
|
|
what is also known as "the court of last resort" and why? |
The Supreme Court, because it is literally the court of last resort for cases needing appellate jurisdiction |
|
|
Supreme Court |
The highest federal court in the United States -AKA: "the court of last resort" |
|
|
circuit court |
an appellate court of the US federal court system--13 circuit courts in the US (higher than district court, lower than supreme court) |
|
|
District court |
the lowest level of US federal court, operating within a certain federal judicial district within a state--there are 94 district district courts in the US |
|
|
criminal code |
a document which compiles all of a particular jurisdiction's criminal laws |
|
|
Winner-Take-All |
in contrast to proportional representation, only the candidate who receives the plurality of the votes wins the presidency 100%, all ballots cast in favor of the runners-up don't mean they got any part in the presidency--the winner literally takes all. |
|
|
Commander in chief |
The role of the United States president as highest ranking officer in the armed forces |
|
|
Whips |
their job is to keep track of the number of votes for and against a piece of legislation--working for a specific party--and trying to get the fence-sitters to vote in favor of their party, and finally report the tallies to their designated Senate members |
|
|
Conference committees |
When the House of Reps. and the Senate have passed different versions of a bill, Conference committees exist to draft a compromise bill that both houses can accept. |
|
|
Veto |
a constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a law-making body |
|
|
Cloture |
a method of closing a debate and therefore causing an immediate vote to be taken on certain legislation--Senate's only weapon against the filibuster |
|
|
Sunset law |
provision in a law that designates a certain point in time when that specific law will no longer be in effect ex: the no-smoking in restaurants in MI law in May 2008, ended the law saying that smokers could smoke in the smoking section of restaurants |
|
|
Trustee |
a trustee listens to his constituents’ ideas, takes them into consideration and then formulates an opinion of his own, and relays that information to his party so that they can act upon that opinion |
|
|
Select committees |
A committee established by the Senate for a limited time period to perform a particular study or investigation |
|
|
Authorization |
the step before appropriation, AUTHORIZING that federal funds will fund certain programs or agencies--at this point in the process, the amount of money may be indefinite, so the money is not set aside until appropriation |
|
|
Legislative Process |
the lawmaking process: -draft Bills from members of Congress -Introduce to House Reps. & Senate>sent to a committee -refer to rules committee, debate on bill, & vote -Conference committee: resolve difference--if any necessary--vote -President: signs or vetoes -Law is made |
