Am Gov Unit 9 Flashcards
(24 cards)
The power to declare congressional and presidential acts invalid because they violate the Constitution.
Judicial review
Court cases involving a crime or violation of public order.
Criminal cases
Court cases that involve a private dispute arising from such matters as accidents, contractual obligations, and divorce.
Civil cases
A defendant’s admission of guilt in exchange for a less severe punishment.
Plea-bargain
Legal precedents derived from previous judicial decisions.
Common/judge-made law
Courts within the lowest tier of the three-tiered federal court system where litigation begins.
U.S. district courts
Courts within the second tier of the three-tiered federal court system, to which decisions of the district courts and federal agencies may be appealed for review.
U.S. court of appeals
Area where each appeals court hears cases.
Circuit
Written arguments given to the judges by the court of appeals.
Briefs
A judicial ruling that serves as the basis for the ruling in a subsequent case.
Precedent
Literally, “let the decision stand;” decision making according to the precedent.
Stare decisis
The authority of a court to hear a case before any other court does.
Original jurisdiction
The authority of a court to hear cases that have been tried, decided, or reexamined in other courts.
Appellate jurisdiction
A court’s agenda.
Docket
A process in which a litigant seeking review asks the Court to become informed of the lower-court preceding.
Certiorari
An unwritten rule that requires at least four justices to agree that a case warrants consideration before it is reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Rule of four
The third highest official of the U.S. Department of Justice who represents the national government before the Supreme Court.
Solicitor general
A brief filed (with the permission of the court) by an individual or group that is not a party to a legal action but has an interest in it.
Amicus curiae brief
The judicial decision in a court case.
Judgment
The heart of a judicial opinion in which its logical content is separated from facts, rhetoric, and procedure.
Argument
The agreement of a judge with the Supreme Court’s majority decision, for a reason other than the majority reason.
Concurrence
The disagreement of a judge with a majority decision.
Dissent
A norm under which a nomination must be acceptable to the home state senator from the president’s party.
Senatorial courtesy
A procedure by which similarly situated litigants may be heard in a single lawsuit.
Class action
