AP Gov Ch 9 Semia Sims

Question 1

judicial implementation

Answer 1

How and whether judicial decisions are translated into actual public policies affecting more than the immediate parties to a lawsuit

Judicial implementation is used to limit the courts power.

Question 2

plurality opinion

Answer 2

A type of judicial opinion, the reasoning of which is agreed to by fewer than a majority of judges on a court; although it resolves the particular case, the opinion does not establish a binding precedent

Plurality opinion is a decision in which a majority of judges on the court agree with the result reached but not with the reasons given.

Question 3

concurring opinion

Answer 3

A type of judicial opinion issued by a minority of judges on a court who agree with the outcome of a case, but wishes to express different legal reasoning

Concurring opinion is authored by one or more justices and agrees with the outcome decided by the majority.

Question 4

dissenting opinion

Answer 4

A type of judicial opinion issued by a minority of judges on a court who disagree with the outcome of a case and wish to explain their legal reasoning

Dissenting opinion is written by a judge who disagrees with the majority decision in an appeal ruling.

Question 5

trial court

Answer 5

Court of original jurisdiction where cases begin

In the trial court, both sides present evidence to show their version of what happened.

Question 6

appellate court

Answer 6

Court that generally reviews only findings of law made by lower courts

Appellate courts are the part of the judicial system that is responsible for hearing and reviewing appeals from legal cases.

Question 7

constitutional (or Article III) courts

Answer 7

Federal courts specifically created by the U.S. Constitution or by Congress pursuant to its authority in Article III

Constitutional (or Article III) courts main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional.

Question 8

legislative courts

Answer 8

Courts established by Congress specialized purposes, such as the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

Legislative courts were created by Congress for specialized purposes whose judges do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution.

Question 9

Federalist No. 78

Answer 9

A Federalist Papers essay authored by Alexander Hamilton that covers the role of the federal judiciary, including the power of judicial review

Federalist No. 78 was written to explicate and justify the structure of the judiciary under the proposed Constitution of the United States.

Question 10

Judiciary Act of 1789

Answer 10

Legislative act that established the basic three-tiered structure of the federal court system

Judiciary Act of 1789 brought the US Supreme Court and the Judicial branch of government into existence.

Question 11

John Jay

Answer 11

A member of the Founding generation who was the first Chief Justice of the United States. A diplomat and a co-author of The Federalist Papers

John Jay is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a negotiator and signatory of the Treaty of Paris of 1783.

Question 12

writ of certiorari

Answer 12

A request for the Supreme Court to order the records from a lower court to review the case

A writ of certiorari is an order a higher court issues in order to review the decision and proceedings in a lower court.

Question 13

Rule of Four

Answer 13

At least four justices of the Supreme Court must vote to consider a case before it can be heard

The rule of four holds that for the court to grant certiorari to hear and decide a case, four of its members must vote to do so.

Question 14

judicial restraint

Answer 14

A philosophy of judicial decision making that posits courts should allow the decisions of other branches of government to stand, even when they offend a judge´s own principles

Judicial restraint is a legal term that describes a type of judicial interpretation that emphasizes the limited nature of the court’s power.

Question 15

judicial activism

Answer 15

A philosophy of judicial decision making that posits judges should use their power broadly to further justice

Judicial activism describes how a judge approaches, or is perceived to approach, judicial review.

Question 16

strict constructionist

Answer 16

An approach to constitutional interpretation that emphasize interpreting the Constitution as it was originally written and intended by the Framers

Strict constructionist are described as legal theorist that embrace a narrow reading of legal texts.

Question 17

Sandra Day O´Connor

Answer 17

An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1981-2005 who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as the first woman to serve on the Court

Sandra Day O’Connor is a retired Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, notable for being the first woman to serve on the court.

Question 18

Elena Kagan

Answer 18

An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009 while she was serving as solicitor general in his administration

Elena Kagan was nominated by President Barack Obama and is the fourth woman to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court.

Question 19

brief

Answer 19

A document containing the legal written arguments in a case filed with a court by a party prior to a hearing or trial

A brief is presented to a court arguing why one party to a particular case should prevail.

Question 20

precedent

Answer 20

A prior judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling subsequent cases of a similar nature

A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court.

Question 21

stare decisis

Answer 21

In court rulings, a reliance on past decisions or precedents to formulate decisions in new cases

Stare decisis means that courts look to past, similar issues to guide their decisions.

Question 22

senatorial courtesy

Answer 22

A process by which presidents generally allow senators from the state in which a judicial vacancy occurs to block a nomination by simply registering their objection

The practice of senatorial courtesy plays an important role in the appointments of official positions, and has the power to make or break a nomination.

Question 23

Whiskey Rebellion

Answer 23

A civil insurrection in 1794 that was put down down by military force by President George Washington, thereby confirming the power of the new national government

The Whiskey Rebellion was a 1794 uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government.

Question 24

Chisholm v. Georgia (1793)

Answer 24

A Supreme Court case that allowed U.S. citizens to bring a lawsuit against states in which they did not reside; overturned by the Eleventh Amendment in 1789

Chisholm v. Georgia (1793) led to the adoption of the Eleventh Amendment.

Question 25

Eleventh Amendment

Answer 25

An amendment adopted in 1789 protecting states from being sued in federal court by a citizen of a different state or country

The Eleventh Amendment was the first to revise the Constitution after the ratification of the first ten in the Bill of Rights.

Question 26

John Marshall

Answer 26

The longest-serving Supreme Court chief justice, Marshall served from 1801 to 1835. Marshall´s decision in Marbury v Madison (1803) established the principle of judicial review in the United States

John Marshalls is largely responsible for establishing the Supreme Court’s role in federal government.

Question 27

judicial review

Answer 27

Power of the courts to review acts of other branches of government and the states

The best-known power of the Supreme Court is judicial review, or the ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution.

Question 28

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Answer 28

Case in which the Supreme Court first asserted the power of judicial review by finding that part of the congressional statute extending the Court´s original jurisdiction was unconstitutional

The case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) was the first time the U.S. Supreme Court declared an act of Congress to be unconstitutional.

Question 29

jurisdiction

Answer 29

Authority vested in a particular court to hear and decide the issues in a particular case

There are three main types of judicial jurisdiction: personal, territorial and subject matter.

Question 30

original jurisdiction

Answer 30

The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trail. These courts determine the facts of a case

The Constitution established the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction to provide justice of the highest stature for disputes to which a state was a party.

Question 31

appellate jurisdiction

Answer 31

The power vested in particular courts to review and/or revise the decision of a lower court

The circuit courts have appellate jurisdiction over the district courts and the supreme court has appellate jurisdiction over the circuit courts.

Question 32

solicitor general

Answer 32

The fourth-ranking member of the Department of Justice; responsible for handling nearly all appeals on behalf of the U.S. government to the Supreme Court

The task of the Office of the Solicitor General is to supervise and conduct government litigation in the United States Supreme Court.

Question 33

amicus curiae

Answer 33

¨Friend of the court¨; amici may file briefs or even appear to argue their interests orally before the court

The amicus parties try to help the court reach its decision by offering facts, analysis, or perspective that the parties to the case have not.