Zero-L Flashcards
1
Q
Citation for the Statutes at Large.
A
“Stat.” Citation
2
Q
A judgment holding that the state has failed to meet its burden of proving the defendant guilty. A judgment of _________ will be imposed if a jury returns a verdict of “not guilty,” or (in some cases) if the judge determines that the evidence presented by the prosecutor is insufficient to establish the defendant’s guilt as a matter of law.
A
Acquittal
3
Q
The element in a given criminal statute that defines the culpable action that an offender must commit in order to be guilty of the crime at issue.
A
Actus Reus Element
4
Q
The area of law governing agencies, a core concern of which is protecting against the excesses of agency power.
A
Administrative Law
5
Q
A sort of “uber” statute that governs all federal agencies and establishes the default procedures that every federal agency must follow, unless they are expressly exempted. One of the most important statutes in administrative law.
A
Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”)
6
Q
A disposition in which a court of appeals or supreme court leaves the judgment or ruling immediately below intact. However, the reasoning the court offers for that result may have changed.
A
Affirm
7
Q
Transfer of property to another.
A
Alienation
8
Q
A statement that something is true that has not yet been proven. Often it refers to a factual assertion that a party claims can be proven at trial.
A
Allegation
9
Q
Various alternatives to litigating in courts such as negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.
A
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
10
Q
The third Reconstruction Amendment to the Constitution stating that no state could abridge anybody’s right to vote on the basis of race.
A
The 15th Amendment
11
Q
A pleading by the defendant that addresses the merits of the plaintiff’s case. It typically goes line by line through the complaint and explains whether each fact alleged in the complaint is true, false, or whether the defendant for some justifiable reason cannot say whether it is true or false. It also may introduce its own claims by the defendant against the plaintiff.
A
Answer
12
Q
When an appellate court is required to hear an appeal, as opposed to a “discretionary appeal,” when an appellate court can decide whether or not to hear an appeal.”
A
Appeal As of Right
13
Q
The review in one court of the proceedings and decisions of another, either as to law or fact, or both.
A
Appeal
14
Q
On appeal, the party who lost the case in the court below.
A
Appellant
15
Q
An adjective meaning relating to courts of appeal.
A
Appellate
16
Q
On appeal, the party who won the case in the court below.
A
Appellee
17
Q
The section of the U.S. Constitution that establishes and empowers the Legislative branch of the federal government.
A
Article I of the Constitution
18
Q
The section of the U.S. Constitution that establishes and empowers the Executive branch of the federal government.
A
Article II of the Constitution
19
Q
The section of the U.S. Constitution that establishes and empowers the Judicial branch of the federal government.
A
Article III of the Constitution
20
Q
An agreement among the 13 original states arranging themselves as a confederacy or a federation.
A
Articles of Confederation
21
Q
A form of pretrial detention whereby a defendant is incarcerated prior to trial unless and until he is able to deposit a sum of money with the court system (i.e., to “post…”) that will be returned to him only if he comes to court for all future required appearances.
A
Bail
22
Q
A particular tort that consists of one person intentionally causing harmful or offensive physical contact with another person; absent special circumstances, a person who punches, kicks, or fondles another person commits the tort of battery.
A
Battery
23
Q
A trial before a judge.
A
Bench Trial
24
Q
Refers to the practice of having two “chambers” or “houses” of the legislative branch, each of which must pass a bill before it becomes law. A federal statute must be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate before it becomes law.
A
Bicameralism
25
The first ten Amendments to the Constitution, submitted to the states for ratification in 1789 and ratified in 1791, and guaranteeing rights such as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship.
Bill of Rights
26
A proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A ______ does not become a law until it is passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and either approved by the President or a Presidential veto is overcome.
Bill
27
To fail to fulfill contractual obligations. In other words, to break the contract.
Breaching a contract
28
A landmark Supreme Court decision made in 1954 in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional, rejecting the doctrine of “separate but equal.”
Brown v. Board of Education
29
The burden on a party to prove its claim to the judge (or jury). It is a kind of threshold one’s claim must cross. Common examples include the usual civil law standard of “preponderance of the evidence,” more likely than not, and the criminal law standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt,” a much higher threshold.
Burden of Persuasion
30
The heading of a case which includes the names of the parties, the name of the court issuing the opinion, the date of the opinion, and sometimes other identifying information.
Caption
31
A claim, a set of facts that entitles one party to obtain a remedy from another party in court.
Cause of Action
32
The Supreme Court’s discretionary review of an action by a lower court or agency. To request that the Supreme Court hear an appeal, a party must file a petition (pleading) for ______. If the Court decides to hear the appeal, it will issue a writ of certiorari, which orders the lower court to provide its files and records for review. Often called “___.” for short.
Certiorari
Cert for short
33
An intermediate appellate federal court one level below the U.S. Supreme Court.
Circuit Court
34
Includes the name of a case, the name of the court that decided it, the year the case was decided, the reporter, and the page number on which the case starts in the relevant reporter.
Citation
35
A legal system built around comprehensive codes. Examples include France, Germany, and the state of Louisiana.
Civil Law Jurisdiction
36
A first-year law school class that is all about civil litigation.
Civil Procedure
37
The limitations on how members of the bureaucracy can be fired, demoted, or disciplined.
Civil service protection
38
A part of the complaint that describes what the plaintiff is seeking in the suit, e.g., money damages, an injunction, etc.
Claim for Relief
39
Statements by the public about a proposed rule, typically in written form.
Comment
40
A legal system where law is made largely by court decisions rather than legal codes. Examples include the U.S. and other former British colonies.
Common Law Jurisdiction
41
Property belonging to multiple people or a group rather than an individual.
Common Property
42
The type of damages to which a successful tort plaintiff is usually entitled, and which provide the plaintiff with a payment meant to offset the losses she suffered as a result of the tort.________ often include medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for emotional harm and pain and suffering.
Compensatory Damages
43
The typical remedy provided to a successful tort plaintiff, consisting of a monetary payment in an amount that covers losses suffered by a tort victim as a result of the tort, including lost income, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
Compensatory Damages
44
A document that states the basis of a lawsuit (often divided into the statement of jurisdiction, cause of action, and claim for relief -- see definitions below).
Complaint
45
A legislative measure adopted by the Senate and House of Representatives that does not require the approval of the President. A ___________ does not have the force of law.
Concurrent Resolution
46
An opinion by a judge who agrees with the majority on the outcome of the case but disagrees with the majority on something or has something to add. Also called a “_________.”
Concurring Opinion
/ concurrence
47
A committee made up of members from both the Senate and House of Representatives that meets, negotiates, and agrees to a new, compromised version of a particular bill when each house passes a different version.
Conference Committee
48
The process by which Congress assigns power to administrative agencies.
Congressional Delegation
49
A moral philosophy in which the rightness or wrongness of an action is judged solely by its consequences.
Consequentialism
50
A theory that seeks to justify the state’s decision to punish someone by appealing to the benefit to society that such punishment is thought to afford (for example, by incapacitating a dangerous individual or by deterring that person or others from committing future crimes).
Consequentialist/Utilitarian Theory of Punishment
51
The “quid pro quo” – the thing given in return for something else – that is necessary to make an agreement legally enforceable. In many cases this will be a reciprocal exchange of promises.
Consideration
52
A change to the Constitution proposed either by the Congress, with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures.
Constitutional Amendment
53
A system of government based on popular sovereignty in which the structures, powers, and limits of government are set forth in a constitution.
Constitutional democracy
54
The body of law that derives from the U.S. Constitution. It defines the role of the branches of federal government, divides authority between the federal government and the states, and enumerates the basic rights of citizens. States also have ________ based on their state constitutions, but when we speak of it we typically specify “state __________.”
Constitutional Law
55
Voluntary transfer of property.
Conveyance
56
A judgment holding the defendant liable for the charged criminal offense. A judgment of _____ can be imposed if a trial ends in a guilty verdict, or if the defendant pleads guilty.
Conviction
57
Organizations given special legal treatment and largely designed by lawyers. They are typically owned by their shareholders and treated as a single legal entity.
Corporations
58
A contract in which the price is not fixed up front. Rather, the price is based on reimbursing the cost of performance plus an agreed-upon fee or markup rate.
Cost-Plus Contract
59
Relating to or expressing what has not happened or is not the case.
Counterfactual
60
When statutes reference one another.
Cross-references
61
A common problem in property law characterized by owners conveying property with specific conditions on future users or owners, which may devalue the property or prevent it from being beneficially used at some later time.
Dead-Hand Control
62
The formal public announcement by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, reciting the grievances of the American colonies against the British government and declaring them to be free and separate states.
Declaration of Independence
63
A remedy that is a mere statement of what the law is.
Declaratory Judgment
64
The practice in which doctors order a test or procedure primarily for the purpose of avoiding liability rather than to improve a patient's health.
Defensive Medicine
65
The process of the jury reviewing and weighing the evidence after trial to reach a verdict.
Deliberate
66
Using the threat of legal sanctions to induce persons or firms to change their behavior; some argue that ___________ is the main value or purpose of tort law, in that the threat of tort liability induces people to behave more carefully.
Deterrence
67
The process by which one party makes another party (or in some cases non- party) provide information needed for the case, including asking for documents, requiring an opposing party to answer interrogatories, and depositions.
Discovery
68
The court’s determination of what should happen in a case. It is an action and is usually found in the last few lines of a majority opinion.
Disposition
69
An opinion by a judge who would have ruled differently than the majority. Also called a “________.”
Dissenting Opinion
/ dissent
70
In the federal system, the general trial court (sometimes referred to as a “court of first instance”).
District Court
71
The law that is made by U.S. sovereigns and governs activities on U.S. soil. In some cases, it may also govern U.S. citizens or others within the jurisdictional power of the U.S. even though they may not be physically present in the U.S.
Domestic Law
72
A provision of the U.S. Constitution that, in abbreviated form, states “No person shall be... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
Due Process Clause
73
Also known as a “retreat rule.” A requirement of the criminal law of some states that you may not claim self-defense if you could have safely retreated, but did not, before using deadly force against an attacker.
Duty to Retreat
74
A basic definitional component of a criminal offense. _____s generally fall into three categories
Element
75
A French expression, which translates to “on the bench.” In the federal system, _______ refers to an appeal in which all the qualified judges hear and decide the case instead of just a subset of the judges (as is typical in appeals).
En Banc
76
A Latin phrase meaning “before the event.” The ____ perspective asks how a decision about the law will affect the event in question, if it happens at all. For example, how does the state of the law affect various actors’ incentives to behave in certain ways.
Ex Ante
77
A Latin phrase meaning “after the event.” The ________ perspective asks how the law should respond to an event after it occurs. For example, how should the law best compensate those who have been injured.
Ex Post
78
Additional steps needed to effectuate the Court’s judgment. For example, if the plaintiff gets money damages from someone they may seek to garnish the defendant’s wages (i.e., deduct a certain amount every month) in order to get paid back over time.
Execute the Judgment
79
Agencies that are headed by individual appointees nominated by the President who can be removed by the President for any reason.
Executive Agencies (Executive Branch Agencies)
80
The managerial branch of the U.S. government, which includes the President, the police force, the military, the writer of the checks, the printer of the money, the builder of the roads, and the manager of the post office.
Executive branch
81
A type of legal/financial award in which the party who breached the contract must pay monetary damages that compensate the victim by placing the victim in as good a financial position as she would have been had the contract been performed.
Expectation Damages
82
A linguistic canon of construction that means that if you specify one thing, you implicitly exclude the things you don’t specify.
Expressio Unius Est Exclusio Alterius
83
A theory that seeks to justify the state’s decision to punish someone by appealing to the idea that such punishment could help clarify and reinforce the shared moral and ethical commitments of a given society or community.
Expressivist Theory of Punishment
84
A court with jurisdiction over affairs of children (e.g., adoption, custody, maintenance, neglect, abuse, and abandonment) and families (e.g., divorce, alimony).
Family Court
85
The compendium of proposed and finalized rules -- a sort of newspaper for the federal regulatory state.
Federal Register
86
The set of rules governing civil litigation in federal court.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
87
Relating to the U.S. government (as opposed to U.S. state governments).
Federal
88
A form of government, such as in the U.S., in which power is divided between a central (federal) government and regional (state) governments.
Federalism
89
Refers to transferring one party’s attorney’s fees to the other party in the case. Typically, the shift is that the loser pays the winner’s fees.
Fee-shifting
90
The amendment of the U.S. Constitution that, among other things, prohibits deprivations of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law (the "Due Process Clause") and also states that if the state takes private property for public use, it must provide just compensation (the "takings clause").
Fifth Amendment
91
The amendment of the U.S. Constitution that Includes protections for freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the free exercise of religion (the “free exercise clause”), and a prohibition on establishment of religion (the “establishment clause”).
First Amendment
92
A contract in which the price for goods or services is set up front, before performance.
Fixed-Price Contract
93
The less common type of rulemaking governed by sections 556 and 557 of the APA, involving a trial-like process where an agency must present a case for the rule in front of an administrative law judge or other official.
Formal Rulemaking
94
The amendment of the U.S. Constitution adopted at the conclusion of the Civil War that extended rights and liberties against encroachment by state governments and contained guarantees of equal treatment of all persons. This amendment, among other things, also prohibits deprivations of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law (the "Due Process Clause").
Fourteenth Amendment
95
The amendment of the U.S. Constitution that protects against unreasonable search and seizure and is very important for criminal procedure.
Fourth Amendment
96
A legal rule that completes a blank in a contract, in the sense that it supplies a term in the contract that the parties failed to include. For example, in many jurisdictions, law governing commercial transactions contains rules for supplying a price term in a contract when the parties have agreed on a definite exchange but failed to specify a sales price.
Gap-Filler
97
A U.S. Supreme Court case holding that defendants charged with serious crimes have a federal constitutional right to a lawyer if they are too poor to pay for a lawyer themselves. The federal Constitution has been interpreted not to provide a similar right in the vast majority of civil cases.
Gideon v. Wainwright
98
The law that applies in a particular situation. For example, the law that will be used to interpret a contract.
Governing Law
99
A promise that is not supported by consideration, and thus usually not legally enforceable as a contract.
Gratuitous Promise
100
A writ providing the right to a hearing after you are effectively arrested or detained by the government that can only be suspended by Congress.
Habeas corpus
101
The legal rule announced by a case that could be used in future cases.
Holding
102
The accusation of a public officer of unfitness or wrongdoing. The President of the United States can only be _________ for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and mis demeanors."
Impeachment
103
A term that is deemed to be part of a legally enforceable agreement even though it is not negotiated or stated explicitly.
Implied Term
104
Agencies that are somewhat insulated from politics; instead of a single head, they are made of multiple members from different political parties who sit as a panel and vote on agency decisions.
Independent Agencies
105
A formal document that specifies the specific criminal offenses a defendant is accused of committing. An ___________ (unlike a separate type of charging document known as an information) is formally issued by a group of civilians known as a grand jury.
Indictment
106
The more common type of rulemaking, otherwise known as “notice and comment” rulemaking because it allows for participation by interested parties. Governed by Section 553 of the APA.
Informal Rulemaking
107
A formal document that specifies the specific criminal offenses a defendant is accused of committing. An _________ (unlike a separate type of charging document known as an indictment) is issued directly by the prosecuting attorney.
Information
108
A court order for someone to do something or refrain from doing something.
Injunctive Relief
109
A type of loss or setback experienced by a person or firm that, when caused by wrongful conduct, amounts to a tort; for example, bodily harm or property damage is an injury that, when it is caused by another’s careless conduct, amounts to the tort of negligence.
Injury
110
An argument that a certain kind of institution, most often courts, are ill-equipped to make certain decisions, and that such decisions should be made by another institution (e.g., legislatures or agencies).
Institutional Competence
111
The set of rules that countries follow in dealing with each other. This includes the relationship between sovereign states and international entities, such as the International Criminal Court, as well as supranational law, such as the law of the European Union that governs its members.
International Law
112
A form of discovery wherein a party must answer questions they receive in writing.
Interrogatory
113
Not legally binding. A law could be said to be _____ if it violates the Constitution.
Invalid
114
A legislative measure that requires approval by the Senate and House of Representatives and is presented to the President for approval. It is like a Bill except it cannot be used to propose a constitutional amendment.
Joint Resolution
115
The Court’s final determination in the case of who should win and what remedy they are entitled to (if any).
Judgment
116
The Courts. The branch responsible for deciding cases or controversies; the branch that claims responsibility for saying what the law is.
Judicial branch
117
The power to make legal decisions and judgments. To say that a court “has _______” refers to its power to pronounce law, especially its power to hear a certain type of case or adjudicate disputes between particular persons. But “___________” is sometimes used
Jurisdiction
118
A trial before a jury.
Jury trial
119
A court with jurisdiction over criminal cases involving minors.
Juvenile Court
120
A lawyer (in many cases a recent law school graduate) who works closely with a judge assisting him or her.
Law Clerk
121
A question relating to the law by which a case is to be decided, as opposed to “factual issues.”
Legal Issue
122
The idea that a rule is a law if, and only if, the rule is the command of the sovereign to its subjects and if the failure to follow that rule is backed up by the threat of punishment. Associated with John Austin and Jeremy Bentham.
Legal Positivism
123
The rule-making body of the U.S. government, which operates as a large deliberative body negotiating and coming to general conclusions in the forms of laws. It is made up by the House of Representatives and the Senate, collectively referred to as “Congress."
Legislative branch
124
Congressional recordings of its proceedings, such as committee reports and statements on the floor by legislative sponsors. _______can serve as a tool for statutory interpretation.
Legislative History
125
Congress’s policy instructions that the judiciary tries to ascertain.
Legislative Intent
126
The doctrine that when Congress passes a statute, a judge in the U.S. constitutional system has a duty to try to figure out Congress’s policy instructions for it.
Legislative Supremacy
127
Legal responsibility. Someone is _____ for a harm suffered by a party when he or she is legally and financially responsible for that harm.
Liability
/ liable
128
Whether one party should be held responsible for the injuries of another party.
Liability
129
A false statement that defames or injures the reputation of a living person that is published in a written, printed, or electronic form in words or images.
Libel
130
Common-sense presumptions about the way people use language used to help find the meaning of words aned phrases in statutes.
Linguistic Canons
131
A lawyer that handles lawsuits. ______s draft complaints, choose a court, investigate facts, take or defend depositions, prepare trial strategies, and cross-examine witnesses.
Litigator
132
A period of American constitutional history (usually dated from around 1897 to 1937) in which the Supreme Court interpreted the Due Process clause to protect economic rights and struck down several laws meant to improve working conditions, wages or hours as interfering with the liberty to contract. The era is named after a particular case, _______ v. New York, 198 US 45 (1905), where the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a New York law limiting the number of hours that could be worked in a bakery.
Lochner Period
133
A rule of contract law providing that an acceptance of an offer becomes effective upon being properly dispatched in the mail.
Mailbox Rule
134
An opinion that is joined by a majority of the judges on a court.
Majority Opinion
135
The element in a given criminal statute that defines the culpable mental state an offender must possess when committing the offense in order to be guilty of the crime at issue.
Mens Rea Element
136
A lawyer that works on deals involving corporations and complex contracts, specifying what a transaction will involve and how it will get done.
Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyer (M&A)
137
A process in which a non-partisan judicial nominating committee generates a list of potential judges from which the appointing authority (usually the governor of the state) selects who to appoint.
Merit Selection
138
The constitutional requirement that a person who is put in police custody must be advised of his right to remain silent and to have an attorney present. The rule was announced by the Supreme Court in ______ v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
Miranda Warning
139
A template drafted by lawyers, law professors, and judges, that many states have relied upon when enacting their substantive criminal law.
Model Penal Code
140
Money given to a party as a remedy for the harm they have suffered.
Money Damages
141
A motion made during the trial similar to the summary judgment motion saying essentially “given the evidence at trial I should win as a matter of law; no reasonable juror could think I should lose the case, so judge, please enter judgment to that effect right now and let’s not even ask the jury to deliberate.”
Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law (still known as “directed verdict” in some states)
142
A motion that essentially says to the court “we don’t need a trial on this case, because there is no genuine issue of material fact that is in dispute.”
Motion for Summary Judgment
143
A motion that asks the court to dismiss a case. Essentially the motion is saying “even if you were to assume, judge, that every fact mentioned in the complaint was true, this case should not be heard and instead should be dismissed.”
Motion to Dismiss
144
A written or oral application made to a court or judge to obtain a ruling or order in one’s favor.
Motion
145
The person making a motion.
Movant
146
A court organized within a city, village, or township, with jurisdiction over offenses under local ordinances and certain petty offenses.
Municipal Court
147
A civil rights organization in the United States formed in 1909 to advance justice for African Americans.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (“NAACP”)
148
An opposing picture to legal positivism of the nature of law. This view is committed to the idea that law has a moral core, that moral facts determine legal content.
Natural Law
149
A harm that the injurer does not internalize (in the sense of the injurer bearing him or herself), but instead is suffered by another party.
Negative Externality
150
A form of liability in tort law in which the wrongdoer (or “tortfeasor”) is held liable to pay damages to a victim because the wrongdoer injured the victim by means of careless or unreasonable conduct (rather than intentionally, or without any fault at all).
Negligence
151
A particular tort that involves one person breaching a duty owed to another to avoid injuring the other through careless or negligent conduct.
Negligence
152
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's executive program that greatly expanded federal agencies after the Great Depression, intended to build a social safety net and help the economy recover.
New Deal
153
Another name for informal rulemaking.
Notice and Comment Rulemaking
154
The process of publishing a proposed rule in the federal register.
Notice
155
Latin for “a remark by the way.” It is information in the opinion that is not necessary for the opinion and does not have binding precedential value. Often called “_____” for short or “____” in plural.
Obiter Dictum
Dictum
Dicta
156
An ___ is an expression of willingness by one person (the _____or) to enter into an agreement with another (the _ee). An __________________ is assent by the ____ee to the terms of the offer in the manner requested by the _____or. Ordinarily, ______and_______ are necessary for an agreement to be legally enforceable.
Offer and Acceptance
157
A form of discovery wherein a person is asked questions under oath in front of a court officer and a transcript is taken.
Oral deposition
158
The first step in statutory interpretation which involves giving the words in a statute their normal sense; dictionaries are useful starting points.
Ordinary Meaning
159
A system of democratic governance that combines legislative and executive powers in many ways.
Parliamentary system
160
Any item subject to ownership that is movable or intangible (meaning an asset without physical form, such as a bank account or trademark).
Personal Property
161
The party seeking to have the Supreme Court review a case, through a writ of certiorari. Typically, the party that lost in the prior stage of the proceeding.
Petitioner
162
An agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant whereby the prosecutor promises to either forgo certain charges or to recommend a lower sentence to the judge if the defendant pleads guilty to some agreed upon offense and thereby waives his right to a trial.
Plea Bargain
163
An agreement in a criminal case between a prosecutor and defendant in which the defendant pleads guilty in exchange for a limited charge or a reduced sentence.
Plea Bargain
164
A landmark Supreme Court decision made in 1896 that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality – a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal.”
Plessy v. Ferguson
165
A legislative maneuver that allows a president to exercise veto power. When Congress is no longer in session, the president can perform a _______ by taking no action on a bill for ten days.
Pocket Veto
166
Motions after a trial made by the losing party, including giving reasons why the verdict should be set aside and replaced with a judgment that goes in the other direction or why there should be a new trial.
Post-trial Motions
167
The summary of an agency’s consideration of the comments received on an informal rulemaking, including a concise and general statement of the rule’s basis and purpose, the agency’s response, and any changes made from the proposed rule.
Preamble to the Final Rule
168
A decision made in an earlier case that resolves (or at least has bearing on) a legal question in a new case. It may serve as a reason to resolve similar legal questions in the same way. Alternatively, a court or an advocate may try to “distinguish” the ________ and explain why it does not apply.
Precedent
169
Refers to the practice of presenting a federal statute passed by both the House and Senate to the President for signature before it becomes law.
Presentment
170
The head of state and head of government who directs the executive branch and serves as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
President of the United States
171
A selective mechanism by which members of a political party express their preference in the selection of the party’s candidates for public office. For example, both the Democratic and Republican parties have Primaries for President.
Primary
172
The set of laws that governs the relationship of private citizens with each other. Examples include contract law, tort law, and property law.
Private Law
173
A court with jurisdiction over matters relating to guardianships, wills, trusts, and estates.
Probate Court
174
The body of law that regulates the ways in which state actors such as prosecutors, police officers, and judges are permitted to exercise their authority when enforcing the substantive criminal law.
Procedural Criminal Law
175
The story of a case’s encounter with the law up to the present case.
Procedural History and Posture
176
The law that governs how to make use of the legal system, including how to make and enforce laws. This is law’s “grammar.”
Procedural Law
177
The attorney who represents the state in a criminal proceeding by filing charges and presenting evidence against the person accused of committing a crime.
Prosecutor
178
The number assigned to a published slip law; the first number represents the number of the Congress that passed the law and the second represents the chronological order in which the law was passed.
Public Law Number
179
The set of laws that governs the relationship between citizens and their government. This includes constitutional law, administrative law, and much of criminal law.
Public Law
180
An argument appealing to what is right, just, and promotes the public good. __________ arguments can be made in relation to what goals should be promoted through statutes or regulation, or as a basis for determining when courts should exercise the use of judicial power. One common usage of the phrase is that a contract would not be enforced because it is “contrary to _____________.” (Note that this term’s meaning is more contextual than many others we define here.)
Public Policy
181
A special remedy that is sometimes granted to victims of highly culpable torts involving “willful or wanton” misconduct, and that consists of a payment that goes beyond compensation for the victim’s losses.
Punitive Damages
182
Damages awards above and beyond what is required to compensate the victim.
Punitive Damages
183
What Congress is trying to get at in a Statute. Since Congress uses words to express a policy decision or set of policy instructions, this method of statutory interpretation involves looking at which interpretation better serves the policy of the statute.
Purpose or Policy of the Statute
184
The other main school of thought on how to use the canons of construction. _________s believe statutory interpretation should seek to achieve the broader purposes of a statute. _________s believe the words chosen by Congress are imperfect, and if the precise words chosen don’t align well with the policies, then the words should bend to the policies, not vice versa.
Purposivism
185
Land and anything growing on, built on, or attached to it (such as buildings).
Real Property
186
Three constitutional amendments enacted in the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War. The 13th Amendment
Reconstruction Amendments
187
The post-Civil War period (1865-1877) which marked the end of slavery, the rebuilding of the South, and the passing of the Reconstruction Amendments.
Reconstruction Period
188
A rule issued by a government agency that has the force of law. Sometimes the word “regulation” or “regulate” is also used more informally by lawyers to refer to governance. For example, “how should we regulate autonomous vehicles?”
Regulation
189
The remedy the parties want in a case.
Relief Sought
190
The case is sent back to the court below for further action.
Remand
191
The body of law regarding the kinds of relief a litigant seeks from the court. The two most common forms of remedies are damages (when the defendant pays money to the plaintiff) and an injunction (when the defendant does, or refrains from doing, a specific action).
Remedies
192
The court-ordered relief to which a successful tort plaintiff is entitled; although the typical remedy in tort cases is compensatory damages, some tort plaintiffs may obtain other remedies, including injunctions and punitive damages.
Remedy
193
The party against whom a petition is filed. In the Supreme Court, this is typically the party who won the case in the court below and seeks to defend the judgment.
Respondent
194
A periodic process held at the same time as a general election, in which voters decide whether a state judge will remain in office.
Retention Election
195
A theory that seeks to justify the state’s decision to punish someone by appealing to the moral blameworthiness of the offender.
Retributive Theory of Punishment
196
A disposition in which a court of appeals or supreme court overturns the judgment or ruling below, i.e., declares that the decision below was wrong.
Reverse
197
One of the main rights typically associated with ownership. It authorizes owners to prevent others from accessing, using, or claiming property and to control the terms on which others may access or use it.
Right to Exclude
198
A dislike for bearing risk or a preference for sure outcomes. For example, given the choice between $5 guaranteed or a 50/50 shot at $10, the risk averse choice would be to take the $5.
Risk Averse
199
An offer made under Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which allows one party (most often the defendant) to make a special “offer of judgment” up to fourteen days before a trial to another party (most often the plaintiff). If that party (e.g., the plaintiff) rejects the offer and then loses at trial, that party will be held responsible for the other party’s (e.g., the defendant’s) costs incurred after the offer was made. This rule creates an incentive for a party to accept a reasonable settlement offer.
Rule 68 Offer
200
A substantive canon that tells us that if a criminal statute is ambiguous – if there are two possible meanings – the judge should pick the one that favors the criminal defendant, that is, the more lenient one.
Rule of Lenity
201
The punishment imposed by the judge following a judgment of conviction. Criminal _____s come in various forms, including incarceration, probation, fines, or the death penalty.
Sentence
202
The division of the three branches of the federal government – the legislative, judicial, and executive powers. The underlying idea of this constitutional design is that the competition for authority among the three branches will discourage any one from supremacy or tyranny.
Separation of powers (also called “Checks and Balances”)
203
The process of providing one’s complaint to the other side, the defendant(s ).
Service of Process
204
The booklet containing published statutes, bound chronologically by Congressional session.
Session Laws
205
An agreement that ends a civil-litigation dispute, for example, ending a lawsuit out- of-court by the defendant paying money to the plaintiff.
Settlement
206
The amendment of the U.S. Constitution that provides a right in federal court to Civil Jury Trial in some instances.
Seventh Amendment
207
Determining what other cases have overruled, distinguished, or otherwise changed our understanding of a case. The term comes from leaflets indicating updates to cases that were first printed in the late 1800s by Frank Shepard.
Shepardizing
208
A legislative measure passed by either the Senate or the House of Representatives (but not the other body) and does not require the approval of the President. A simple resolution does not have the force of law.
Simple Resolution
209
The statute by itself on a single sheet or in pamphlet form before it is included into session laws.
Slip Law
210
An argument form where the arguer suggests that if a particular step is taken now, it will inevitably lead to a very bad unwanted consequence later on.
Slippery Slope
211
A person or institution habitually obeyed in a well-defined territory, but who or which does not habitually obey any other person or institution.
Sovereign
212
The amount of deference given by an appellate court in reviewing the decision of a lower court. The standard of review that a court applies depends on the context of the case, the nature of the factual or legal issue being appealed, and the judicial body that made the decision.
Standard of Review
213
A Latin expression meaning “to stand by things decided.” ________ is a principle that ordinarily requires judges to apply the reasoning from earlier decisions (precedents) so that later cases reach the same result as similar earlier cases decided by the same court or a superior court.
Stare Decisis
214
The constitutional law principle that the Constitution applies only to state action toward individuals, not actions between individuals where there is no state involvement.
State Action Doctrine
215
A part of the complaint that states the relevant jurisdiction, or the dividing line between various courts.
Statement of Jurisdiction
216
A law setting the maximum amount of time after an event within which civil legal proceedings may be initiated.
Statute of Limitations
217
A law passed by the legislative branch.
Statute
218
The official U.S. government compilation of federal session laws; the official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress.
Statutes at Large
219
The principles courts use in reading a statute and relating it to a particular issue or question.
Statutory interpretation
220
A form of tort liability in which the injurer is held responsible for the victim’s harms even though the injurer acted with due care. Strict liability is often applied to activities that are “ultra hazardous” or “abnormally dangerous.” Additionally, in the United States, commercial sellers of products are often strictly liable for injuries and harms caused by their defective products, even if they made reasonable efforts to prevent such defects.
Strict Liability
221
Canons of construction that put a thumb on the scale of one interpretation or another in order to serve some broad, general policy that the legal system wants to promote.
Substantive Canons
222
The body of law that determines the types of misconduct that will expose a person to punishment at the hands of the state.
Substantive Criminal Law
223
The law that governs how people are to behave. This is the “semantics” of law.
Substantive Law
224
To postpone or suspend consideration of a pending motion or piece of legislation.
Tabling
225
One of the two main schools of thought on how to use the canons of construction. ________s emphasize that Congress picks its words carefully to express its policies and that those words presumptively express what Congress meant to express.
Textualism
226
The standard rule for civil litigation costs in the United States, whereby each party to a lawsuit typically pays her own attorney’s fees.
The American Rule
227
The legal system’s set of rules that judges use to help sort out what a statute means or what to do when a statute is ambiguous or doesn’t make sense.
The Canons (Maxims) of Construction
228
The standard rule for civil litigation costs in England and Wales, where the losing party pays the winning party’s attorney’s fees. Also known as the “Loser-Pays System.”
The English Rule
229
A social rule that specifies what counts as a law and what does not. Associated with HLA Hart. Hart used the Rule of Recognition to replace the idea of the “sovereign” in his formulation of legal positivism.
The Rule of Recognition
230
A federal civil rights law enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, to bar sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funds.
Title IX
231
Each large part of the U.S. Code, divided by subject matter.
Title
232
The branch of law relating to civil (as opposed to criminal) wrongful acts or omissions. Torts give rise to a civil action or private lawsuit.
Tort Law
233
One who commits a tort.
Tortfeasor
234
Acts or omissions that the law designates as wrongful and injurious, that give rise to civil liability rather than criminal punishment, and whose wrongfulness is not determined by the terms of an agreement.
Torts
235
A lawyer that works on deals, including contracts, mergers, joint ventures, and venture capital, and advises clients about whether a given deal will be legal, and how it might best be designed and accomplished.
Transactional Lawyer
236
Law created by a tribal government that applies to tribal members and territories. There are over 500 tribal governments recognized in the U.S.
Tribal Law
237
A compendium of federal laws.
U.S. Code
238
The highest federal court. The Supreme Court has final appellate jurisdiction over all federal court decisions and also hears state court cases that turn on issues of federal law.
U.S. Supreme Court
239
Similar to “reverse.”
Vacate
240
The jury’s decision.
Verdict
241
When the president refuses to sign a bill presented for signature but returns the bill with reasons not to sign it.
Veto
242
A person who suffers an injury by virtue of another’s wrongful conduct.
Victim
243
Amendment to the Constitution stating that no state in the union could deprive anybody of due process of law or the equal protection of the laws.
5th Amendment
