Judiciary Flashcards

339663367	activist approach	the view that judges should discern the general principles underlying laws or the constitution and apply them to modern circumstances	0
339663368	amicus curiae	an adviser to the court on some matter of law who is not a party to the case	1
339663369	appellate jurisdiction	The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts	2
339663370	bill of attainder	a legislative act finding a person guilty of treason or felony without a trial	3
339663371	brief	a condensed written summary or abstract	4
339663372	burden of proof	the duty of proving a disputed charge	5
339663373	burger court	a conservative jurist appointed by Nixon that nonetheless continued the judicial activism of the Warren Court as seen by Roe v. Wade; this was due to the other members of the court rather than his own liberal beliefs	6
339663374	civil law	the legal code of ancient Rome	7
339663375	class action suit	a case brought by someone to help him or her and all others who are similarly situated	8
339663376	clear and present danger test	law should not punish speech unless there was a clear and present danger of producing harmful actions	9
339663377	concurrent jurisdiction	authority for both state and federal courts to hear and decide cases	10
339663378	concurring opinion	an opinion that agrees with the court's disposition of the case but is written to express a particular judge's reasoning	11
339663379	congressional act of 1869	...	12
339663380	constitutional courts	Federal courts created by Congress under Article III of the Constitution, including the district courts, courts of appeals, &specialized courts such as the U.S. Court of International Trade	13
339663381	court of appeals	a court whose jurisdiction is to review decisions of lower courts or agencies	14
339663382	criminal law	the body of law dealing with crimes and their punishment	15
339663383	cross-examination	The interrogation of a witness by the opposing party	16
339663384	de facto segregation	segregation (especially in schools) that happens in fact although not required by law	17
339663385	de jure segregation	segregation that is imposed by law	18
339663386	defendant	a person or institution against whom an action is brought in a court of law	19
339663387	dissenting opinion	an opinion that disagrees with the court's disposition of the case	20
339663388	district courts	Lowest level of fed. courts, where fed. cases begin &trials are held (bank robbery, environmental violations, tax evasion)	21
339663389	diversity cases	cases involving citizens of different states who can bring suit in federal courts	22
339663390	docket	a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to	23
339663391	double jeopardy	the prosecution of a defendant for a criminal offense for which he has already been tried	24
339663392	dual sovereignty	A doctrine holding that state and federal authorities can prosecute the same person for the same conduct, each authority prosecuting under its own law.	25
339663393	eminent domain	the right of the state to take private property for public use	26
339663394	establishment clause	the First Amendment guarantee that the government will not create and support an official state church	27
339663395	ex post facto law	a law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed	28
339663396	exclusionary rule	a rule that provides that otherwise admissible evidence cannot be used in a criminal trial if it was the result of illegal police conduct	29
339663397	exclusive jurisdiction	authority of only federal courts to hear and decide cases	30
339663398	fee shifting	a rule that allows a plaintiff to recover costs from the defendant if the plaintiff wins	31
339663399	free exercise clause	the First Amendment guarantee that citizens may freely engage in the religious activities of their choice	32
339663400	grand jury	a jury to inquire in accusations of crime and to evaluate the grounds for indictments	33
339663401	immunity	an act exempting someone	34
339663402	in forma pauperis	A method whereby a poor person can have his or her case heard in federal court without charge	35
339663403	indictment	an accusation of wrongdoing	36
339663404	judicial restraint	view that the courts should reject any active lawmaking functions and stick to judicial interpretations of the past	37
339663405	judicial review	review by a court of law of actions of a government official or entity or of some other legally appointed person or body or the review by an appellate court of the decision of a trial court	38
339663406	judiciary act of 1789	In 1789 Congress passed this Act which created the federal-court system. The act managed to quiet popular apprehensions by establishing in each state a federal district court that operated according to local procedures.	39
339663407	legislative courts	courts created by congress for specialized purposes whose judges do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the constitution	40
339663408	libel	a tort consisting of false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living person	41
339663409	litmus test	a test that relies on a single indicator	42
339663410	majority opinion	the opinion joined by a majority of the court (generally known simply as 'the opinion')	43
339663411	obscenity	an offensive or indecent word or phrase	44
339663412	original jurisdiction	the authority to hear cases for the first time	45
339663413	per curiam opinion	a brief, unsigned court opinion	46
339663414	petit jury	a jury of 12 to determine the facts and decide the issue in civil or criminal proceedings	47
339663415	plaintiff	a person who brings an action in a court of law	48
339663416	plea bargain	(criminal law) a negotiation in which the defendant agrees to enter a plea of guilty to a lesser charge and the prosecutor agrees to drop a more serious charge	49
339663417	political question	an issue the Supreme Court will allow the executive and legislative branches decide	50
339663418	precedent	an example that is used to justify similar occurrences at a later time	51
339663419	prior restraint	government censorship of information before it is published or broadcast	52
339663420	procedural due process	Constitutional requirement that governments proceed by proper methods; limits how government may exercise power.	53
339663421	prosecution	the continuance of something begun with a view to its completion	54
339663422	remedy	a judicial order enforcing a right or redressing a wrong	55
339663423	rule of four	Requirement that a case can only be heard by the Supreme Court if four justices vote to hear the case	56
339663424	search warrant	a warrant authorizing law enforcement officials to search for objects or people involved in the commission of a crime and to produce them in court	57
339663425	senatorial courtesy	Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.	58
339663426	slander	an abusive attack on a person's character or good name	59
339663427	solicitor general	a law officer appointed to assist an attorney general	60
339663428	sovereign immunity	an exemption that precludes bringing a suit against the sovereign government without the government's consent	61
339663429	standing	the act of assuming or maintaining an erect upright position	62
339663430	stare decisis	Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases	63
339663431	strict constructionist	a person who interprets the Constitution in a way that allows the federal government to take only those actions the Constitution specifically says it can take	64
339663432	substantive due process	Constitutional requirement that governments act reasonably and that the substance of the laws themselves be fair and reasonable; limits what a government may do.	65
339663433	warren court	the chief justice that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in Brown v. Board of Education (1954); he was the first justice to help the civil rights movement, judicial activism	66
339663434	writ of certiorari	a common law writ issued by a superior court to one of inferior jurisdiction demanding the record of a particular case	67
339663435	writ of habeas corpus	a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge	68