Ap US Government: The Judiciary Flashcards

AP US Government vocabulary terms

7632928135	Judiciary	The branch of government comprising the courts and judges who preside over them	0
7632928136	US Supreme Court	High Court with a limited original jurisdiction whose decisions may not be appealed; it serves as the court of last resort in the US judiciary	1
7632928137	Marbury V Madison	The 1803 Supreme Court case that established the power of judicial review	2
7632928138	Judicial review	Court authority to determine that an action taken by any government official or governing body violates the Constitution	3
7632928139	Circuit courts	Also known as courts of appeals; The middle level in the federal court structure	4
7632928140	Courts of Appeals	Intermediate appellate courts in the federal system that review the application of law in previous decisions made by courts in the federal or state judicial system	5
7632928145	Stare decisis	From the Latin "let the decision stand" the principle that binds judges to rely upon the holdings of past judges and deciding cases	6
7632928146	Precedent	Legal authority established by earlier cases	7
7632928147	Constitutional law	The body of law that comes out of the courts in cases involving the interpretation of the Constitution	8
7632928148	Statute	A law enacted by Congress or by state legislators to deal with particular issues or problems, sometimes more detailed and comprehensive than the common law	9
7632928149	Dual court system	The two-part judicial system such as that of the United States, which has both federal and state courts	10
7632928150	Jurisdiction	The power of a court to hear a case and to resolve it, given to a court by either constitution or a statute	11
7632928151	Federal question	A question of law based on interpretation of the US Constitution, federal laws, or treaties	12
7632928152	Original jurisdiction	The power of a court to hear a case first, before other courts have decided it	13
7632928153	Appellate jurisdiction	The authority of a court to review the application or interpretation of the law and previous decisions reached by another court in a case	14
7632928155	Writ of certiorari	Latin for "a request to make certain;" this is an order to lower courts to produce and a certified record of a case so that the appellate court can determine whether any errors occurred during trial that warrant review of the case	15
7632928156	Rule of four	Practice by which the Supreme Court justices determine if they will hear a case of four or more justices want to hear it	16
7632928157	Brief	A document detailing the legal argument for the desired outcome in a court case	17
7632928158	Amicus curiae brief	Document submitted by parties interested in a certain case or issue in an attempt to provide the court with information that may be used to decide the case ("Friend of the court" brief)	18
7632928159	Concurring opinion	Judicial opinion agreeing with how the majority decides the case but disagreeing with at least some of the legal interpretations or conclusions reached by the majority	19
7632928160	Dissenting opinion	Judicial opinion disagreeing both at the majorities disposition of the case and with their legal interpretations and conclusions	20
7632928161	Judicial activism	An approach to judicial decision-making whereby judges apply their authority to bring about specific social goals	21
7632928162	Judicial restraint	An approach to judicial decision-making whereby judges seek to defer to the legislature and, thereby, to limit the exercise of their own power.	22
7632928165	Appellant	A person who applies to a higher court for a reversal of the decision of a lower court.	23
7632928166	Appellee	The respondent in a case appealed to a higher court.	24
7632928167	Marbury v. Madison	Supreme Court case that established the court's power of judicial review.	25