AP Government Chapter 16 Flashcards

6650737119	Standing to Sue	The requirement that plaintiffs have a serious interest in a case, which depends on whether they have sustained or are likely to sustain a direct and substantial injury from another party or from an action of government.	0
6650743256	Class Action Suits	Lawsuits in which a small number if people sue on behalf of all people in similar circumstances.	1
6650758582	Justiciable Disputes	Issues capable of being settled as a matter of law.	2
6650772168	Amicus Curiae Briefs	Legal briefs submitted by a "friend of the court" for the purpose of influencing a court's decision by raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties.	3
6650797905	Original Jurisdiction	The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial.	4
6650805960	Appellate Jurisdiction	The jurisdiction of courts that hear cases brought to them from lower courts.	5
6650811327	District Courts	The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction.	6
6650816393	Courts of Appeal	Appellate courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts, except in rare cases.	7
6650821164	Supreme Court	The pinnacle of the American judicial system.	8
6650826457	Senatorial Courtesy	An unwritten tradition whereby nominations for state-level federal judicial posts are usually not confirmed if they are opposed by a senator of the president's party from the state in which the nominee will serve.	9
6650842453	Solicitor General	A presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of Justice. In charge of the appellate court litigation of the federal government.	10
6650851132	Opinion	A statement of legal reasoning behind a judicial decision.	11
6650853949	Stare Decisis	A latin phrase meaning "let the decision stand."	12
6650859195	Precedent	How similar cases have been decided in the past.	13
6650861835	Judicial Implementation	How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, thereby affecting the behavior of others.	14
6650868140	Original Intent	A view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intent of the framers.	15
6650873877	Judicial Review	The power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress and, by implication, the executive are in accord with the US constitution.	16
6650879657	Judicial Restraint	A judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policymaking roles, leaving that duty strictly to the legislatures.	17
6650884361	Judicial Activism	A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground.	18
6650887738	Political Questions	A doctrine developed by the federal courts and used as a means to avoid deciding some cases, principally those involving conflicts between the president and Congress.	19
6650895637	Statutory Construction	The judicial interpretation of an act of Congress.	20