Government in America: Chapter 15 Flashcards

9399632483	Criminal Law	The government charges an individual with violating specific laws.	0
9399632484	Civil Law	A dispute between two parties.	1
9399632485	Statutes	Laws passed by legislators.	2
9399632486	Common Law	The accumulation of judicial decisions about legal issues.	3
9399632487	Litigrants	A person involved in a lawsuit.	4
9399632488	Plaintiff	Bringing the charge.	5
9399632489	Defendant	Who is charged.	6
9399632490	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.	7
9399632491	Class Action Suits	Lawsuits in which a small number of people sue on behalf of all people in similar circumstances.	8
9399632492	Justiciable Disputes	Issues capable of being settled as a matter of law.	9
9399632493	Attorneys	A person appointed to act for another in business or legal matters.	10
9399632494	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.	11
9399632495	Constitutional Courts	From the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress created lower federal courts.	12
9399632496	Legislative Courts	Courts for special purposes.	13
9399632497	Original Jurisdiction	The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial.	14
9399632498	Appellate Jurisdiction	The jurisdiction of courts that hear cases brought to them on appeal from lower courts.	15
9399632499	District Courts	The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction.	16
9399632500	Courts of Appeals	Appellate courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts.	17
9399632501	Judicial Circuits	The U.S. is divided in 12 judicial circuits, where each Court of Appeal is responsible for.	18
9399632502	US Court of Appeals for Federal Circuits	Established by Congress, composed of 12 judges to hear appeals in specialized cases.	19
9399632503	Supreme Court	The Court ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolves conflicts among states, and maintains national supremacy in law.	20
9399632504	Justices	The judges who are members of the Supreme Court.	21
9399632505	Senatorial Courtesy	An unwritten traditional 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.	22
9399632506	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.	23
9399632507	Opinion	A statement of legal reasoning behind a judicial decision.	24
9399632508	Majority Opinion	Legal basis for the decision by the majority of justices.	25
9399632509	Concurring Opinion	Still with the majority, but for a different legal basis.	26
9399632510	Dissenting Opinion	Legal basis for opposing the decision.	27
9399632511	Per curium Opinion	Unauthorized/unsigned opinion of the full court.	28
9399632512	Stare Decisis	"let the decision stand"	29
9399632513	Precedent	How similar cases have been decided in the past.	30
9399632514	Originalism	A view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intentions of original meaning of the Framers.	31
9399632515	Judicial Implementation	How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, thereby affecting the behavior of others.	32
9399632516	Interpreting Population	Those who have understood and reflect on the decision.	33
9399632517	Implementing Population	Those who have to understand the decision.	34
9399632518	Consumer Population	Those who are actually affected by the law.	35
9399632519	John Marshall Court	John Marshall played a very important role in making the Court a significant national agenda setter.	36
9399632520	Marbury v Madison	The 1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning the U.S. Constitution and also established judicial review.	37
9399632521	Judicial Review	The power of the courts to determine whether the acts of Congress and the executive are in accord with the U.S. Constitution.	38
9399632522	Nine Old Men	FDR proposed to Congress in expand the size of the Court so he could appoint more judges to support his New Deal Plan, Congress objected and never passed his plans. But Chief Justice Charles Evan Hughes and Associate Justice Owen Roberts switched their votes to favor the New Deal.	39
9399632523	Warren Court	A time when Chief Justice Earl Warren was active in shaping public policy.	40
9399632524	Burger Court	After, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger made the court more conservative.	41
9399632525	Rehnquist Court	Led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and was conservative.	42
9399632526	Judicial Retraint	An approach to decision making in which judges play minimal policymaking roles and defer to legislatures whenever possible.	43
9399632527	Judicial Activism	An approach to decision making in which judges sometimes make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground.	44
9399632528	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.	45
9399632529	Statutory Contsruction	The judicial interpretation of an act of Congress.	46
9399655837	Writ of Certiorari	a formal document calling up the case from the lower federal or state courts.	47