6 - Intro to Legal System Flashcards
federalism
the division of powers between the federal government and the state governments
legislative branch
the branch of government with primary responsibility for making or enacting laws
executive branch
the branch of government with primary responsibility for carrying out, executing, or administering laws
judicial branch
the branch of government consisting of courts that have primary responsibility for interpreting laws by resolving disputes that arise under them
checks and balances
an allocation of governmental powers whereby one branch of government can block, check, or review what another branch wants to do (or has done) in order to maintain a balance of power among the legislative, executive and judicial branches so that no one branch can dominate the other two
judicial review
1 - the power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a statute or other law
2 - the power of a court to determine the correctness of what a lower tribunal has done
law
an authoritative rule written and enforced by one or more government bodies
primary authority
a law written by one of the three branches of government
secondary authority
a non-law (e.g. a legal periodical article) that summarizes, describes, or explains the law but is not the law itself
opinion of the attorney general
formal legal advice given by the chief law officer of the government to another government official or agency
common law
1 - judge-made law in the absence of controlling statutory law or other higher law (law derived from court opinions)
2 - the court opinions and statutes in England and in the American colonies before the American Revolution
3 - the legal system of England and of those countries such as the US whose legal system is based on England’s
at common law
1 - referring to all the case law and statutory law in England and in the American colonies before the Revolution
2 - pertaining to judge-made law
common-law system
the legal system of England and most of the US that places a greater emphasis on case law than do countries that have a civil law system where a greater emphasis is placed on statutory or code law
civil-law system
the legal system of many countries in Continental Europe and Latin America (and Louisiana) that places a greater emphasis on statutory or code law than do countries (such as England and most of the US) whose common-law system places a greater emphasis on case law
precedent
a prior opinion or decision covering similar facts or issues in a later case that can be used as a standard or guide in the later case
stare decisis
(“stand by things decided”) courts should decide similar cases in the same way unless there is a good reason for the court to do otherwise; when resolving an issue, courts should be reluctant to reject precedent - a prior opinion covering similar facts and issues
cause of action
1 - a legally acceptable reason for bringing a suit; a rule that constitutes a legal theory for bringing a suit
2 - the facts that give a person a right to judicial relief; when you “state a cause of action” you list the facts that give you a right to judicial relief against the alleged wrongdoer
derogation
a partial repeal or abolishment of a law
consideration
something of value that is exchanged between parties; it can be an act, a forbearance (not performing an act), a promise to perform an act, or a promise to refrain from performing an act
enacted law
1 - written law by a deliberative body such as a legislature or constitutional convention after it is proposed and often debated an amended
2 - any law that is not created within litigation
prospective
governing future events; effective in the future
equity
justice administered according to fairness in a particular case, as contrasted with the strictly formalized rules once followed by common-law courts
damages
1 - money claimed by a person to compensate for the harm caused by an alleged wrongdoer
2 - an award of money paid by the wrongdoer to compensate the person who has been harmed
equitable
1 - fair; just
2 - pertaining to any remedy available in an action in equity
specific performance
a remedy for breach of contract that forces the wrongdoing party to complete the contract as promised
injunction
a remedy that orders a person or organization to do or to refrain from doing something
constitutional court
a court that derives its jurisdiction from a provision of the constitution (at the federal level, a constitutional court is called an Article iii court because it derives its jurisdiction from Article iii of the US Constitution)
legislative court
a court created by the legislature (at the federal level, a legislative court is called an Article i court because Article i of the US Constitution gives Congress the authority to create special courts)
adjudicate
to resolve or decide by judicial process; to judge
inquisitional system
a method of resolving a legal dispute in some countries in which the judge has a more active role in questioning the witnesses and in conduction the trial than in an adversary system
record
the official collection of all the trial proceedings, exhibits, orders, and word-for-word testimony that were part of the trial
court of record
a court that is required to maintain a record of the proceedings before it, including a word-for-word account of what occurred
trial de novo
a new trial conducted as if a prior one had not occurred
territorial jurisdiction
the geographic boundaries within which a court has the power to act
personal jurisdiction
a court’s power over a person to determine (adjudicate) his or her personal rights (in personam jurisdiction)
subject-matter jurisdiction
the court’s power to resolve a particular type of legal dispute and to grant a particular type of relief
limited jurisdiction
the power of a court to hear only certain kinds of cases (special jurisdiction)
general jurisdiction
the power of a court to hear any kind of civil or criminal case, with certain exceptions
exclusive jurisdiction
the power of a court to hear a particular kind of case, to the exclusion of other courts
concurrent jurisdiction
the power of more than one type of court to hear a particular kind of case
original jurisdiction
the power of a court to be the first to hear a case before it is reviewed by another type of court (court of first instance)
appellate jurisdiction
the power of a court to review and correct the decisions of a lower tribunal
review
the power of a court to examine the correctness of what a lower tribunal has done
ruling
the conclusion or outcome of a decision made by a court or administrative agency
certiorari
(cert.) an order (or writ) by a higher court that a lower court send up the record of a case because the higher court has decided to use its discretion to review that case
writ
a written court order to do or refrain from doing an act
inferior courts
1 - a trial court of limited or special jurisdiction
2 - any court that is subordinate to the court of final resort
panels
1 - a group of judges, usually three, who decide a case on behalf of a court with a larger number of judges
2 - a list of individuals summoned for jury duty
3 - a group of attorneys available in a group legal services plan
4 - members of a commission
en banc
(“on the bench”) by the entire court
court of final resort
the highest court within a judicial system
US district court
the main trial court in the federal judicial system with subject-matter jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases
diversity of citizenship
the disputing parties are citizens of different states and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 (this diversity gives subject-matter jurisdiction to a US district court)
US court of appeals
the major intermediate appellate court in the federal court system
US Supreme Court
the court of final resort in the federal court system
administrative agency
a governmental body, other than a court or legislature, that comes out (i.e. administers or executes) the statutes of the legislature, the executive orders of the chief executive, and its own regulations
enabling statue
the statute that allows (enables) an administrative agency to carry out specified delegated powers
executive department agency
an administrative agency that exists within the executive branch of government, often at the cabinet level
cause
a legally sufficient reason to do something (just cause, good cause)
independent regulatory agency
an administrative agency that regulates an aspect of society
quasi-independent regulatory agency
an administrative agency that has characteristics of both an executive department agency and an independent regulatory agency
government corporation
a government-owned entity that is a mixture of a business corporation and a government agency created to serve a predominantly business function in the public interest (quasi-government agency)
quasi-legislation
an administrative regulation enacted by an administrative agency that has some characteristics of the legislation (statutes)
quasi-adjudication
an administrative decision written by an administrative agency that has some characteristics of an opinion written by a court
exhaust administrative remedies
to go through all dispute-solving avenues that are available in an administrative agency before asking a court to review what the agency did (exhaustion of remedies)
Administrative Procedure Act (APA)
the statute that governs procedures before federal administrative agencies (many states have their own version of the APA for procedures before state administrative agencies)
bill
a proposed statute
bicameral
having two chambers in the legislature
unicameral
having one chamber in the legislature
legislative history
hearings, debates, amendments, committee reports, and all other events that occur in the legislature before a bill is enacted into a statute (also part of the history are later changes, if any, made by the legislature to the statute)
transcript
a word-for-word account of what was said (written copy)
transcribed
taken down in a word-for-word account
mark up
the process by which a legislative committee puts a bill in its final form
committee report
a summary of a bill and a statement by the committee of the reasons for and against its enactment by the legislature
engrossed bill
the version of a bill passed by one of the chambers of the legislature after incorporating amendments or other changes
conference committee
a temporary committee consisting of members of both chambers of the legislature the seeks to reach a compromise on two versions of the same bill each chamber passed
enrolled bill
a bill that is ready to be sent to the chief executive after both chambers of the legislature have passed it
veto
a rejection by the chief executive of a bill passed by the legislature
override
1 - to supersede or change a result
2 - to approve a bill over the veto of the chief executive
pocket veto
the chief executive’s “silent” rejection of a bill by not acting on it within 10 days of receiving it, if the legislature adjourns during this period
