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American Government 2022 > American Government Unit 5: Judicial Branch > Flashcards

American Government Unit 5: Judicial Branch Flashcards

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1
Q

What is jurisdiction?

A

The official power to make legal decisions and judgments.

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2
Q

What is exclusive jurisdiction?

A

When only a particular court can decide a case.

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3
Q

What is original jurisdiction?

A

A court’s power to hear and decide a case before any appellate review.

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4
Q

What is appellate jurisdiction?

A

The power of a court to hear appeals from lower courts.

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5
Q

What does remand mean?

A

To send something back.

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6
Q

What is the senate judiciary committee?

A

A standing committee of 22 US senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice.

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7
Q

What is judicial activism?

A

A judicial ruling suspected of being based on personal opinion or political considerations rather than on existing law.

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8
Q

What is judicial restraint?

A

Refers to the doctrine that judges should not insinuate their own opinions, philosophies or policy preferences into the law and should be hesitant to strike down laws unless they are obviously unconstitutional.

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9
Q

What is judicial review?

A

To declare a legislative or executive act unconstitutional.

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10
Q

What is the rule of four?

A

It permits 4/9 justices to grant writ of certiorari.

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11
Q

What is majority opinion?

A

Something being agreed to by more than half of court members.

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12
Q

What is concurring opinion?

A

A statement written by a Supreme Court justice who agrees with the majority’s decision but for different reasons.

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13
Q

What is dissenting opinion?

A

A written opinion of one or more Supreme Court justices expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court.

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14
Q

What are the three basic functions of courts?

A
  • Settling disputes
  • Interpreting the law
  • Creating expectations for future actions
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15
Q

What are the four main characteristics of the federal court system?

A
  • Separate from other branches
  • Hierarchical; with the supreme court at the top
  • Able to perform judicial review
  • Federal judges are appointed for life and their salaries can’t be reduced
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16
Q

What differentiates the two types of courts is their ____________, which basically means the set of cases that they’re authorized to decide.

A

Jurisdiction

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17
Q

Courts of original jurisdiction:

A
  • Hear evidence and determine what actually happened
  • After it hears the facts it decides the outcome
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18
Q

An appeals court that has the appellate jurisdiction:

A
  • Don’t hear facts; they just decide questions of law
    (In most cases you need to show that there was something wrong with the procedure of your trial)
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19
Q

Three types of law:

A
  • Criminal
  • Civil
  • Public
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20
Q

What is criminal law?

A

Almost always statutes written by legislatures, which means that there is an actual law for you to break. They almost always happen at the state level.

21
Q

What is civil law?

A

This means you’re suing someone or that you’re being sued. These cases arise from disputes between individuals, or between individuals and the government, when one party, the plaintiff, claims that the other party, the defendant, has caused an injury that can be fixed or remedied.

22
Q

What is public law?

A

Sometimes a civil or criminal case can become this, when either the defendant or plaintiff can show that the powers of government or the rights of citizens under the Constitution or federal law is involved in the case.

23
Q

What is a written document explaining the position of a side in a case?

A

A brief.

24
Q

What is the most serious type of criminal offense?

A

Felony.

25
Q

What is a plaintiff?

A

In civil law; the party who a suit or some other legal action against another in court.

26
Q

What is a precedent?

A

A prior judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling cases of a similar nature.

27
Q

What is a misdemeanor?

A

An offense less serious than a felony, which may be punished by a fine or sentence to a local prison for less than one year.

28
Q

What is an individual group being sued or being charged for a crime?

A

A defendant.

29
Q

What is “discovery”?

A

Process through which both sides gather evidence in a civil case; Compulsory pretrial disclosure of documents relevant to a case.

30
Q

Who is the US Attorney?

A

They represent the government in court cases.

31
Q

Which court hears the most cases?

A

State courts.

32
Q

Who has the power to impeach federal judges for wrongdoings?

A

The US Congress.

33
Q

Who provides security at federal courthouses?

A

US Marshalls

34
Q

How many women have served on the supreme court?

A

Six women.

35
Q

Who was the first female supreme court justice?

A

Sandra Day O’Connor.

36
Q

Who is the newest member of the supreme court justice?

A

Ketanji Brown Jackson.

37
Q

Who is John Roberts?

A

John Roberts is the chief justice of the supreme court.

38
Q

Name the current US supreme court members (9)

A
  • Chief Justice; John Roberts
  • Sonia Sotomayor
  • Clarence Thomas
  • Samuel Alito
  • Elena Kagan
  • Amy Coney Barrett
  • Niel Gorsuch
  • Brett Kavanaugh
  • Ketanji Brown Jackson
39
Q

What type of jurisdiction involves cases that involve foreign diplomats or that involve a state?

A

Original jurisdiction.

40
Q

What type of jurisdiction involves cases that involve the constitution or acts of congress or treaties with other nations?

A

Appellate jurisdiction.

41
Q

What are examples of personal crimes (offenses against a person and result in physical or mental harm to another person)?

A
  • Assault
  • Battery
  • Homicide
42
Q

What are examples of property crimes (offenses against property and involve an interference with another person’s property)?

A
  • Larceny (theft)
  • Burglary
  • Robbery
  • Arson
  • Forgery
43
Q

What are examples of statutory crimes (violations of specific state or federal statutes and can involve personal or property offenses)?

A
  • Drunk driving
  • Selling alcohol to a minor
44
Q

What are examples of inchoate crimes (crimes that were begun but not completed)?

A
  • Solicitation
  • Conspiracy
45
Q

What are the steps in criminal proceedings?

A
  1. Investigation
  2. Arrest
  3. Indictment
  4. Arraignment
  5. Bail
  6. Plea Bargaining
  7. Trial
  8. Verdict
  9. Sentencing
  10. Appeal
46
Q

These federal courts hold trials:

A

District courts

47
Q

This is the middle level of the federal court system:

A

Appellate courts

48
Q

How many district courts are there?

A

3

American Government 2022 (4 decks)

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