AP Gov Ch 9 Semia Sims Flashcards
judicial implementation
How and whether judicial decisions are translated into actual public policies affecting more than the immediate parties to a lawsuit
Judicial implementation is used to limit the courts power.
plurality opinion
A type of judicial opinion, the reasoning of which is agreed to by fewer than a majority of judges on a court; although it resolves the particular case, the opinion does not establish a binding precedent
Plurality opinion is a decision in which a majority of judges on the court agree with the result reached but not with the reasons given.
concurring opinion
A type of judicial opinion issued by a minority of judges on a court who agree with the outcome of a case, but wishes to express different legal reasoning
Concurring opinion is authored by one or more justices and agrees with the outcome decided by the majority.
dissenting opinion
A type of judicial opinion issued by a minority of judges on a court who disagree with the outcome of a case and wish to explain their legal reasoning
Dissenting opinion is written by a judge who disagrees with the majority decision in an appeal ruling.
trial court
Court of original jurisdiction where cases begin
In the trial court, both sides present evidence to show their version of what happened.
appellate court
Court that generally reviews only findings of law made by lower courts
Appellate courts are the part of the judicial system that is responsible for hearing and reviewing appeals from legal cases.
constitutional (or Article III) courts
Federal courts specifically created by the U.S. Constitution or by Congress pursuant to its authority in Article III
Constitutional (or Article III) courts main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional.
legislative courts
Courts established by Congress specialized purposes, such as the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Legislative courts were created by Congress for specialized purposes whose judges do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution.
Federalist No. 78
A Federalist Papers essay authored by Alexander Hamilton that covers the role of the federal judiciary, including the power of judicial review
Federalist No. 78 was written to explicate and justify the structure of the judiciary under the proposed Constitution of the United States.
Judiciary Act of 1789
Legislative act that established the basic three-tiered structure of the federal court system
Judiciary Act of 1789 brought the US Supreme Court and the Judicial branch of government into existence.
John Jay
A member of the Founding generation who was the first Chief Justice of the United States. A diplomat and a co-author of The Federalist Papers
John Jay is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a negotiator and signatory of the Treaty of Paris of 1783.
writ of certiorari
A request for the Supreme Court to order the records from a lower court to review the case
A writ of certiorari is an order a higher court issues in order to review the decision and proceedings in a lower court.
Rule of Four
At least four justices of the Supreme Court must vote to consider a case before it can be heard
The rule of four holds that for the court to grant certiorari to hear and decide a case, four of its members must vote to do so.
judicial restraint
A philosophy of judicial decision making that posits courts should allow the decisions of other branches of government to stand, even when they offend a judge´s own principles
Judicial restraint is a legal term that describes a type of judicial interpretation that emphasizes the limited nature of the court’s power.
judicial activism
A philosophy of judicial decision making that posits judges should use their power broadly to further justice
Judicial activism describes how a judge approaches, or is perceived to approach, judicial review.
strict constructionist
An approach to constitutional interpretation that emphasize interpreting the Constitution as it was originally written and intended by the Framers
Strict constructionist are described as legal theorist that embrace a narrow reading of legal texts.
Sandra Day O´Connor
An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1981-2005 who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as the first woman to serve on the Court
Sandra Day O’Connor is a retired Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, notable for being the first woman to serve on the court.
Elena Kagan
An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009 while she was serving as solicitor general in his administration
Elena Kagan was nominated by President Barack Obama and is the fourth woman to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court.
brief
A document containing the legal written arguments in a case filed with a court by a party prior to a hearing or trial
A brief is presented to a court arguing why one party to a particular case should prevail.
precedent
A prior judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling subsequent cases of a similar nature
A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court.
stare decisis
In court rulings, a reliance on past decisions or precedents to formulate decisions in new cases
Stare decisis means that courts look to past, similar issues to guide their decisions.
senatorial courtesy
A process by which presidents generally allow senators from the state in which a judicial vacancy occurs to block a nomination by simply registering their objection
The practice of senatorial courtesy plays an important role in the appointments of official positions, and has the power to make or break a nomination.
Whiskey Rebellion
A civil insurrection in 1794 that was put down down by military force by President George Washington, thereby confirming the power of the new national government
The Whiskey Rebellion was a 1794 uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government.
Chisholm v. Georgia (1793)
A Supreme Court case that allowed U.S. citizens to bring a lawsuit against states in which they did not reside; overturned by the Eleventh Amendment in 1789
Chisholm v. Georgia (1793) led to the adoption of the Eleventh Amendment.
Eleventh Amendment
An amendment adopted in 1789 protecting states from being sued in federal court by a citizen of a different state or country
The Eleventh Amendment was the first to revise the Constitution after the ratification of the first ten in the Bill of Rights.
John Marshall
The longest-serving Supreme Court chief justice, Marshall served from 1801 to 1835. Marshall´s decision in Marbury v Madison (1803) established the principle of judicial review in the United States
John Marshalls is largely responsible for establishing the Supreme Court’s role in federal government.
judicial review
Power of the courts to review acts of other branches of government and the states
The best-known power of the Supreme Court is judicial review, or the ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution.
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Case in which the Supreme Court first asserted the power of judicial review by finding that part of the congressional statute extending the Court´s original jurisdiction was unconstitutional
The case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) was the first time the U.S. Supreme Court declared an act of Congress to be unconstitutional.
jurisdiction
Authority vested in a particular court to hear and decide the issues in a particular case
There are three main types of judicial jurisdiction: personal, territorial and subject matter.
original jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trail. These courts determine the facts of a case
The Constitution established the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction to provide justice of the highest stature for disputes to which a state was a party.
appellate jurisdiction
The power vested in particular courts to review and/or revise the decision of a lower court
The circuit courts have appellate jurisdiction over the district courts and the supreme court has appellate jurisdiction over the circuit courts.
solicitor general
The fourth-ranking member of the Department of Justice; responsible for handling nearly all appeals on behalf of the U.S. government to the Supreme Court
The task of the Office of the Solicitor General is to supervise and conduct government litigation in the United States Supreme Court.
amicus curiae
¨Friend of the court¨; amici may file briefs or even appear to argue their interests orally before the court
The amicus parties try to help the court reach its decision by offering facts, analysis, or perspective that the parties to the case have not.
