Basic Vocabulary

Question 1

law

Answer 1

any binding custom or practice of a community

Question 2

statute

Answer 2

law created by legislature

Question 3

regulation

Answer 3

law created by executive agencies to implement statutory law

Question 4

case law

Answer 4

law created by judiciary

Question 5

Three types of case law

Answer 5

1) common law
2) interpretation of a constitution, statute, or regulation
3) applying the law to a new set of facts

Question 6

common law

Answer 6

body of law wholly developed by judicial decisions (a form of case law)

Question 7

executive order

Answer 7

law created by the chief executive that implements or interprets a statute, constitutional provision, or a treaty

Question 8

primary authority

Answer 8

law from any branch of government

Question 9

precedent/binding authority/mandatory authority

Answer 9

law from within the governing jurisdiction (a type of primary authority)

Question 10

secondary authority

Answer 10

commentary about the law, not binding (e.g. legal encyclopedias, law review articles, treatises)

Question 11

persuasive authority

Answer 11

law from other jurisdictions (a type of secondary authority)

Question 12

legislative history

Answer 12

the record that develops as an idea makes its way through the legislative process and becomes a statute (if/when the language of the statute is unclear, can be used to determine the intended purpose of the statute)

Question 13

three fundamental principles of our legal system

Answer 13

1) jurisdiction
2) hierarchical structure of the courts
3) stare decisis

Question 14

jurisdiction

Answer 14

an area of authority over which a governing body has control (starting point of legal research and analysis)

Question 15

three sovereigns in the United States

Answer 15

1) United States Government
2) state governments
3) tribal nations

Question 16

three tiers of the judicial hierarchy

Answer 16

1) trial court
2) intermediate appellate
3) final appellate court, highest appellate court, or “court of last resort”

Question 17

“as of right” appeal

Answer 17

any party who is not satisfied by the result from a trial court can have the intermediate appellate court review the decision of the trial court

Question 18

decisions of higher courts in the same jurisdiction

Answer 18

mandatory authority

Question 19

decisions of lower courts in the same jurisdiction

Answer 19

persuasive authority to higher courts

Question 20

writ of certiorari

Answer 20

order from the final appellate court to the intermediate appellate to deliver its record in a case to the highest court so that the highest court may review it

Question 21

final appellate court’s reason for “granting cert”

Answer 21

If the highest court believes that reviewing the intermediate court’s decision will resolve a novel or important legal issue

Question 22

federal trial courts

Answer 22

United States District Courts

Question 23

Kansas trial courts

Answer 23

Kansas District Courts

Question 24

Missouri trial courts

Answer 24

Missouri Circuit Courts

Question 25

federal intermediate appellate courts

Answer 25

circuit courts of appeals (e.g. the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth District)

Question 26

federal final appellate court

Answer 26

Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)

Question 27

kinds of appeals heard by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Answer 27

appeals from specialized courts (e.g. Court of International Trade, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims) and any appeal involving patent law

Question 28

stare decisis

Answer 28

legal principle that requires a court to follow its own prior decisions when faced with the same legal issue (triggered by precedent)

Question 29

precedent

Answer 29

a binding prior court decision (triggers the legal principle of stare decisis)

Question 30

precedential criteria

Answer 30

met when a case raises the same legal issue that was addressed in a prior decision meaning it 1) is governed by the same law and 2) has similar facts

Question 31

precedential value

Answer 31

whether it can be demonstrated that the facts of a case are sufficiently similar to the facts that determined the outcome in a prior case

Question 32

effects of the three principles of our legal system

Answer 32

1) create consistency and fairness (hierarchy, stare decisis)
2) create predictability (jurisdiction, stare decisis)
3) permits diversity (jurisdiction)

Question 33

section

Answer 33

the fundamental unit of the federal statutory scheme and of each state’s statutory scheme

Question 34

statutory scheme

Answer 34

multiple interrelated sections of statutory law (e.g. title, article, chapter)

Question 35

operative provisions

Answer 35

sections of a statutory scheme that explain the general rule, any exceptions to the rule, the consequences of violating the rule, and how the rule will be enforced

Question 36

closing provisions

Answer 36

sections of a statutory scheme that identify the effective date of the statute and create severability

Question 37

severability

Answer 37

the idea that if one part of a statutory scheme is determined invalid the rest of the scheme will remain valid

Question 38

three component parts of statutes

Answer 38

1) elements
2) factors
3) red flag words

Question 39

elements

Answer 39

requirements that must be met for a standard to be met

Question 40

factor

Answer 40

considered when determining whether a standard is met

Question 41

red flag words

Answer 41

words of relationship that restrict, expand, or order the elements of factors in a statute

Question 42

judicial opinion

Answer 42

explains the dispute before the court, the legal questions the dispute raises, and the ruling the court has made on the legal questions

Question 43

four parts of judicial opinions

Answer 43

1) preliminary information
2) facts
3) court’s analysis
4) any concurring or dissenting opinion

Question 44

plaintiff

Answer 44

party instigating a civil lawsuit

Question 45

defendant

Answer 45

party being sued

Question 46

appellant or petitioner

Answer 46

party who filed the appeal first

Question 47

appellee or respondent

Answer 47

other party in a case being appealed, may also appeal some issues

Question 48

trigger facts

Answer 48

facts on which the decisions of a court turns

Question 49

procedural history

Answer 49

the legal path a case took after the plaintiff initiated the lawsuit

Question 50

rule of a case

Answer 50

a general principle of law the case will represent in the greater body of law (not tied to the facts of the case before the court)

Question 51

holding of a case

Answer 51

the court’s answer to one of the questions presented by one of the parties in a case (tied to the facts of the case before the court)

Question 52

reasoning of the case

Answer 52

the analysis the court follows to get from an issue to its holding about that issue

Question 53

issue

Answer 53

one of the legal questions the court is asked to decide in a case

Question 54

dicta

Answer 54

assertions or statements by the writing judge on points that are not necessary to address an issue presented by a party in a case (not a binding part of the opinion but may be relied upon as persuasive authority in future cases)

Question 55

judgment or disposition

Answer 55

states the final action the court is taking on the whole case after considering all of the issues presented

Question 56

concurring opinion

Answer 56

written by a judge who agrees with the outcome reached by the majority but who differs in the analytical approach, i.e. he differs in how to interpret the law or apply the law to the facts (typically not binding, may be considered binding if the majority needs the vote of the concurring judge to remain in the majority)

Question 57

dissenting opinion

Answer 57

written by a judge who disagrees with the outcome of the case in which the judge explains why the majority was wrong or what the proper outcome of the case may be (not binding, may be persuasive authority)