BISA terms lectures: 6, 8, 9

Question 1

activist approach

Answer 1

the view that judges should discern the general principles underlying laws of the const. & apply them to modern circumstances

Question 2

judicial review

Answer 2

the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and actions of local, state, or national governments unconstitutional.

Question 3

brief

Answer 3

A legal document submitted by lawyers to courts. It sets forth the facts of a case, summarizes any lower court decisions on the case, gives the arguments for the side represented by the lawyer filing the brief, and discusses decisions in other cases that bear on the issue.

Question 4

civil law

Answer 4

A law that governs relationships between individuals and defines their legal rights.

Question 5

class-action suit

Answer 5

filed on behalf of everyone in that situation

Question 6

concurring opinion

Answer 6

a signed opinion in which one or more members agree with the majority view but for different reasons

Question 7

conservative/strict constructionist bloc

Answer 7

One of three groups of justices in the 1970s and 1980s, including Chief justice Warren Burger, who took a consistently conservative position on issues.

Question 8

constitutional court

Answer 8

a federal court authorized by article 3 that keeps judges in office during good behavior and prevents their salaries from being reduced. they are the supreme, appelate & district courts created by Congress

Question 9

courts of appeals

Answer 9

federal courts that hear appeals from district courts; no trials

Question 10

criminal law

Answer 10

the body of law dealing with crimes and their punishment

Question 11

dissenting opinion

Answer 11

a signed opinion in which one or more justices disagree with the majority view

Question 12

district courts

Answer 12

the lowest federal courts; federal trials can be held only here

Question 13

diversity cases

Answer 13

cases involving citizens of different states who can bring suit in federal courts

Question 14

dual sovereignty

Answer 14

A doctrine holding that state and federal authorities can prosecute the same person for the same conduct, each authority prosecuting under its own law.

Question 15

federal-question cases

Answer 15

cases concerning the constitution, federal laws or treaties

Question 16

fee shifting

Answer 16

a rule that allows a plaintiff to recover costs from the defendant if the plaintiff wins

Question 17

in forma pauperis

Answer 17

a method whereby a poor person can have his case heard in federal court without charge

Question 18

legislative court

Answer 18

courts created by congress for specialized purposes whose judges do not enjoy protections of article 3

Question 19

liberal/activist bloc

Answer 19

One of three groups of justices in the 1970s and 1980s, led by Justice William Brennan, who took a consistently liberal position on issues. It was usually in the minority.

Question 20

litmus test

Answer 20

an examination of the political idology of a nominated judge

Question 21

Marbury v. Madison

Answer 21

This case establishes the Supreme Court’s power of Judicial Review.

Question 22

McCulloch v. Maryland

Answer 22

An 1819 Supreme Court decision that established the supremacy of the national government over state governments. In deciding this case, Chief Justice John Marshall and his colleagues held that Congress had certain implied powers in addition to the enumerated powers found in the Constitution.

Question 23

Opinion of the Court

Answer 23

a signed opinion of a majority of the Supreme Court

Question 24

per curiam opinion

Answer 24

a brief, unsigned court opinion

Question 25

plaintiff

Answer 25

a person who brings a case against another in a court of law. Compare with defendant.

Question 26

political question

Answer 26

an issue the supreme court will allow the executive and legislative branches decide

Question 27

remedy

Answer 27

a judicial order enforcing a right or redressing a wrong

Question 28

Section 1983 case

Answer 28

A provision in the U.S. Code which allows a citizen to sue state and local government officials who have deprived the citizen of some constitutional right or withheld some benefit to which the citizen is entitled. If the citizen wins, he or she can collect money damages and lawyers’ fees from the government.

Question 29

solicitor general

Answer 29

determines the legal position that the US will take in the SCOTUS. files amicus curiae briefs in cases in which the fed govt has a significant interest, determines which cases the govt will appeal

Question 30

sovereign immunity

Answer 30

A legal concept that forbids a person from suing the government without its consent. Congress has given its consent for the government to be sued in many cases involving disputes over contracts or damage done as a result of negligence.

Question 31

standing

Answer 31

a legal rule stating who is authorized to start a lawsuit

Question 32

strict constructionist approach

Answer 32

An approach to judicial review which holds that judges should confine themselves to applying those rules that are stated in or clearly implied by the language of the Constitution.

Question 33

swing bloc

Answer 33

One of three groups of justices in the 1970s and 1980s that vacillated between liberal and conservative voting positions.

Question 34

adversarial press

Answer 34

press that is nationally suspicious of officials and writes embarrassing, sometimes career-ending stories.

Question 35

attack journalism

Answer 35

press that is nationally suspicious of officials and writes embarrassing, sometimes career-ending stories.

Question 36

background story

Answer 36

A public official’s explanation of current policy provided to the press on the condition that the source remain anonymous.

Question 37

confidentiality

Answer 37

name.
confidentiality Reporters’ keeping sources of their stories secret. Most states and the federal government allow courts to decide whether the need of a journalist to protect sources outweighs the interests of the government in gathering evidence in a crin-tinal investigation.

Question 38

equal-time rule

Answer 38

the rule that requires broadcast stations to sell air time equally to all candidates in a political campaign if they choose to sell it to any

Question 39

fairness doctrine

Answer 39

A former rule of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that required broadcasters to give time to opposing views if they broadcast a program giving one side of a controversial issue.

Question 40

feature stories

Answer 40

Media reports about public events knowledgeable to any reporter who cares to inquire, but involving acts and statements not routinely conveyed by a group of reporters. Thus a reporter must take the initiative and select a particular event as newsworthy, decide to write about it, and persuade an editor to run it.

Question 41

Federal Communications Commission

Answer 41

an independent governmeent agency that regulates interstate and international communications by radio and television and wire and cable and satellite

Question 42

gatekeeper

Answer 42

the position of the national press in choosing what topics become national issues for how long

Question 43

insider stories

Answer 43

Information not usually made public that becomes public because someone with inside knowledge tells a reporter. The reporter may have worked hard to learn these facts, in which it is called, “investigative reporting,” or some official mary have wanted a story to get out, in which case it is called a “leak.”

Question 44

loaded language

Answer 44

Words that reflect a value judgement, used to persuade the listener without making an argument. For example, if someone likes a politician, he might call him “the esteemed Senator Smith”; if he doesn’t like him, he might refer to him as “that right-wing or radical senator.”

Question 45

market (television)

Answer 45

An area easily reached by a television signal. There are about two hundred such markets in the country.

Question 46

mental tune-out

Answer 46

The attitude of a person who ignores or is irritated by messages from radio or television which do not agree with his or her existing beliefs.

Question 47

muckraker

Answer 47

A journalist who searches through the activities of public officials and organization seeking to expose conduct contrary to thee public interest. The term was first used by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 to warn that antibusiness journalism, while valuable, could be excessively negative.

Question 48

party press

Answer 48

Newspapers created, sponsored, and controlled by political parties to further their interests. This form of press existed in the early years of the American republic. Circulation was chiefly among political and commercial elites.

Question 49

political editorializing rule

Answer 49

A rule of the Federal Communications Commission that if a broadcaster endorses a candidate, the opposing candidate has a right to reply.

Question 50

popular press

Answer 50

Self-supporting daily newspapers aimed at a mass readership.

Question 51

prior restraint

Answer 51

Government censorship by forbidding publication of the information.

Question 52

right-of-reply rule

Answer 52

A rule of the Federal Communications Commission that if a person is attacked on a broadcast (other than in a regular news program), that person has the right to reply over that same situation.

Question 53

routine stories

Answer 53

Media reports about public events that are regularly covered by reporters and that involve simple, easily described acts or statements. For example, the president takes a trip or Congress passes a bill.

Question 54

scorekeeper

Answer 54

the national press as it keeps track of and makes political reputations

Question 55

selective attention

Answer 55

Paying attention only to those parts of a newspaper or broadcast story with which one agrees. Studies suggest that this is how people view political ads on television.

Question 56

sound bite

Answer 56

a radio or video clip of someone speaking

Question 57

trial balloon

Answer 57

Information provided to the media by an anonymous public official as a way of testing the public reaction to a possible policy or appointment.

Question 58

watchdog

Answer 58

role of the national press as it watches people who’re in the spotlight

Question 59

yellow journalism

Answer 59

Journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers