Ch 12 VOCAB

Question 1

amicus curiae

Answer 1

Latin for “friend of the court,” referring to persons, government agencies, or groups that are not parties to a case but nonetheless have an interest in its outcome and that make their views known by filing an ____ ____ brief with the court hearing the case

Question 2

appellate jurisdiction

Answer 2

includes cases a court receives from lower courts–congress defines the ____ ____ of the U.S. Supreme Court

Question 3

briefs

Answer 3

documents filed with a court containing the arguments of the parties in a case

Question 4

case

Answer 4

a controversy to be decided by a cour

Question 5

civil case

Answer 5

noncriminal legal action, such as divorces or attempts to recover damages following an automobile accident

Question 6

concurring opinion

Answer 6

a statement issued separately by a judge voting with the majority

Question 7

court of last resort

Answer 7

the highest court within a particular judicial system, such as a state supreme court, to which a litigant may appeal a case

Question 8

courts of general jurisdiction

Answer 8

the basic unit of a court system, receiving appeals from courts of limited jurisdiction and serving as trial courts for serious criminal offenses and civil suits involving substantial amounts of money

Question 9

courts of limited jurisdiction

Answer 9

the lowest-level court in a state’s judicial system that hears particular kinds of cases involving small claims, traffic violations, and minor criminal infractions

Question 10

crime

Answer 10

a public wrong; an offense, such as murder, against society at large–even though it may have been committed against only a single individual

Question 11

criminal case

Answer 11

judicial proceedings that the government begins against an individual following commission of a crime

Question 12

dissenting opinion

Answer 12

a statement issued by a judge explaining his or her disagreement with the majority position

Question 13

Eleventh Amendment

Answer 13

the first reversal of a Supreme Court decision [Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. (2 Dallas) 419 (1793)] by constitutional amendment, denying federal courts jurisdiction in suits against a state brought by citizens of another state or a foreign country

Question 14

federal courts

Answer 14

the courts of the United States, as distinguished from the courts of the fifty states

Question 15

federal question

Answer 15

an issue that involves the interpretation of the Constitution or a statute or a treaty of the United States

Question 16

intermediate appellate courts

Answer 16

courts between courts of general jurisdiction and the court of last resort; in the federal court system, the courts of appeals

Question 17

judicial activists

Answer 17

judges who are least hesitant to invoke judicial review to strike down an act of Congress or of a state legislature

Question 18

judicial restraintists

Answer 18

judges who are reluctant to invoke judicial review to strike down an act of Congress or of a state legislature

Question 19

judicial review

Answer 19

the authority of courts to set aside a legislative act as being in violation of the Constitution

Question 20

jurisdiction

Answer 20

authority of a court or other agency to act

Question 21

legislative intent

Answer 21

a legislature’s understanding of the meaning of a law and what it is designed to accomplish

Question 22

Missouri Plan

Answer 22

method of selecting state judges, involving appointment from a list of recommended nominees and a later retention vote by the electorate

Question 23

opinion of the Court

Answer 23

statement representing the views of a majority of the judges of the Court

Question 24

oral argument

Answer 24

event in which opposing counsel verbally present their views to the court during the decision making process of a court

Question 25

original jurisdiction

Answer 25

authority of a court over cases that begin in that court, such as courts of general jurisdiction having ____ ____ over most criminal offenses–the ____ ____ of the U.S. Supreme Court is very small

Question 26

precedents

Answer 26

prior decisions of courts that are cited as authority by other courts

Question 27

rule of four

Answer 27

procedure of the U.S. Supreme Court by which the affirmative votes of four justices are needed to accept a case for decision

Question 28

senatorial courtesy

Answer 28

custom in the Senate to reject, for federal office, a nominee who is unacceptable to a senator from the nominee’s state when the senator and president are of the same party

Question 29

Solicitor General of the United States

Answer 29

in the Supreme Court, the lawyer for the United States who decides which cases the government will appeal to the Supreme Court

Question 30

stare decisis

Answer 30

a legal doctrine that suggests courts should follow precedent as a general rule, breaking with previously legal principles only on rare occasions

Question 31

state courts

Answer 31

courts of the fifty states, as opposed to the federal or national courts

Question 32

trial court

Answer 32

a court of limited or general jurisdiction in which the disputed facts of a case are heard and decided

Question 33

United States courts of appeals

Answer 33

intermediate appellate courts in the federal court system, just below the Supreme Court

Question 34

United States district courts

Answer 34

trial courts in the federal court system in which almost all federal cases begin; courts of general jurisdiction

Question 35

United States Reports

Answer 35

the official, published decisions of the United States Supreme Cour

Question 36

writ of certiorari

Answer 36

a petition for review by a higher court, this is the most common route for an appeal to reach the Supreme Court