Ch 9, 16, 14, 18 Key Terms Flashcards
A case that concerns a dispute involving individuals or organizations.
Civil Case
A case brought by the state against persons accused of violating a law.
Criminal Case
Usually, a case in which a government agency applies rules to settle a legal dispute.
Administrative Case
Unwritten law based on tradition, custom, or court decisions.
Common Law
Those courts with original jurisdiction over specialized cases such as juvenile offenses or traffic violations.
Limited Jurisdiction Trial Courts
Court of general jurisdiction that handles major criminal and civil cases.
Major Trial Court
The highlight state court, beyond which there is no appeal except in cases involving federal law.
Supreme Court
A state appellate court that relieves the case burden on the supreme court by hearing certain types of appeals.
Intermediate Appellate Court
Negotiation between a prosecutor and a criminal defendant’s counsel that results in the defendant pleading guilty to a lesser charge or pleading guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Plea Bargaining
Trial by a single judge, without a jury.
Bench Trial
A trial in which a jury decides the facts and makes a finding of guilty or not guilty.
Trial by Jury
The legal principle that previous similar court decisions should be applied to future decisions.
Precedent
The legal doctrine that precedent set in earlier cases should guide judges’ rulings.
Stare Decisis
State constitutional and statutory laws are consulted and applied before federal law.
Judicial Federalism
The making of judicial public policy through decisions that overturn existing law or effectively make new laws.
Judicial Activism
A civil wrong that causes harm to another person, such as an auto accident, product liability, or defamation.
Tort
A group of citizens appointed to determine if there is enough evidence to bring a person to trial.
Grand Jury
A formal, written accusation submitted to a court by a grand jury, alleging a specified crime.
Indictment
Illegal acts that, in theory, do no one any harm.
Victimless Crimes
Sentencing in which a judge exercises discretion when deciding on the number of years for the sentence.
Indeterminate Sentencing
Mandatory sentencing that is determined by law, not a judge’s discretion.
Determinate Sentencing
Program in which offenders are released from prison to serve the remainder of their sentence under community supervision.
Parole
Instead of incarceration, this program permits minor offenders to remain in the community under supervision, or to serve brief sentences followed _____.
Probation
Sentencing in which the punishment matches the crime and the characteristics of the convicted person.
Creative Sentencing
Prison boot camps provide this option for young offenders, who receive paramilitary and physical training intended to shock the offender into staying out of trouble and learning self discipline.
Shock Incarceration
A process by which a community, state, or nation increases its level of per capita income, high-quality jobs, and capital investment.
Economic Development
Financial assistance given by a government to a firm or enterprise.
Subsidy
Special funds earmarked for new, innovative businesses that cannot get conventional financing.
Venture Capital Pools
Facilities that provide services aimed at nurturing start-up businesses.
Small-Business Incubators
Areas of a community that offer special government incentives aimed at stimulating investment.
Enterprise/Empowerment Zone
Geographically concentrated firms that compete and trade with each other and have similar needs.
Clusters
An economy based in global technology and knowledge, as opposed to the old economy based in national manufacturing.
New Economy
An approach to economic development that emphasizes adaptation to changing conditions and anticipation of future events.
Strategic Planning
A tax on hotel-or motel-room occupancy, with the revenues usually earmarked for tourism-related uses.
Accommodations Tax
Comfort and conveniences that contribute to quality of life.
Amenities
The right of a government to seize private property for public use, in exchange for payment of fair market value.
Eminent Domain
The enticements that state and local governments offer to retain or attract businesses and industry.
Incentive Package
Requirements that subsidized firms repay some or all of the subsidy if they fail to deliver on their promises.
Clawbacks
A method by which local governments use large-scale commercial development projects to accomplish social objectives.
Linkaging
A form of self-policing in which the regulated firm conducts its own review of its performance and voluntarily reports violations.
Environmental Self-Audit
Occurs when states alter their behaviors by relaxing regulations, lowering taxes, or reducing benefits to gain an advantage over competing states.
Race to the Bottom
The simultaneous achievement of economic development and environmental protection.
Sustainability
An approach common to federal environmental laws that requires states to apply federal standards.
Partial Pre-Emption
The size of the environmental impact imposed on the earth and its resources.
Ecological Footprint
Not in my backyard; the public desire to keep an unwanted facility out of a neighborhood.
NIMBY
Put in my backyard; a willingness to accept what other do not want, because of the economic benefit.
PIMBY
Abandoned industrial sites with real or perceived environmental contamination.
Brownfields
Locally unwanted land use; a broad category of undesirable facilities such as landfills and prisons.
LULU
Formal agreements among a subset of states, usually to solve a problem that affects each of the member states.
Interstate Compacts
Not in my term of office; the desire by elected officials to avoid accepting LULUs while they are in office.
NIMTOO
