Chapter 1 Continued Flashcards
Administrative agencies
Enforce and interpret statutes enacted by Congress and state legislatures
Administrative rules and regulations
Interpret the statutes that the agency is authorized to enforce
Executive orders
An order issued by a member of the executive branch of the government
Judicial decisions
A decision about an individual lawsuit issued by federal or state courts
Precedent
A rule of law established in a court decision. Lower courts must follow the precedent established by higher courts
Stare decisis
“To stand by the decision” or Adherence to precedent
Critical legal thinking
The process of specifying the issue presented by a case, identifying the key facts in the case and applicable law, and then applying the law to the facts to come to a conclusion that answers the issue presented
Plaintiff
The party who originally brought the lawsuit
Defendant
The party against whom the lawsuit has been brought
Petitioner or Appellant
The party who has appealed the decision of the trial court or lower court. The petitioner may be either the plaintiff or defendant, depending on who lost the case at the trial court or lower court level
Respondent or Appellee
The party who must answer the petitioner’s appeal. The respondent may be either the plaintiff or defendant, depending on which party is the petitioner. In some cases, both the plaintiff and the defendant may disagree with the trial court’s or lower court’s decision, and both parties may appeal the decision
Case brief
a summary of each of the following items of a case:
- Case name and citation
- Key facts
- Issue presented
- Holding (decision reached by the present court) of the court
- Court’s reasoning
Flexibility
The law must be flexible to meet social, technological, and economic changes in the United States and the world
Fairness
Although the American legal system is one of the fairest and most democratic systems of law, abuses of process and mistakes in the application of the law do occur
