Chapter 1 - Development of American Law - Terminology

Question 1

a system of justice involving conflicting parties where the role of the judge is to remain neutral

Answer 1

adversarial system of justice

Question 2

judicial tribunals that review decisions from lower tribunals

Answer 2

appellate courts

Question 3

The Constitution under which the United States was governed between 1781 and 1789

Answer 3

Articles of Confederation

Question 4

The first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791, concerned primarily with individual rights and liberties

Answer 4

Bill of Rights

Question 5

A codification of principles of the English Common Law published in 1769 by Sir William Blackstone, an author and professor

Answer 5

Blackstone’s Commentaries

Question 6

The violation of a provisions in a legally enforceable agreement that gives the damaged party the right to recourse in a court of law

Answer 6

breach of contract

Question 7

The laws of a church

Answer 7

canon law

Question 8

Purposeful, peaceful lawmaking to dramatize one’s opposition to the law

Answer 8

civil disobediance

Question 9

The law relating to rights and obligations of parties

Answer 9

civil law

Question 10

Code of laws compiled by Roman Emperor Justinian c. 535 AD

Answer 10

Code of Justinian

Question 11

Collection of laws usually indexed by subject matter

Answer 11

codification

Question 12

A nation’s fundamental law

Answer 12

constitution

Question 13

An offense against society punishable under the criminal law

Answer 13

crime

Question 14

The law defining crimes and punishments

Answer 14

criminal law

Question 15

The process by which a person is charged with a criminal offense

Answer 15

criminal prosecutions

Question 16

Law declared by appellate courts in their written decisions and opinions

Answer 16

decisional law

Question 17

Formal document of July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America as an independent nation

Answer 17

Declaration of Independence

Question 18

A person charged with a crime or against whom a civil action has been initiated

Answer 18

defendant

Question 19

Articles I, II and III of the US Constitution, delineating the powers and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, respectively of the national government

Answer 19

distributive articles

Question 20

In constitutional law, the doctrine that the 14th Amendment incorporates the provisions of the Bill of Rights and thus makes them applicable to the states

Answer 20

doctrine of incorporation

Question 21

Procedural and substantive rights of the citizens against government actions that threaten the denial of life, liberty or property

Answer 21

due process of law

Question 22

A system of legal rules and principles recognized by English judges prior to the colonization of America and accepted as a basic aspect of the American legal system

Answer 22

English common law

Question 23

Historically, a system of rules, remedies, customs, and principles developed in England to supplement the harsh common law by emphasizing the concept of fairness. In addition, because common law served only to recompense after injury, this was devised to prevent injuries that could not be repaired or recompensed after the fact. In modern America, these are administered by the same courts.

Answer 23

equity

Question 24

The function of appellate courts in correcting errors committed by lower tribunals in their interpretation and application of law, evidence and procedure

Answer 24

error correction function

Question 25

An order by a president or governor directing some particular action to be taken

Answer 25

executive order

Question 26

A hearing in a court of law that conforms to standards of procedural justice

Answer 26

fair hearing

Question 27

The requirement stemming from due process that government provide adequate notice to a person before it deprives that person of life, liberty or property

Answer 27

fair notice

Question 28

The collective term for the myriad departments, agencies and bureaus of the federal government

Answer 28

federal bureaucracy

Question 29

The constitutional distribution of government power and responsibility between the national government and the states

Answer 29

federalism

Question 30

A serious crime for which a person may be incarcerated for more than one year

Answer 30

felony

Question 31

Ratified in 1868, prohibiting states from depriving persons in their jurisdictions of due process and equal protection

Answer 31

Fourteenth Amendment

Question 32

"You have the body." A judicial order issued to an official holding someone in custody, requiring the official to bring the prisoner to court for the purpose of allowing the court to determine whether that person is being held legally.

Answer 32

habeas corpus

Question 33

A court order prohibiting someone from doing some specified act or commanding someone to undo some wrong or injury

Answer 33

injunction

Question 34

English institutions founded in the 14th century where judges and experienced barristers served as teachers and mentors to those aspiring to become barristers

Answer 34

Inns of Court

Question 35

a decision by a court of law

Answer 35

judicial decision

Question 36

generally, the review of any issue by a court of law. In American constitutional law, refers to the authority of a court to invalidate acts of government on constitutional grounds

Answer 36

judicial review

Question 37

One of the principal functions of an appellate court, often referred to as the law development function, in which the appellate court makes law by interpreting or reinterpreting a constitutional or statutory provision

Answer 37

lawmaking function

Question 38

Compilations of statutory laws usually indexed by subject matter

Answer 38

legal codes

Question 39

An elected lawmaking body such as Congress or a state assembly

Answer 39

legislature

Question 40

The ancient law of retaliation, commonly referred to as "an eye for an eye"

Answer 40

lex talionis

Question 41

The idea that law should protect people from one another but not protect the individual from his or her unfortunate choices

Answer 41

libertarian view of law

Question 42

The "Great Charter" signed by King John in 1215 guaranteeing the legal rights of English subjects. Generally considered the foundation of Anglo-American constitutionalism

Answer 42

Magna Carta

Question 43

A minor offense usually punishable by fine or imprisonment for less than one year

Answer 43

misdemeanor

Question 44

The codification of the civil and criminal laws of France promulgated under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804

Answer 44

Napoleonic Code

Question 45

Principles of human conduct believed to be ordained by God or nature, existing prior to and superseding human law

Answer 45

natural law

Question 46

An enactment of a local governing body such as a city council or commission

Answer 46

ordinance

Question 47

The party initiating legal action; the complaining party

Answer 47

plaintiff

Question 48

The power of government to legislate to protect public health, safety, welfare and mortality

Answer 48

police power

Question 49

The written law enforced by the government

Answer 49

positive law

Question 50

Judicial decisions cited as authority controlling or influencing the outcome of a similar case

Answer 50

precedents

Question 51

Set of procedures designed to ensure fairness in a judicial or administrative proceeding

Answer 51

procedural due process

Question 52

Popular acceptance of an institution based on the perception that it operates by valid procedures

Answer 52

procedural legitimacy

Question 53

A legally binding rule or order prescribed by a controlling authority. The term is generally with respect to the rules promulgated by administrative and regulatory agencies

Answer 53

regulation

Question 54

Laws that prevailed among the Romans first codified in the Twelve Tables; basis of the modern civil law in most European countries

Answer 54

Roman Law

Question 55

The idea that law, not the discretion of officials, should govern public affairs

Answer 55

rule of law

Question 56

Formal process by which regulatory agencies make rules that carry the force of law

Answer 56

rulemaking

Question 57

The authority of an independent nation or state to govern within its territorial limits

Answer 57

sovereignty

Question 58

a court-imposed requirement that a party perform obligations incurred under a contract

Answer 58

specific performance

Question 59

"The stand by matters decided." The principle that past decisions should stand as precedents for future decisions. This principle, which stands for the proposition that precedents are binding on later decisions, is said the be followed less rigorously in constitutional law than in other branches of law.

Answer 59

stare decisis

Question 60

A generally applicable law enacted by a legislature

Answer 60

statute

Question 61

The official interpretation of a statute rendered by a court of law

Answer 61

statutory construction

Question 62

Doctrine that Due Process Clauses of the 5th and 14th Amendments require legislation to be fair and reasonable in content as well as application

Answer 62

substantive due process

Question 63

The belief that the government or legal system is enacting rules and policies that are fair, reasonable and just

Answer 63

substantive legitimacy

Question 64

A wrong or injury other than a breach of contract for which the remedy is a civil suit for damages

Answer 64

tort

Question 65

A legally binding agreement between two or more countries. In the US, treaties are negotiated by the President but must be ratified by the Senate.

Answer 65

treaty

Question 66

Courts whose primary function is the conduct of civil and/or criminal trials

Answer 66

trial courts

Question 67

A collection of laws designed to be uniformly adopted by various cases, such as the Uniform Commercial Code

Answer 67

uniform codes

Question 68

The supreme law of the United States, this document adopted in 1787 replaced the Confederation of Articles and lays out the structures and powers of government as well as basic rights of individuals.

Answer 68

United States Constitution

Question 69

An order issued by a court of law requiring or prohibiting the performance of some specific act

Answer 69

writ

Question 70

Lecture : At the start of the Constitution, states and the fed were separate entities with separate powers, per (1). As state powers eroded, this developed into (2) and even (3), or "blackmail."

Answer 70

1. dual federalism 2. cooperative federalism 3. coercive federalism

Question 71

Lecture: The Supremacy Clause--stating the US Constitution reigns supreme--applies to the (1) and it is up to the (2) to make conflicting laws consistent.

Answer 71

1. Circuit of Appeals 2. Supreme Court

Question 72

Lecture: The (1) is the last enumerated power of Congress and allows for its implied powers.

Answer 72

1. Necessary and Proper Clause

Question 73

Lecture: The Commerce Clause often pops up when there is a feling of (1). During the 1950s the Great Depression saw the case (2) in which wheat grown for chickens was placed under the same limits--imposed to drive up prices--imposed on sellers of wheat. The problem was not that he was selling it, but that he was not *buying* it. The limit was upheld and a testament to (3).

Answer 73

1. social injustice 2. Wickard v. Filbern 3. the federal government's increased power to regulate economic activity

Question 74

Lecture: The actual original purpose of the Commerce Clause was to prevent states from putting (1) on products from other states. The (2) were written to help secure ratification, and they helped explain the Constitution.

Answer 74

1. tariffs 2. Federalist Papers

Question 75

Lecture: The US is a (1), not a (2). The former is a (3), whereas the latter is a (4) and carries the threat of mob rule as well as questions of what consitutes a majority. It has also been said that a democracy cannot (5) and will fold once citizens realize they can vote themselves gifts.

Answer 75

1. representative republic 2. democracy 3. constitutionally-limited government of representation 4. rule by an omnipotent majority 5. exist indefinitely

Question 76

Lecture: The collapse of a government does not lead to a (1). One example of this is the Roman Empire's fall and the succeeding (2).

Answer 76

1. better government 2. Dark Ages

Question 77

Lecture: Positive law is the (1). To be law, it must (2). To be accepted as legitimate, it must be perceived as (3). This discussion comes up when talking about topics like fair taxes, Dred Scott, and "loopholes" like morgage tax deductions.

Answer 77

1. command of the sovereign 2. apply with equal force to everyone 3. rational, fair and just

Question 78

Lecture: The (1) and (2) are examples of the application of natural law.

Answer 78

1. Declaration of Independence 2. Bill of Rights

Question 79

Lecture: The key part of civil disobedience--and the part that brings attention to the unfairness of the law opposed--is (1). (2) seemingly failed at this, having no apparent cause and effecting no change, because there was no leader prosecuted. (3) agued for better and inactive government, but not for "no" government.

Answer 79

1. willingly accepting the penalties 2. Occupy Wall Street 3. Henry David Thoreau

Question 80

Lecture: Substantive law is the (1) and (2) the lawyer is arguing. Procedural law is (3) and (4) the lawyer is arguing.

Answer 80

1. content 2. what 3. how the law is enacted and applies 3. how

Question 81

Lecture: Law protect (1) and their (2), and promote (3). But how far into the latter shoud they go? Before (4), laws were based on norms, morals and religion. Laws change as (5) change. (gay rights, strip clubs, airport security) (6) is not synonymous to equal justice, and often pops up during trying times. ("right to own a home")

Answer 81

1. people 2. property 3. social order 4. codes 5. values 6. Social justice

Question 82

Lecture: (1) have the most developed legal systems, especially in protecitng (2), e.g., eminent domain.

Answer 82

1. Capitalistic 2. property rights

Question 83

Lecture: Many statutes were enacted to counteract aggressive church maneuvers when (1) prevailed. One of these was (2), which allowed a person to will no more than 25% of their land to their land to the church.

Answer 83

1. canon law 2. Mort main statutes

Question 84

Lecture: Common law brings (1) to the modern era, and is based on (2). It helped to unify various (3). In courts of law, people sue for (4); in courts of equity, parties are looking for (5), or injuctions/specific performances. The (6) was the precursor to this, and examples are dissolution of marriage or probate.

Answer 84

1. Roman Law 2. custom and usage 3. fiefdoms 4. money 5. fairness or justice 6. Court of Chancery

Question 85

Lecture: A writ is a (1). A (2) attaches a debt to a certain bank account. A (3) seeks the return of property. The writ of habeas corpus was suspended during the (4) so Lincoln could try rebels in military court instead of civil court.

Answer 85

1. court order 2. writ of attachment 3. writ of replevin 4. Civil War