Chapter 10 Flashcards
law established by the bureaucracy on behalf of congress
Administrative law
trial procedures designed to resolve conflicts through the clash of opposing sides, moderated by a neutral, passive judge who applies the law
Adversarial system
“friend of the court” documents filed by interested parties to encourage the court to grant or deny certiorari or to urge it to decide a case in a particular way
Amicus curiea briefs
a rehearing of a case because the losing party in the original trial argues that a law was not applied properly
Appeal
the authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts
Appellate jurisdiction
a legal system based on a detailed comprehensive legal code, usually created by the legislature
Civil law tradition
laws regulating interactions between individuals; violation of a civil law is called tort
Civil laws
a legal system based on the accumulated rulings of judges over time, applied uniformly judge made law
Common law traditions
documents written by justices expressing agreement with the majority ruling but describing different or additional reasons for the ruling
Concurring opinions
law stated in the constitution or in the body of judicial decisions about the meaning of the constitution handed down in the court
Constitutional law
institutions that sit as neutral third parties to resolve conflicts according to the law
Courts
laws prohibiting behavior the government has determined to be harmful to society; violation of a criminal law is called a crime
Criminal laws
documents written by justices expressing disagreement with the majority ruling
Dissenting opinions
trial procedures designed to determine the truth though the intervention of an active judge who seeks evidence and questions witnesses
inquisitorial systems
view that the courts should be lawmaking, policy making bodies
judicial activism
a judicial approach holding that the constitution is a living document and that judges should interpret it according to changing times and values
judicial interpretivism
view that the courts should reject any active lawmaking functions and stick to judicial interpretations of the past
judicial restraint
power of the supreme court to rule on the constitutionality of laws
judicial review
a court’s authority to hear certain cases
jurisdiction
applied the principle of judicial review - the power of federal courts to void acts of congress in conflict with the constitution. decision played a key role in making the supreme court a separate branch of government on par with congress and the executive.
Marbury v. Madison
the written decision of the court that states the judgment of the majority
Opinion
the authority of a court to hear a case first
Original jurisdiction
a previous decision or ruling that, in common law tradition, is binding on subsequent decisions
Precedent
procedural laws that protect the rights of individuals who must deal with the legal system
Procedural due process
laws that establish how laws are applied and enforced how legal proceedings take place
procedural laws
the unwritten requirement that four supreme court justices must agree to grant a case certiorari in order for the case to be heard
rule of four
tradition of granting senior senators of the president’s party considerable power over federal judicial appointments in their home states
senatorial courtesy
justice department office who argues the government’s case before the supreme court
solicitor general
laws passed by a state or the federal legislature
statutory laws
a judicial approach holding that the constitution should be read literally, with the framer’s intentions uppermost in mind
strict constructionism
laws whose content, or substance, defines what we can or cannot do
substantive laws
formal requests by the US supreme court to call up the lower court case it decides to hear on appeal
writs of certiorari
