Chapter 10 Vocabulary Flashcards
Plaintiff
An individual or a group of people who bring a complaint against another party.
Defendant
The party who answers a complaint and defends against it in a court case
Prosecution
A government body that brings a charge against a defendant who is accused of the breaking of its laws
Precedent
A guideline for how similar cases should be decided in the future.
Original Jurisdiction
A court’s authority to hear a case first
Appeal
To ask a higher court to review a decision and determine whether justice was misdone.
Appellate Jurisdiction
A court’s authority to hear an appeal of a decision by another court.
Courts of Appeal
Courts that handle appeals from lower federal district courts
Circuit courts
Another name for courts of appeal
Judicial Review
The Supreme’s Court’s power to overturn any law that it decides is in conflict of the Constitution
Judicial Activism
An effort by judges to take an active role in policymaking by overturning laws relatively often
Judicial Restraint
An effort by judges to avoid overturning laws and leave policymaking up to the other two branches of the government.
Opinion
A written statement by a court explaining the reason for a decision.
Civil cases
A noncriminal lawsuit, usually involving private property rights.
Appellate Court
A court that is responsible for hearing and reviewing appeals from legal cases that have already been heard in a lower court
