Chapter 11 Vocab Writing

Question 1

concurrent jurisdiction

Answer 1

authority shared by both federal and state courts

Question 2

original jurisdiction

Answer 2

the authority of a trial court to be first to hear a case

Question 3

appellate jurisdiction

Answer 3

authority held by a court to hear a case that is appealed from a lower court

Question 4

litigant

Answer 4

a person engaged in a lawsuit

Question 5

due process clause

Answer 5

14th amendment clause stating that no state may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Question 6

grand jury

Answer 6

group that hears charges against a suspect and decides whether there is sufficient evidence to bring the person to trial

Question 7

indictment

Answer 7

a formal charge by a grand jury

Question 8

petit jury

Answer 8

a trial jury, usually consisting of 6 or 12 people, that weighs the evidence presented at a trial and renders a verdict

Question 9

judicial circuit

Answer 9

a region containing a U.S. appellate court

Question 10

senatorial courtesy

Answer 10

a system in which the president submits the name of a candidate for judicial appointment to the senators from the candidate’s home state before formally submitting it for full senate approval

Question 11

riding the circuit

Answer 11

traveling to hold court in a justice’s assigned region of the country

Question 12

opinion

Answer 12

a written explanation of a supreme court’s decision.