Chapter 4: The Court System and the Role of Judges

Question 1

Court

Answer 1

A unit of the judicial branch of government that has authority to decide legal disputes.

Question 2

Jurisdiction

Answer 2

The power of a court to hear a case.

Question 3

Trial courts

Answer 3

Courts that determine the facts and apply the law to the facts.

Question 4

Original jurisdiction

Answer 4

The authority of a court to hear a case when it is initiated, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction.

Question 5

Bench trial

Answer 5

A trial conducted without a jury.

Question 6

Appellate courts

Answer 6

Courts that determine whether lower courts have made errors of law.

Question 7

Appellant or petitioner

Answer 7

The party in a case who has initiated an appeal.

Question 8

Appellee or respondent

Answer 8

The party in a case against whom an appeal has been filed.

Question 9

Harmless error

Answer 9

A trial court error that is not sufficient to warrant reversing the decision.

Question 10

Reverse

Answer 10

A decision is reversed when an appellate court disagrees with the decision of a lower court.

Question 11

Remand

Answer 11

When an appellate court sends a case back to the trial court for a new trial or other action.

Question 12

Majority opinion

Answer 12

An opinion in which a majority of the court joins.

Question 13

Concurring opinion

Answer 13

An opinion that agrees with the majority’s result but disagrees with its reasoning.

Question 14

Dissenting opinion

Answer 14

An opinion that disagrees with the majority’s decision and its reasoning.

Question 15

Questions of fact

Answer 15

Questions relating to what happened: who, what, when, where, and how.

Question 16

Questions of law

Answer 16

Questions relating to the interpretation or application of the law.

Question 17

Entrapment

Answer 17

A defense requiring proof that the defendant would not have committed the crime but for police trickery.

Question 18

Constitutional court

Answer 18

A court established by Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

Question 19

U.S. district courts

Answer 19

The general jurisdiction trial courts in the federal system.

Question 20

U.S. courts of appeals

Answer 20

The intermediate appellate courts in the federal system.

Question 21

U.S. Supreme Court

Answer 21

The highest level federal appellate court, consisting of nine appointed members.

Question 22

General jurisdiction

Answer 22

A court’s power to hear any type of case arising within its geographical area.

Question 23

Limited jurisdiction

Answer 23

A court’s power to hear only specialized cases.

Question 24

Subpoena

Answer 24

A court order requiring a person to appear to testify at a trial or deposititon.

Question 25

En banc

Answer 25

When an appellate court that normally sits in panels sits as a whole.

Question 26

Writ of certiorari

Answer 26

A means of gaining appellate review; in the U.S. Supreme Court the writ is discretionary and will be issued to another court to review a federal question if four of the nine justices vote to hear the case.

Question 27

Legislative courts

Answer 27

Courts created under Congress’s Article I powers.

Question 28

Court of record

Answer 28

A court where a permanent record is kept of the testimony, lawyers’ remarks, and judges’ rulings.

Question 29

Exclusive jurisdiction

Answer 29

When only one court has the power to hear the case.

Question 30

Concurrent jurisdiction

Answer 30

When more than one court has jurisdiction to hear a case.

Question 31

Federal question

Answer 31

A legal question involving the application of a federal law.

Question 32

Diversity jurisdiction

Answer 32

The power of the federal courts to hear matters of state law if the opposing parties are from different states and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.

Question 33

Removal

Answer 33

The transfer of a case from one state court to another or from state court to federal court.

Question 34

Stare decisis

Answer 34

The doctrine that normally once a court has decided an issue, other courts in the same jurisdiction will decide the same way.

Question 35

Precedent

Answer 35

One or more prior court decisions.

Question 36

Case of first impression

Answer 36

A type of case that the court has never faced before.

Question 37

Mandatory authority

Answer 37

Analogous court decisions from a higher court in the same jurisdiction.

Question 38

Persuasive authority

Answer 38

Analogous court decisions from an equal or a lower court from the same jurisdiction, or from a court in a different jurisdiction; also includes secondary authority.

Question 39

Analogous

Answer 39

Similar; analogous cases involve similar facts and rules of law.

Question 40

Distinguishable

Answer 40

Different; distinguishable cases involve different facts or rules of law.

Question 41

Plain meaning approach

Answer 41

A method for interpreting enacted law in which the key terms are interpreted in light of their dictionary definitions and use in ordinary conversations.

Question 42

Contextual approach

Answer 42

A method for interpreting enacted law in which other parts of the same document or similar documents are examined to see how the same words or phrases were used in those related contexts.

Question 43

Legislative history approach

Answer 43

A method for interpreting statutes, regulations, and constitutional provisions in which judges attempt to determine what the drafters intended to accomplish by passing the law.

Question 44

Originalism approach

Answer 44

A method for interpreting constitutional provisions in which judges attempt to determine what the average person, living at the time the provision was adopted, thought the provision meant.