Courts

Question 1

litigation

Answer 1

the process of taking legal action

Question 2

dual court system

Answer 2

?

Question 3

litigants

Answer 3

actors in the judicial system

Question 4

plaintiff

Answer 4

brings the charges against someone

Question 5

defendant

Answer 5

who the charges are brought against

Question 6

jury

Answer 6

group of impartial citizens who decide the outcome of the trial

Question 7

prosecutor

Answer 7

attorney who institutes legal proceedings against someone.

Question 8

defendant attorney

Answer 8

defend the defendant

Question 9

standing to sue

Answer 9

The requirement that plaintiffs have a serious interest in a case, which depends on whether they have sustained or are likely to sustain a direct and substantial injury from a party or an action of government.

Question 10

class action suits

Answer 10

Lawsuits permitting a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated.

Question 11

judiciable disputes

Answer 11

A requirement that to be heard in a case must be capable of being settled as a matter of law rather than on other grounds as is commonly the case in legislative.

Question 12

Amicus curiae briefs

Answer 12

Legal briefs submitted by a “friend of the court” for the purpose of raising additional points of view presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties. These briefs attempt to influence a court’s decision.

Question 13

NAACP

Answer 13

selected case brown v. board of education to optimize a decision in their favor

Question 14

ACLU

Answer 14

admit some of the clients the represent are scurvy but use them to push agenda

Question 15

common law

Answer 15

based on the legal concept of stare decisis, or judicial precedent.

Question 16

precedent

Answer 16

How similar cases have been decided in the past.

Question 17

constitutional courts

Answer 17

addressed in article 3

created by constitution

Question 18

legislative courts

Answer 18

article 1 created by congress

ex.) Military appeals and court of claims

Question 19

original jurisdiction

Answer 19

The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts about a case.

Question 20

appellate jurisdiction

Answer 20

The jurisdiction of courts that hear cases brought to them on appeal from lower courts. These courts do not review the factual record, only the legal issues involved.

Question 21

district courts

Answer 21

The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction. They are the only federal courts in which trial are held and in which juries may be impaneled.

usually 1 judge per case
diversity of citizenship
lots of assistants 
98% are held at local courts not federal
2% of 250,000 civil cases are decided in court

Question 22

cases heard by district courts

Answer 22

federal crimes, civil suits, (federal or between citizens of 75,000), bankruptcy, review agencies, maritime law, naturalization of aliens

Question 23

courts of appeal

Answer 23

Appellate courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts, except in rare cases.
Us divided into 12 circuits
75% come from district courts

Question 24

The US court of appeals for the federal circuit

Answer 24

12 judges

patents, copyrights, claims against government, international trade

Question 25

Supreme Court

Answer 25

The pinnacle of the American judicial system. The court ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolves conflicts among states, and maintains national supremacy in law. (discretionary jurisdiction) but unlike other federal courts, it controls its own agenda.

8 justices and 1 chief justice

Question 26

discretionary jurisdiction

Answer 26

both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction and control of the agenda

Question 27

rule of fours

Answer 27

4 supreme court justices must agree to review a case

Question 28

senatorial courtesy (lower courts)

Answer 28

An unwritten traditions whereby nominations for state-level federal judicial posts are not confirmed if they are opposed by a senator from the state in which the nominee will serve. The tradition also applies to courts of appeal when there is opposition from the nominee’s state senator.

Question 29

process of selecting a supreme court justice

Answer 29

dept. of justice and federal Bureau of investigation identify and screen nominees
justices and Standing Committee on Fed. Judiciary try to influence nominations
candidates keep a low profile
20% fail rate before senate (very high)

Question 30

politics of selection process

Answer 30

partisanship only 13 have been nominated by pres. of opposing party
ideology similar to pres.
white men, but recently more variety and effort to get more diversity
often appellate judge experience or worked for dept. of justice

Question 31

writ of certiorari

Answer 31

put case on docket, issue to a lower federal court or state and order a record sent up for review

Question 32

Solicitor General

Answer 32

A presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of Justice. in charge of appellate court litigation of the fed. government

1. decide whether to appeal cases gov’t has lost
2. review and modify briefs presented in gov appeals
3. represent gov at SCOTUS
4. submit a brief on behalf of a litigant in a case where gov is not directly involved

Question 33

Per Curiam Decision

Answer 33

An unsigned and typically brief court opinion.

Question 34

Opinion (majority)

Answer 34

A statement of legal reasoning behind a judicial decision.

Question 35

litmus test

Answer 35

An examination of the political ideology of a nominated judge

Question 36

concurring opinion

Answer 36

support the majority opinion but for a different reason

Question 37

dissenting opinion

Answer 37

opposed to part or all of the majority

Question 38

stare decisis

Answer 38

A Latin phrase meaning “let the decision stand.” Most cases reaching appellate courts are settled on this principle.

Question 39

judicial implementation

Answer 39

How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, thereby affecting the behavior of others.

Question 40

original intent

Answer 40

A view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intent of the framers.

Question 41

implementation

Interpreting Populations

Answer 41

lawyers and judges sense intent of the original decision in subsequent actions

Question 42

implementation

Implementing Populations

Answer 42

those responsible for putting decision into effect

Question 43

implementation

Consumer Population

Answer 43

people are aware of their rights

Question 44

judicial restraint

Answer 44

A judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policymaking roles, leaving that duty strictly to the legislatures.

Question 45

judicial activism

Answer 45

A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground. Advocates of this approach emphasize that the courts can correct pressing needs, especially those unmet by the majoritarian political process.

Question 46

statutory construction

Answer 46

The judicial interpretation of an act of Congress.

Question 47

political questions

Answer 47

A doctrine developed by the federal courts and used as a means to avoid deciding some cases, principally those involving conflicts between the president and Congress.

Question 48

Marbury v. madison

Answer 48

The 1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall and his associates first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The decision established the Court’s power of judicial review over acts of Congress, in this case the Judiciary Act of 1789.

Question 49

judicial review

Answer 49

The power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress, and by implication the executive, are in accord with the U.S. Constitution.

Question 50

Roosevelt’s court packing plan

Answer 50

wanted to expand the number of judges on the court but did not pass through congress

Question 51

warren court

Answer 51

under chief justice warren
liberal
desegregated schools
right to counsel and protections against unreasonable searches

Question 52

Burger court

Answer 52

roe v. wade
narrowed defendant rights
us v. Nixon
more conservative but still supported desegregation

Question 53

Rehnquist court

Answer 53

conservative
very active
limited rights and no longer concerned with civil rights
constrained federal government