Judicial Flashcards
What is Common Law System?
- Developed in England
- A system of Law judges made laws in absence of written law, those decisions served as precedent
What is precedent?
- A legal decision or case that serves:
- -> As a guide or pattern for future similar cases.
- -> Authoritative rule or pattern in future cases
What are 3 characteristics of the U.S. legal system?
- Adversarial Legal System
- -> 2 adversaries making a cases and 1 prevails - Relatively short legal codes
- Stare Decisis
- ->Is a doctrine for
What is Stare Decisis?
- Legal reasoning developed by judges to make legal decisions with out clear laws
- Law Def. is courts will adhere to decided cases
What is the purpose of Stare Decisis?
-To create certainty, predictability, and stability in the legal system
What are 3 options of a Supreme Court Judge when faced with a case?
- Precedent
- Over turn Precedent
- Selectively applying Precedent
- –>Decide a case that supports the judges philosophy
What is Court Opinion?
- Document listing reasons why the judges decided the case they way they did.
- Lists constitutional issues, and Stare Decisis
What are Civil Liberties?
-Individual rights that all citizen and residents have that protect them form the power of the government
How are Civil Liberties and Civil Rights different?
-Civil Rights is a groups treated equally under the law and civil liberities is directed toward the individual
Where are the Civil Liberties of the people written?
-Bill of Rights
What amendments in the Bill of Rights compromise civil liberties?
-1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, & 14th
What do each civil liberties amendment establish ?
- 1st: Creation of separation of church and state & freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, and press
- 4th: Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures
- 5th: Due process of law before the government can take away life, liberty, and property
- 6th: Right of a speedy trail by peers
- 8th: Right to be free of unusual punishments and excessive bails
- 14th: Repeats the due process of law rights
What are Expos Facto’s Laws?
-Prevents the government from having retro-active laws or laws that are written after the fact
What is Habeus Corpus?
-Government cannot unlawfully detain a citizen
What is the purpose of Expo’s Facto’s Law?
- Is for government not to have power to create laws to target individuals
i. e. a revolution
What is the purpose of Habeus Corpus Law?
-So citizens know what laws they are accused of having been broken in order for the person to defend themselves
What is due process?
-Is the government legal steps have to take before having an individuals rights of “life, liberty, and property “ deprived
What are the purposes of the 5th and 6th amendment?
- To prevent Expos Facto law
- Habeaus laws required
Why are not all the Bill of Rights in the Civil Liberties?
- Some of the amendments are not relevant in todays society
- For example the 2nd Amendment with “Right to Bear Arms” since there is police force and not living an agrarian society
What is the establishment clause?
-Part of the 1st amendment that prevents government from having religion
What is eminent domain?
-Govt. doc. that allows govt. to seize public or private property for use.
What is common law?
-Inherited law form Eng. that has judges make decisions from past cases
What amendments prevent property from being seized?
- 4th :Consent from a judge
- 5ht: Before govt. can take land must go through legal steps
What are a few issues of with civil liberities?
- 6th with CA does not have a speedy trial
- The courts get to define what constitutes a speedy trial, cruel and unusual punishment
- 8th amendment changes over time
