judicial defs Flashcards
Inferior courts
lower federal courts below the Supreme Court
Constitutional Courts
deals with judicial power in the US (courts of appeals, district courts, and the US Court of International Trade)
Special Courts
usually has a more narrow focus (US Court of Appeals for Armed Forces, the US Tax Court)
Jurisdiction
the authority of the court to hear and decide a case
Exclusive Jurisdiction
most cases in federal court fall in this category; this means that the case can ONLY be heard in Federal Court
Concurrent jurisdiction
a case that could be tried in either Federal or state court
Original Jurisdiction
the court in which the case was first heard (‘court of first instance’)
Appellate Jurisdiction
a court that hears the case of appeal from a lower court
Judicial Restraint
believe that judges should decide cases based on the original intent of the framers of the constitution and the idea of the Precedent (usually republicans)
Precedent
judicial decision that serves as a guide for settling later cases of a similar nature
Judicial Activism
believe that provisions in the Constitution and statute law should be interpreted and applied in light of ongoing changes in conditions and values (usually democrats)
FISA Court
a collection of 11 Federal Judges from around the country who are appointed to seven year terms by the chief justice of the US Supreme court
Supreme Court
conduct judicial reviews of laws in the US
Rule of Four
at least four of the nine justices must agree that a case should be put on the court docket
docket
schedule
Writ of Centiorari
order by the SC to a lower court directing the lower court to send up the record in a given case for it review
brief
a written statement that is supposed to outline the facts of the case and legal beliefs of the case
Solicitor General
a representative from the Department of Justice who represents the United States government in all cases which it is a party in the SC
majority opinion
sets out the facts in a case, identifies the issues its presents, and details the reasons for the majority’s decision
stands as precendents
concurring opinion
a justice who may agree with the majority opinion but writes their own opinion because the Majority opinion may not address a certain issue
dissenting opinion
one of more justices may write a dissenting opinion if they disagree with the majority opinion
DONT become legal precedents
