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AP US Government > The Federal Courts > Flashcards

The Federal Courts Flashcards

1
Q

What is a plaintiff?

A

The person suing, and the person listed first in the case

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2
Q

What is a litigant?

A

Someone who is suing over something

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3
Q

To go to court, one must have…

A

Standing to sue (serious interest)

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4
Q

What is a class action lawsuit?

A

Multiple people suing

Ex/ brown vs board of education

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5
Q

What is justifiable dispute?

A

Must be justified to go to court

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6
Q

What can interest groups submit to the court?

A

Amicus curiae briefs. These provide statistics, new points of view, and info not presented. The government can present these too

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7
Q

What is the judiciary act 1789?

A

Established a constitutional court

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8
Q

What are the two levels of federal courts?

A

Original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction

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9
Q

What is original jurisdiction?

A

Where the case starts, most cases start and end here

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10
Q

What is appellate jurisdiction?

A

When you appeal and hear the case again

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11
Q

How many district courts are there?

A

91, all of original jurisdiction

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12
Q

What do federal district courts see cases about?

A

Federal law, civil suits from different states, bankruptcy, naturalization, maritime law

These cases are you vs United States, which is represented by the district attorney

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13
Q

How many US court of appeals are there?

A

12, all of appellate jurisdiction

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14
Q

What does the US Court of appeals of federal circuit do?

A

Deals with federal laws such as patents and international trade

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15
Q

Supreme Court…

A

Is the final court
Usually appellate jurisdiction
The exceptions are Bush vs Gore, United States vs Nixon, and the healthcare act

Majority of cases come from lower courts

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16
Q

How many sc justices are there?

A

9, 8 associate and 1 Chief Justice, who is John Roberts

17
Q

How are Supreme Court justices picked?

A

1) political affiliation
2) ABA Score
3) experience (types of cases, number of cases, and how they ruled on cases)
4) senatorial courtesy
5) interest groups
6) Supreme Court justices
7) FBI
8) president
9) senate

18
Q

What is senatorial courtesy?

A

President asks a few senators to endorse and advocate for the justice he wants to the rest of the senate

19
Q

Who runs the process of selecting a new Supreme Court judge?

A

The justice department, the FBI just does the background check

20
Q

Supreme Court justices background:

A

Mostly white males
First female was Sandra day O’connor
Partisan politics matter
Work for life

21
Q

What is the rule of four?

A

Need four justices to decide to take a case

22
Q

What is a writ of certiorari (cert)?

A

Formal document calling up the case from a lower court to the Supreme Court

23
Q

What are the responsibilities of the Chief Justice?

A

1) has to write the majority opinion
2) all presidential inaugurations
3) preside over the impeachment of the president in the senate

24
Q

What is a dissenter?

A

One who disagrees with the majority

25
Q

What does it mean to concur

A

To agree but for different reasons

26
Q

Who does the appointment for the department of justice?

A

The president

27
Q

What is the US Attorney General?

A

The attorney for the United States

28
Q

What does the solicitor general do?

A

1) decides whether or not to appeal federal cases to the supreme court
2) reviews and modifies briefs in appeals (amicus curiae briefs for the US)
3) represents the US in Supreme Court
4) represents a litigant in court (pro bono work)

29
Q

What does stare decisis mean?

A

To let the decision stand

30
Q

How does the Supreme Court make their decisions?

A

They base their decisions on precedent, or the way that similar cases were heard

31
Q

How do you implement court decisions?

A

1) originalism (first time a case was heard)
2) judges have to be notified
3) let local officials know
4) let the people know

32
Q

What was the Marshall Court?

A

Headed by John Marshall (1801-1835); sets judicial review, Marbury vs Madison and McCulloch vs Maryland

33
Q

What was significant about FDR and the supreme court?

A

FDR increased numbers on the bench during the 1930’s

34
Q

What was the Warren court?

A

Headed by Earl Warren (1953-1969); Brown case; criminal rights, Gideon vs Wainwright and Miranda case

35
Q

What was the Burger court?

A

Headed by Warren Burger (1969-1986); Strict constructionism (following the constitution); Roe vs Wade and US vs Nixon

36
Q

What was the Rehnquist court?

A

Headed by William Rehnquist (1986-2005); defending people’s rights

37
Q

What is judicial restraint?

A

When the court plays a very minimal role in making a decision; leaving it to Congress and legislators to decide

38
Q

What is activism?

A

Change this law!

AP US Government (17 decks)

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