Unit 12: The Supreme Court & The Judiciary Flashcards
(T/F) The United States Supreme Court can decide only cases that originate in federal courts.
False
The United States government’s lawyer before the Supreme Court is called the __________.
Solicitor General
A jurist who believes in judicial restraint ___________.
Is wary of going against the wishes of elected representatives
Checks on judicial power include ___________.
Constitutional amendment
impeachment
withdrawing jurisdiction
The Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction includes cases _______.
Between one of the states and the United States government
Between two or more states
Involving foreign ambassadors, ministers, or consuls
Who or what determines the size of the US Supreme Court?
Congress
Today, almost all cases reach the Supreme Court on a writ of _____________________.
Certiorari
What are the constitutional qualifications to become a federal judge?
None
(T/F) The Supreme Court is much more active in striking down state than federal legislation.
True
The power to hear a case for the first time
Original jurisdiction
The power of a higher court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts
Appellate jurisdiction
Orders a lower court to deliver its record in a case so that the higher court may review it.
Writ of certiorari
An impartial adviser, often voluntary, to a court of law in a particular case.
Amicus curiae
Latin for “to stand by things decided.” In short, it is the doctrine of precedent.
Stare decisis
The way lawyers and judges talk publicly about the law.
Legal reasoning
A process under which executive and (in some countries) legislative actions are subject to review by the judiciary
Judicial review
Refers to court rulings based on a judge’s political or personal considerations
Judicial activism
A theory of judicial interpretation that encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power.
Judicial restraint
Refers to a tacit agreement among senators not to vote for any presidential nominee who is opposed by the senators from the nominee’s home state.
Senatorial courtesy
(aka Circuit Split) When multiple U.S. Courts of Appeal issue rulings on a point of law which are in conflict with each other.
Circuit Conflict
The name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.
Circuit court
The general trial courts of the United States federal court system.
District court
A landmark case by the United States Supreme Court which forms the basis for the exercise of judicial review
Marbury v Madison (1803)
