unit one test review Flashcards
criminal laws
regulate public conduct and set duties owed to society
felony
serious crimes, charged with more than a year
misdemeanor
a year or less (assualt, etc)
civil laws
regulate civil action
civil action
claim against another individual
defendant
person on trial
plaintiff
no prosecutor in civil court because it’s between individual citizens, person who brought the charge
prosecutor
lawyer for the government
beyond a reasonable doubt
if the jury/judge has any reasonable doubts about guilt then they must vote not to acquit
preponderance of evidedence
needs only to decide it is more likely than not the plaintiff’s complaint is true
limited government
fundemental notion in constitution
separation of powers
division of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial
statutes
legislative branch, basic laws
checks and balances
to keep each branch in line
veto
president’s power to veto or refuse to approve laws
unconstitutional
courts can declare a law unconstitutional
judicial review
enables a court to declare unenforceable
federalism
division of power between the state and government rights
bill of rights
first 10 amendments of the constitution
supremacy clause
fed/national laws are supreme to state laws
bills
proposal of a law
legislative intent
what the lawmakers want the law to do
precedent
cases that have happened to use as examples
advocacy
active support for a case
initiative
voters propose a law through petition
referundum
voters decide on a legislative act directly
recall
removal of elected officials
lobbying
process of convincing lawmakers to vote a certain way
trial courts
hear testimony, consider evidence, and decide facts
plaintiff
party bringing legal action
prosecutor
state/government initiates case and serves as this
defendant
party responding to plaintiff
adversary system
parties represent to an impartial judge/jury (protectionof rights is most important)
inquisitional system
judge plays active role in gathering/presenting evidence (europe and asia) (pursuit of truth is most important)
plea bargain
ongoing, can happen up to trial
voir dire
jurors are assigned to cases after this, to speak the truth
removal for cause
opposing attorney can request removal of jurors if partial
peremptory challenges
“wild cards”. have jurors removed without cause, limited amt of these
appeals court
majority opinion, decision of the court with dissenting opinion states reasons why
error of law
if umpire calls you out on 2 strikes-error of law
says the ball is over the plate when it’s not-error of facr
dissenting opinion
states reason for disagreement
concurring opinion
agree but for different reasons
probate courts
courts handle cases involving wills and claims against the estates of persons who die with or without a will
due process of law
14th amendment, no state can deny a person of life, liberty, or process without this
petitions for certiorari
to be informed of, appeal former case, have to est. error of law
state decisis
must follow precedent
bar associtions
organization that regulates licensing and conduct of lawyers
retainer
fee you pay for lawyer’s service
contingency fee
based on how much you win (30-50%) goes to lawyer
attorney client privilege
information passed between the two parties. info is confidnetial so the lawyer can defend client to the best of their abilities
disbarred
violated the practice of being a lawyer , ethical, criminal, etc
legal malpractice
if you can prove that the lawyer didn’t do things they should’ve, you can sue them
