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| - the power of the courts to declare acts of the legislature and of the executive to be unconstitutional and hence null and void. |
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| Strict-constructionist approach- |
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| the view that judges should decide cases on the basis of the language of the Constitution. |
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| the view that judges should discern the general principles underlying the Constitution and its often vague language and assess how best to apply them in contemporary circumstances, in some cases with the guidance of moral or economic philosophy. |
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| a federal court exercising the judicial powers found in Article III of the Constitution and whose judges are given constitutional protection: they may not be fired (they serve during “good behavior”), nor may their salaries be reduced while they are in office. The most important constitutional courts are the Supreme Court, the ninety-four district courts, and the courts of appeals (one in each of eleven regions plus one in the District of Columbia). |
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| - the lowest federal courts where federal cases begin. They are the only federal courts where trials are held. There are a total of ninety-four district courts in the United States and its territories. |
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| the federal courts with authority to review decisions by federal district courts, regulatory commissions, and certain other federal courts. Such courts have no original jurisdiction; they can hear only appeals. There are a total of twelve courts of appeal sin the United States and its territories. |
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| a court that is created by Congress for some specialized purpose and staffed with judges who do not enjoy the protection of Article III of the Constitution. Legislative courts include the Court of Military Appeals and the territorial courts. |
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| in chemistry a way of finding out whether a liquid is acid or alkaline. The term is used in politics to mean a test of ideological purity; a way of finding out whether a person is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal or conservative or what his or her views are on a controversial question |
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| cases concerning the Constitution, federal law, or treaties over which the federal courts have jurisdiction as described in the Constitution. |
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| cases involving citizens of different states over which the federal courts have jurisdiction as described in the Constitution. |
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| - the body of rules defining relationships among private citizens. It consists of both statutes and the accumulated customary law embodied in judicial decisions (the “common law”). |
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| the law of rules defining offenses that, though they harm an individual (such as murder, rape, and robbery), are considered to be offenses against society as a whole and as a consequence warrant punishment by and in the name of society. |
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| a Latin term meaning “made more certain.” An order issued by a higher court to a lower court to send up the record of a case for review. Most cases reach the Supreme Court through the writ of certiorari, issued when at least four of the nine justices feel that the case should be reviewed. |
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| a procedure whereby a poor person can file and be heard in court as a pauper, free of charge |
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| a law or rule that allows the plaintiff (the party that initiates the lawsuit) to collect its legal costs from the defendant if the defendant loses. |
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| the party that initiates a lawsuit to obtain a remedy for an injury to his or her rights |
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| a legal concept establishing who is entitled to bring a lawsuit to court. For example, an individual must ordinarily show personal harm in order to acquire standing and be heard in court. |
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| a doctrine that a citizen cannot sue the government without its consent. By statute Congress has given its consent for the government to be sued in many cases involving a dispute over a contract or damage done as a result of negligence. |
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| - a case brought into court by a person on behalf of not only himself or herself but all other persons in the country under similar circumstances. For example, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court decided that not only Linda Brown but all others similarly situated had the right to attend a local public school of their choice without regard to race. |
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| a legal document prepared by an attorney representing a party before a court. The document sets forth the facts of the case, summarizes the law, gives the arguments for its side, and discusses other relevant cases. |
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| a Latin term meaning “a friend of the court.” Refers to interested groups or individuals, not directly involved in a suit, who may file legal briefs or make oral arguments in support of one side. |
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| a brief, unsigned opinion issued by the Supreme Court to explain its ruling. |
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| - a Supreme Court opinion written by one or more justices in the majority to explain the decision in a case. |
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| a Supreme Court opinion by one or more justices who agree with the majority’s conclusion but for different reasons |
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| a Supreme Court opinion by one or more justices in the minority to explain the minority’s disagreement with the Court’s ruling. |
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| a Latin term meaning “let the decision stand.” The practice of basing judicial decisions on precedents established in similar cases decided in the past. |
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| - an issue that the Supreme Court refuses to consider because it believes the Constitution has left it entirely to another branch to decide. Its view of such issues may change over time, however. For example, until the 1960s the Court refused to hear cases about the size of congressional districts, no matter how unequal their populations. In 1962, however, it decided that it was authorized to review the constitutional implications of this issue. |
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| - a judicial order preventing or redressing a wrong or enforcing a right. |
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