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| the requirements that plaintiffs have a serious interest in a case, which depends on whether they have sustained or are likely to sustain a direct and substantial injury from a party or an action of government |
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| lawsuits permitting a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated |
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| a requirement that, to be heard, a case must be capable of being settled as a matter of law |
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| legal briefs submitted by a friend of the court for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal partiers |
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| the jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial; the courts that determine facts about a case |
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| the jurisdiction of courts that hears cases brought to them on appeal from lower courts; does not review factual record but legal issues alone |
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| the 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction; the only federal courts in which trials are held and juries may be impaneled |
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| appellate courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts; also hears appeals to orders of many federal regulatory agencies |
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| pinnical of American judicial system; the Court ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolves conflicts among states and maintains national supremacy in law; uses both original and appellate jurisdiction and controls it’s own agenda |
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| an unwritten tradition whereby nominations for state-level federal judicial posts are not confirmed if they are opposed by a senator from the state in which the nominee will serve |
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| a presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of justice; in charge of appellate court litigation of the federal government |
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| a presidential appointee and the third-ranking office in the Department of justice; in charge of appellate court litigation of the federal government |
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| a statement of legal reasoning behind a judicial decision |
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| a Latin phrase meaning “let the decision stand;” the vast majority of cases reaching appellate courts are settled on this principal |
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| how similar cases have been decided in the past |
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| a view that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the original intent of the framers; supported by conservatives |
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| how and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, thereby affecting the behavior of others; courts rely on other units of government to enforce decision |
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| when Chief Justice John Marshall and his associates first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the US Constitution; the decision established the Court’s power of judicial review over the acts of Congress |
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| power of courts to determine whether acts of Congress, and by implication of the executive, are in accord with the US Constitution |
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refers to the Supreme Court of the United States between 1953 and 1969, when Earl Warren served as Chief Justice. The Court expanded civil rights and liberties, judicial power, and the federal power.
The court was both applauded and criticized for bringing an end to racial segregation in the United States, incorporating the Bill of Rights (i.e. applying it to states), and ending officially-sanctioned voluntary prayer in public schools |
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| Warren Earl Burger was Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Although Burger had conservative leanings, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a variety of transformative and controversial decisions on abortion, capital punishment, religious establishment, and school desegregation during his tenure |
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| Walt Disney jokingly called this group of animators his "Nine Old Men," referring to Franklin D. Roosevelt's dismissive description of the nine justices of the US Supreme Court |
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| William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. Considered a conservative, Rehnquist favored a type of federalism under which the states meaningfully exercised governmental power. Under this view of federalism, the Supreme Court of the United States, for the first time since the 1930s, struck down an Act of Congress as exceeding federal power under the Commerce Clause. |
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| the Supreme Court unanimously held that the doctrine of the executive privilege was implicit in the Constitution but could not be extended to protect documents relevant to criminal prosecutions |
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| a judicial philosophy in which judges play minimal policymaking roles, leaving the duty strictly to the legislatures |
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| a judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground |
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| a doctrine developed by the federal courts and used as a means to avoid deciding some cases, principally involving cases between the president and Congress |
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| the judicial interpretations of an act of Congress; in some cases, Congress would pass new legislation to clarify existing laws |
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