The adversarial system is a system of resolving disputes in which the parties, usually represented by counsel, argue and present evidence to a neutral fact finder, who makes a decision based on the evidence and arguments presented by the parties. This differs from an inquisitorial system in which mostly inquiries are made

ADR is any legal mechanism used to settle a conflict without going to trial

Arbitration is a form of dispute resolution in which a neutral third party makes a decisions that is binding on the two disputants

This is a description of decision making that focuses on judgments about the facts or disposition of a case in light of one's ideological attitudes and values

Attribution theory is a theory in social psychology that deals with the explanations people make for the causes of their behavior and the behavior of others

Black letter law are the basic principles of law generally accepted by courts and embodied in statutes

Commonsense justice is ordinary citizen's basic notations of what is just and fair in contrast to the dictates of formal, statutory law

Deinstitutionalization is the long-term trend of closing mental health hospitals and transferring care the community-based mental health treatment facilities

Deliberative processes are thought processes that involve mental effort, concentration, motivation and the application of learned rules

Distributive justice are concerns about what is right or just with respect to the allocation of goods within a society

Euthanasia is the act of killing an individual for reasons that considered merciful

Extrinsic motivation is a form of motivation that primarily involves pursuing goals that would please and impress others

The inquisitorial approach is the procedure used in Europe in which questioning is strictly the responsibility of the judge, not lawyers or attorneys

Intention is defined as the offender's fame of mind in committing a criminal act

Intrinsic motivation involves pursuing goals that invovle internal or personal desires rather than external incentives

Intuitive processes are incidents of spontaneous mental processes which are often acted on but not thought through with careful thought or effort

The legal model of decison making is the model that suggests that legal decision makers dispassionately consider the relevant laws, precedents and constitutional rpinciples and that personal bias has no part in decision making

Mediation is a form of ADR in which a neutral third party helps the disputing parties agreee on a resolution to their conflict

Negotiation is the process of conferring with another to attempt to settles a legal matter

To be risk averse means to be unwilling to take a chance

A summary jury trial is a brief presentation of both sides of the case, uually lasting only one day, in which a jury renders a verdict that is only advisory to the judge

Therapeutic jurisprudence is a position that one aspect of the study of the law should be a consideration of the mental health impact of the legal system upon its participants and clients

A writ of centiorari is an order by an appellate court allowing an appeal from a lower court; used in cases when the appellate court may, but is not required to, allow the appeal

Adversarial systems are often chastized for their uninvited competitive attitude and presentation of evidence and questioning are done by each respective side whereas in the inquisitorial approach the judge is primarily the person who introduces evidence and questions witnesses and people involved. The adversarial system, in the end, is typically seen as the fairer system of the two

What is considered legal is not always deemed moral and vice versa. The issue of euthanasia is critical here and many people often have moral underlying beliefs that sometimes trump what is deemed legal

According to the distributive model of justice, people's acceptance of a legal decision is related to whether they think the outcome is fair. According to the procedural justice model, fairness in the proceedures is a more important determinant of satisfaction

Drug courts and juvinile courts are two examples of problem solving courts. Instead of dealing with interparty issues or major criminal offenses these courts try to solve problems by acting on the decisions and behaviors of the defendants. These courts use things like therapy and medical doctors to try and help defendants with their problems before they end up in the big time courts for big time offenses

Federal judges are selected and run for their entire life if so desired. State judges are appointed but they run in retention elections. Law school and other factors tend to make judges somewhat less biased but their biases and predispositions do tend to give them some level of bias

The mental effects are nearly traumatizing. Self motivation drops remarkably and intrinsic motivation nearly nose dives

Both groups still lag behind in law school enrollment and in numbers at private practices. Affirmative action cases have been won by law schools which is somewhat helping to improve the disparity

Lawyers can sometimes tend to overcomplicate matters, they can be known for disregarding the truth and they can be known for filing silly lawsuits seeking major damages