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| "Friend of the court"; briefs that may be sent to support the position of one side or the other. |
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| The view that judges should discern the general principles underlying the Constitution and is 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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| Cases heard by the Supreme Court that come from appeal of a lower court. |
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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 it's side, and discusses other relevant cases. |
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| Warren E. Burger was a conservative jurist, but still irked the strict constructionists. His court continured to breakdown racial segregation, but ordering busing, upheld affirmative action, limited aspects of Miranda, but also sided with many other cases involving rights of the accused. Most famous cases Roe v. Wade and United States v. Nixon |
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| Those cases that cannot be resolved under common law precedent. |
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| Deals with contract issues and tort cases such as negligence and slander and defines the legal rights of individuals. |
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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 Education of Topeka, Kansas, the court decided that not only linda Brown but all others similary situated had the right to attend a local public school of their choice without regard to race. |
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| Based on the legal concept of stare decisis, or judicial precedent. |
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| Additional opinion in a court decision written by a member of the majority. |
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| Courts that were formed to carry out the direction in theConstitution so that the Courts would exercise their judicial power. |
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| Ther federal coyrts with authority to review decisions by federal district courts, reulatory commissions, and certain other federal courts. Such courts have no original jurisdiction; they can hear only appeals. There are totoal of twelve courts of appeals in the United States and it's territories. |
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| Cases that dervie from criminal laws passed by the federal and state governments. |
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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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| 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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| Cases involving citizens of different states over which the federal courts have juridiction as described in the constitution. |
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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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| A law 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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| Decision that established the presedent that the Supreme Court could rule a state law unconstitutional. |
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| Case established the principle that Congress has sole authority over interstate commerce. |
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| A procedure whereby a poor person can file and be heard in a court as a pauper, free of charge. |
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| A philosophy of judicial review that results in decisions that overturn precedent. |
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| A court that maintains the status quo or mirrors what the other branches of government have established as current policy. |
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| The power of the courts to declare acts of legislature and of the executive to unconstitutional and hence null and void. |
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| Key senate committee that is responsible for recommending presidential judicial appointments to the full Senate for approval. |
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| A court that it 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 Court of Military Appeals and 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 dyed-in-the-wool liveral or conservative or what his or her views are on a controversial question. |
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| Court ruling participated in by the majority of justices hearing a case. |
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| John Marshall's tenure as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, whose leadership resulted in the landmark decisions of Marbury v. Madison, and Gibbons v. Ogden. These cases shifted power to the judiciary and federal government. |
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| McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) |
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| Case that established the principle that the federal government was supreme over the state. |
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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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| Legal argument made by each attorney in proceedings before the court in an attempt to persuade the court to decide the issue in their client’s favor. |
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| Cases heard by the Supreme Court that do not come on appeal and that “affect ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party.” |
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| A brief, unsigned opinion issued by the Supreme Court to explain its ruling. |
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| The party the initiates a lawsuit to obtain a remedy for an injury to his or her rights. |
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| An issue that the 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 1960’s, 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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| Legal concept, also known as stare decisis, by which earlier court decisions serve as models in justifying decisions in subsequent cases. |
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| Includes constitutional law (cases involving constitutional issues), and administrative law (cases involving disputes over the jurisdiction of public or administrative agencies). |
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| William Rehnquist is the current Chief Justice. His term began very conservative reversing many of the earlier Warren and Burger rulings. Has more recently been characterized as “conservative activism” overturning federal laws sending a message that the federal government was using to much of its inherent powers to make law. |
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| A judicial order preventing or redressing a wrong or enforcing a right. |
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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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| Courts created by Congress to deal with cases deriving from the delegated powers of Congress such as military appeals, tax appeals, and veteran appeals. |
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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 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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| 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 tenure of Chief Justice Earl Warren, convinced a split court to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson. The court also expanded the rights of the accused and ordered states to reapportion their legislatures. |
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| Latin for “to be made more certain,” the process in which the Supreme Court accepts written beliefs on appeal based on the “rule of four” justices voting to hear the case. |
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