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| The authority of a given court to review cases that have already been tried in lower courts & are appealed to it by the losing party. |
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| A written statement by a party in a court case that details its argument. |
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| A separate opinion written by a Supreme Court justice who votes with the majority in the decision on a case but who disagrees with their reasoning. |
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| A vote of the Supreme Court in a particular case that indicates which party the justices side with & by how large a margin. |
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| The opinion of a justice in a Supreme Court case that explains his or her reasons for disagreeing with the majority's decision. |
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| The relevant circumstances of a legal dispute or offense as determined by a trial court. The facts of a case are crucial because they help determine which law or laws are applicable in the case. |
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| The doctrine that the courts should develop new legal principles when judges see a compelling need, even if this action places them in conflict with the precedent or the policy decisions of elected officials. |
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| A closed meeting of the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court to discuss & vote on the cases before them; the justices are not supposed to discuss conference proceedings with outsiders. |
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| The doctrine that the judiciary should broadly defer to precedent & the judgment of legislatures. The doctrine claims that the job of judges is to work within the confines of laws set down by tradition & lawmaking majorities. |
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| The power of courts to decide whether a government institution has acted within its constitutional powers and, if not, to declare its action null & void. |
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| Jurisdiction (Of a Court) |
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| A given court's authority to hear cases of a particular kind. Jurisdiction may be original or appellate. |
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| Living Constitution Theory |
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| A method of interpreting the Constitution that emphasizes the principles it embodies & their application to changing circumstances & needs. |
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| A court opinion that results when a majority of the justices is in agreement on the legal basis of the decision. |
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| A court's written explanation of its decision, which serves to inform others of the legal basis for the decision. Supreme Court opinions are expected to guide the decisions of lower courts. |
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| The authority of a given court to be the first court to hear a case. |
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| A method of interpreting the Constitution that emphasizes the meaning of its words at the time they were written. |
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| A court opinion that results when a majority of justices agree on a decision in a case but do not agree on the legal basis for the decision. In this instance, the legal position held by most of the justices on the winning side is called a plurality opinion. |
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| A judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling subsequent cases of a similar nature. |
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| The tradition that a U.S. senator from the state in which a federal judicial vacancy has arisen should have a say in the president's nomination of the new judge if the senator is of the same party as the president. |
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| Permission granted by a higher court to allow a losing party in a legal case to bring the case before it for a ruling; when such a writ is requested of the U.S. Supreme Court, four of the Court's nine justices must agree to accept the case before it is granted certiorari. |
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