Term
| Uniqueness of the American Judiciary |
|
Definition
Few other countries have judicial review
Parliaments generally have complete discretion over what actions are acceptable under the constitution |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| power of the courts to reviews acts of other branches of government and the states |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| case in which the Supreme court first asserted the power of judicial review in finding that the congressional statute extended the court's original jurisdiction was unconstitutional |
|
|
Term
| Strict Constructionist Approach |
|
Definition
| an approach to constitutional interpretation that emphasizes the Framers' original intentions |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Vague language makes constructionism impossible
General principles in Constitution can be applied in many settings to "find" the law for the modern world |
|
|
Term
| Due Process Clause (5th and 14th Amendments) |
|
Definition
| clause contained in the fifth and fourteenth amendments. Over the years, it has been construed to guarantee to individuals a variety of rights ranging from economic liberty to criminal procedural rights to protection from arbitrary governmental action |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| For every person over 70, there was a person in training |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| one of the three constitutional courts; chooses which cases to hear |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Circuits represent different parts of the country |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Trial courts for the vast majority of the cases; Only hear cases for the first time |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| courts established by Congress for specialized purposes, such as the Court of Military Appeals |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| three types; supreme court, circuit courts of appeal, and district courts |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| process by which presidents generally defer selection of district court judges to the choice of senators of their own party who represent the state where the vacancy occurs |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Ideological qualifications for office; Many prefer selection by merit; More common for Supreme Court |
|
|
Term
| Jurisdiction of State and Federal Courts |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| codes of behavior related to the protection of property and individual safety |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Rules defining relationships among private citizens |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| part of the fifth amendment that protects individuals from being tried twice for the same offense |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a request for the Court to order up the records from a lower court to review the case |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Supreme Court rejects 96% of cases appealed |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| justice may vote to grant even though they agree with lower court ruling |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| justice says he/she doesn’t like the ruling of a lower court but he/she doesn’t think they have the enough justices to have the ruling overturned |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Person bringing the lawsuit |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| person can be heard "as a pauper" if they can't afford a lawyer (in criminal cases) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| requires that the defendant must pay the legal costs of plaintiff if the defendant loses (applies only in certain cases) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
impartial judge tries to determine truth while each lawyer presents his/her case |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Ability to say we're the government, you can't sue us |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Makes small lawsuits doable; This has increased the number of suits; Recently restricted ability for state courts to hear these cases |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a document containing the legal written arguments in a case filed with a court by a party prior to a hearing or trial |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| part of the supreme court process; Brief; Questions and answers |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "friend of the court"; amici may file briefs or even appear to argue their interests orally before the court |
|
|
Term
| Supreme Court Decision-making process/voting process |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| means for the court; shows unanimity; unsigned |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Agrees with ruling but disagree with the written opinion |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| minority; those who disagree with the court's decision |
|
|
Term
| Stare Decisis (precedent) |
|
Definition
| in court rulings, a reliance on past decisions or precendents to formulate decisions in new cases |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Case where Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protected the right to privacy; in case Connecticut tried to prohibit the use of contriceptives but Court said it violated the right to marital privacy |
|
|
Term
| Attitudinal Model Square Conflict |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Legal Model Constitutional Question |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
addressing multiple issues in a certain order |
|
|
Term
| Supreme Court docket control |
|
Definition
| Supreme Court controls its own docket |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| government protected rights of individuals against arbitrary or discriminatory treatment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the personal guarantees and freedoms that the federal government cannot abridge by law, constitution, or judicial interpretation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| part of the bill of rights that imposes a number of restrictions on the federal government with respect to civil liberties of the people including freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition |
|
|
Term
| Freedom of Expression (Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition) |
|
Definition
| given to citizens in the first amendment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Supreme court ruling that led to the clear and present danger test (1919) |
|
|
Term
| Clear and Present Danger Test |
|
Definition
| test articulated by the Supreme court in Schenck v. US to draw the line between protected and unprotected speech; the Court looks to see "whether the words used" could "create a clear and present danger that they will bring about substantive evils" that Congress seeks "to prevent" |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| government can't stop you from saying something before you say it, but they can hold you accountable |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a test articulated by the Supreme court in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) that holds that advocacy of illegal action is protected by the first amendment unless imminent lawless action is intended and likely to occur |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| false written statements or written statements tending to call someone's reputation into disrepute |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| untrue spoken statements that defame the character of a person |
|
|
Term
| New York Times v. Sullivan |
|
Definition
| the supreme court concluded that "actual malice" must be proved to support a finding of libel against a public figure |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| symbols, signs, and other methods of expression generally also considered to be protected by the first amendment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| words that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of peace." They are not subject to the restrictions of the first amendment. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Standard is essentially "we know it when we see it"
Discretion on enforcement left to local officials |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the second clause of the first amendment; it prohibits the US government from interfering with the citizens' right to practice his/her religion. Still, some forms of actual exercise of religion can be regulated |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| prohibits one recognized state religion |
|
|
Term
| Wall-of-Separation Principle |
|
Definition
| No government involvement with religion at all |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
1. Must have a secular purpose
2. Primary Effect neither advances nor inhibits religion
3. Does not foster excessive government entanglement religion |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Ruling that said Pennsylvania was not allowed to reimburse nonpublic schools because it violated the establishment clause of the first amendment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| procedural guarantees provided by the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th amendments for those accused of crimes |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a landmark supreme court ruling that held the fifth amendment requires that individuals arrested for a crime must be advised of their right to remain silent and to have counsel present |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Court must provide an attorney in felony cases |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
- Gideon was charged with breaking into a pool hall and stealing alcohol and money
- Gideon lacked the funds to hire an attorney
- In a hand-written petition (jailhouse lawyers?), Gideon appealed to the Supreme Court
- Ruling: Court must provide an attorney in felony cases
- Later expanded to less serious offenses (if there is prison, probation, or the future possibility of such)
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
the right to search someone's house with the permission of the court |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| needed to obtain a search warrant |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| judicially created rule that prohibits police from using illegally seized evidence at trial |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
- Broke into a home to search for drugs and didn't find any, but arrested for possession of obscene materials
- Court ruled that police needed a warrant to search (ordered by judge if there is probable cause)
- Created "Exclusionary Rule: that illegally obtained evidence cannot be admitted
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| statements that must be made by the police informing a suspect of his or her constitutional rights protected by the fifth amendment, including the right to an attorney provided by the court if the suspect cannot afford one |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| If the police made a good effort to get a search warrant, but then on a technicality its not valid, they can still use the evidence |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a judicial doctrine whereby most but not all of the protections found in the Bill of Rights are made applicable to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| those rights defined by the Court to be essential to order, liberty, and justice and therefore entitled to the highest standard of review, strict scrutiny |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty; victim awoke to find Furman robbing him, he tried to escape and accidently shot a gun, killing Furman. Later contradicted this statement but saying he blindly shot the gun while fleeing. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
reaffirmed the use of the death penalty |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
in Georgia, once someone is convicted of, or confesses to, a capital crime, they must be one of the ten addition aggravations: - The defendant has previously been convicted of a capital felony or has a history of committing serious felonies.
- The capital felony was committed while the defendant was committing another capital felony.
- The defendant created a grave risk of death to others.
- The defendant committed the crime for the purpose of receiving money or anything else of value.
- The defendant killed a judge or prosecutor exercising his official duties.
- The defendant hired a killer.
- The crime was "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, or inhuman in that it involved torture, depravity of mind, or an aggravated battery to the victim."
- The defendant killed a police officer, prison guard, or fireman in the line of duty.
- The offense was committed by someone who had escaped from prison.
- The offense was committed for the purpose of avoiding arrest.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| section of the 14th amendment that guarantees that all citizens receive "equal protection of the law" |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| one of the three civil war amendments; specifically bans slavery in the United States |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| one of the three civil war amendments; guarantees equal protection and due process of the laws to all US citizens |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| one of the three civil war amendments; specifically enfranchised newly freed male slaves |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| category or class, such as race, that triggers the highest standard of scrutiny from the Supreme court |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a heightened standard of review used by the Supreme court to determine the constitutional validity of a challenged practice |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
overturning Missouri compromise, taking slave state slaves into free state slaves don't make them free |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| laws enacted by southern states that discriminated against blacks by crating "white only" schools, theaters, hotels, and other public accommodations |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Plessy challenged a Louisiana statue requiring that railroads provide separate accommodation for blacks and whites. The court found that separate but equal accommodations did not violate the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment |
|
|
Term
| Brown v. Board of Education |
|
Definition
| US Supreme Court decision holding that school segregation is inherently unconstitutional because it violates the 14th amendment's guarantee of equal protection; marked the end of legal segregation in the US |
|
|
Term
| Desegregation and Integration |
|
Definition
- What does "Unseparate" school look like?
- Does the school need to just allow people to choose their school or must it actually contain a certain racial balance?
- De Jure Segregation: "By Law" unconstitutional
- De Facto Segregation: Residency, district lines, "choice" etc
- Court ruled that there must be diversity in schools even if "choice" dictates otherwise
- Recently, there has been a move away from bussing toward attending nearest school
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| racial segregation that is a direct result of law or official policy |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| racial discrimination that results from practice (such as housing patterns or other social or institutional, non-governmental factors) rather than the law |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
brought about by Plessy vs. Ferguson overturned in Brown vs. Board of Education |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| legislation passed by Congress to outlaw segregation in public facilities and racial discrimination in employment, education, and voting; created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
|
|
Term
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 |
|
Definition
- Minorities had the right to vote (technically) since the Civil War Amendments
- Jim Crow laws prevented it
- Court cases and laws began to strike at these, finalized in this bill
- Targeted at sending federal workers to oversee registration to make sure these provisions were followed
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| amendment to the Constitution that guaranteed women the right to vote |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| proposed amendment that would bar discrimination against women by federal or state governments |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the supreme court found that a woman's right to an abortion was protected by the right to privacy that could be implied from specific guarantees found in the Bill of Rights applied to the states through the fourteenth amendment |
|
|
Term
| Planed Parenthood v. Casey |
|
Definition
- Did not “overturn” abortion
- Upheld waiting periods, parental consent, and required information on alternatives
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
- Judges examine facts of case, laws, precedents, and constitution
- Logically apply outcomes of previous cases to matters at hand
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
- Judges make decisions based on personal opinions and ideology
- Judges find legal rationalizations of their decision to write opinions
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Goal is to guarantee equal protection |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| policies designed to give special attention or compensatory treatment to members of a previously disadvantaged group |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Allan Bakke denied entrance to med. School because of quotas; Court ruled that race can be a factor, but no quotas |
|
|
Term
| Compensatory Action vs. Preferential Treatment |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| document that outlines how the government functions; what the government can and cannot do |
|
|
Term
| Similarities and differences between U.S. and Georgia constitution |
|
Definition
- Similar
- Bill or Rights
- Separation of Powers
- Similar executives (veto, appointment)
- Bicameral legislatures
- Judicial Review
- Different
- Length (local longer)
- Amendment process (voters vs. states)
- Balanced budgets
- Line-item veto (not in US)
- Two year terms for both house and senate
- Population based representation
- No executive cabinet
- Elected judges
- Advisory opinions from state attorney general
|
|
|
Term
| Amendment process for Georgia constitution |
|
Definition
| 2/3 vote in the legislative (in one legislative session; Majority of votes in an election |
|
|
Term
| Local governments in the state constitution |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| ability for the governor to veto only parts of the bill/amendment and to approve the rest |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Legislative professionalism |
|
Definition
Salary Session length Staff Careerism |
|
|
Term
| Representation in Senate and House |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Term lengths for State Senators, State House, and Governor |
|
Definition
2 years for state Senate and House, 4 years for governor |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Special Project Local Option Sales Tax |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Implied powers in state and federal constitutions |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
- 14th Amendment – early interpretations
- Suffrage Movement
- 19th Amendment
- Later women’s rights movement
- Still, no “strict scrutiny standard for gender discrimination
|
|
|
