Shared Flashcard Set

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POS 110
Chapter 15
40
Political Studies
Undergraduate 2
12/03/2007

Additional Political Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Appeal
Definition
The procedure whereby the losing side asks a higher court to overturn a lower-court decision.
Term
Associate justice
Definition
One of the eight justices of the Supreme Court who are not the chief justice.
Term

Borking

Definition
Politicizing the nomination process through an organized public campaign that portrays the nominee as a dangerous extremist.
Term
Brief
Definition
Written arguments presented to a court by lawyers on behalf of clients.
Term

Cert (writ of certiorari)

Definition
A document issued by the Supreme Court indicating that the Court will review a decision made by a lower court.
Term
Chief justice
Definition
Head of the Supreme Court.
Term
Circuit court of appeals
Definition
Court to which decisions made by federal district courts are appealed.
Term
Civil code
Definition
Laws regulating relationships among individuals. Alleged violators are sued by presumed victims, who ask courts to award damages and otherwise offer relief.
Term
Class action suit
Definition
Suit brought on behalf of all individuals in a particular category, whether or not they are actually participating in the suit.
Term
Concurring opinion
Definition
A written opinion prepared by judges who vote with the majority but who wish either to disagree with or to elaborate on some aspect of the majority opinion.
Term
Criminal code
Definition
Laws regulating relationships among individuals and society. Alleged violators are prosecuted by government.
Term
Defendant
Definition
One acussed of violating the civil or criminal code.
Term
Dissenting opinion
Definition
Written oppinion presenting the reasoning of judges who vote against the majority.
Term
District attorney
Definition
Person responsible for prosecuting criminal cases.
Term
Double Jeopardy
Definition
Fifth Ammendment provision that prohibits prosecution for the same offense twice.
Term

Federal district courts

Definition
The lowest level of the federal court system and the courts in which most federal trials are held.
Term
Judicial activism
Definition
Doctrine that says the principle of stare decisis should sometimes be sacrificed in order to adapt the constitution to changing conditions.
Term
Judicial restraint
Definition
Doctrine that says that courts should, if at all possible, avoid overturning a prior court decision.
Term
Judicial review
Definition
Power of the courts to declare null and void laws of Congress and state legislatures they find unconstitutional.
Term

Law clerk

Definition
Young, influential aide to a Supreme Court justice.
Term
Legal distinction
Definition

The legal difference between a case at hand and previous cases decided by the courts.

Term
Living-constitution theory
Definition
A theory of constitutional interpretation that places the meaning of the Constitution in light of the total history of the United States.
Term
Marbury v. Madison
Definition
Supreme court decision (1803) in which the court first exercised the power of judicial review.
Term
McCulloch v. Maryland
Definition
Decision of 1819 in which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the state's power to tax a federal government entity.
Term

Opinion

Definition
In legal parlance, a courts's explanation of its decision.
Term
Original-intent theory
Definition
a theory of constitutional interpretation that determines the constitutionality of a law by ascertaining the intentions of those who wrote the Constitution.
Term
Plain-meaning-of-the-text theory
Definition
a theory of constitutional interpretation that determines the constitutionality of a law in light of what the words of the Constitution obviously seem to say.
Term
Plaintiff
Definition
One who brings legal charges against another.
Term
Plenary session
Definition
Activities of a court in which all judges participate.
Term
Precedent
Definition
Previous court decision or ruling applicable to a particular case.
Term

Receiver

Definition

Court official who has the authority to see that judicial orders are carried out.

Term
Remand
Definition
to send a case to a lower court to determine the best way of implementing the higher court's decision.
Term
Restorationist
Definition
Judge who thinks that the only way the original meaning of the Constitution can be restored is by ignoring the doctrine of stare decisis until liberal decisions have been reversed.
Term
Reversal
Definition
The over-turning of a lower court decision by an appeals court or the Supreme Court.
Term
Senatorial courtesy
Definition
An informal rule that the Senate will not confirm nominees within or from a state unless they have the approval of the senior senator of that state from the president's party.
Term
Solicitor general
Definition
Government official responsible for presenting before the courts the position of the presidential administration.
Term
stare decisis
Definition
In court rulings, reliance on consitency with precedents.
Term
Statuatory interpretation
Definition
The judicial act of interpreting and applying the law to particular cases.
Term
U.S. attorney
Definition
Person responsible for prosecuting violations of the federal criminal code.
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