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| confrontational legal process under which each party presents its version of events |
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| method of placing the determination of issues of fact in a trial into the hands of fellow citizens |
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| legal proceeding whereby the decision of a lower court on questions of law can be challenged and reviewed by a higher court |
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| government prosecutions of an individual for breaking the law |
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| lawsuits by a person, organization, or government against another person, organization, or government |
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| judge-made law in england and the united states that results from gaps in statutory law |
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| practice of reaching decisions based on the previous decisions of other judges |
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| requirement that a party bringing a lawsuit has suffered a harm that the law arguably protects |
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| created the lower federal judiciary, district courts, and circuit courts of appeals |
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| federal trial courts at the bottom of the federal judiciary hierarchy |
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| intermediate federal courts in the united states above the district courts but below the supreme court |
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| lawful authority of a court to hear a case |
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| authority to hear a case directly from a petitioning party as in a trial |
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| authority of a court to hear cases on appeals from lower courts |
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| authority of a court to hear cases on appeals from lower courts |
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| doctrines of fairness followed in countries that follow the english common law |
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| cases in which the courts have to determine what congress meant by a statute |
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| constitutional interpretation |
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| decisions by a court defining the meaning of a constitutional provision, often to determine whether a law or practice violates a provision of the constitution |
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| equal protection of the laws |
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| guarantee in the fourteenth amendment that no state shall deny any person equal treatment |
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| authority of courts to declare laws passed by congress and acts of the executive branch to be unconstitutional |
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| policies that grant racial or gender preferences in hiring, education, or contracting |
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| supreme court case that established the court's power of judicial review |
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| named after chief justice john marshall the court that greatly expanded national power |
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| necessary and proper clause (article 1, section 8) |
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| gives congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper to the powers enumerated in section8 |
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| commercial clause (article 1, section 8) |
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| gives congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, indian tribes, and among the various states |
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| supremacy clause (article VI) |
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| makes federal law supreme over state laws |
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| court-created right not explicitly in the constitution that prohibited restrictions on labor contracts such as minimum wages or maximum hours |
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| process by which the supreme court made some provisions of the bill of rights binding the states |
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| liberal supreme court that made landmark decisions on equal protection criminal procedure and the right to privacy |
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| redistricting to achieve equal numbers in legislative districts |
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| constitutional right inferred by the court that has been used to protect unlisted rights such as sexual privacy, reproductive rights, plus the right to end life-sustaining medical treatment |
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| informal norm allowing a senator of the president's party to block judicial appointments from that state |
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| Senate Judiciary Committee |
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| standing senate committee charged with reviewing judicial affairs, including federal court nominations |
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| power available to a senator to keep a bill or presidential nomination from coming to the senate floor |
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| unanimous consent agreement |
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| agreement among all 100 senators for how a bill or presidential nomination will be debated |
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| request to the supreme court that is review a lower court case |
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| lawsuit filled by one person on behalf of that person all similarly situated people |
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| process in a lawsuit prior to trial in which each side receives relevant information held by the other side |
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| process in a lawsuit prior to trial in which each side gets to interview witnesses from the other side |
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| briefs filed by outside parties "friends of the court" who have an interest in the outcome of a case |
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| official in the justice department who represents the president in federal court |
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| agreement to a criminal defendant to plead guilty in return for a reduced sentence |
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| opinion of a court laying out the official position of the court in the case |
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| expectation that equality is achieved if results are comparable for all citizens regardless of race, gender, or national background, or that such groups are proportionally represented in measures of success in life |
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| expectation that citizens may not be discriminated against on account of race, gender, or national background, and that every citizen should have an equal chance to succeed in life |
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| supreme court rule that grants review to a case if as few as four of the justices support the review |
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| opinion by a judge that agrees with the court majority's result (that is which party wins) but sets out a separate rationale |
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| opinions written by judges who disagree with the result reached by the majority as to who should win a case |
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| opinion of the court that results when a majority of the justices cannot agree on the rationale for a decision |
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| process by which citizens place proposed laws on the ballot for public approval |
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| interpretation laws or constitutional provisions based on the literal meaning of what the law says |
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| interpretation of a law or constitutional provision based on what the framers of the law intended |
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| judges who go beyond what the laws requires and seek to impose their own policy preferences on society through their judicial decisions |
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| respecting the decisions of other branches or through the concept of precedent the decisions of earlier judges |
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