Introduction to Constitutional Law and Legal Process

Flashcards defining core legal vocabulary, court concepts, opinion types, case examples, and analytical methods discussed in the lecture transcript.

Questions of Fact

Factual determinations, such as who committed an action or a defendant's state of mind, decided by a jury at the trial court level that cannot be appealed.

Questions of Law

Issues concerning the interpretation or application of legal rights and statutes, decided by judges, which can be appealed to higher courts.

Federal District Court

The trial courts in the federal system where witnesses testify, physical evidence is introduced, and juries decide questions of fact.

Circuit Court

The appellate court in the federal court system where parties have a right to appeal decisions on questions of law.

Writ of Certiorari

A discretionary order issued by the US Supreme Court agreeing to hear a case, granted in less than 1% of the approximately 8,000 annual requests.

Circuit Split

A legal scenario where different federal circuit courts issue conflicting rulings on the same issue, often prompting the Supreme Court to grant a writ of certiorari.

Constitutional Law

The sum total of decisions rendered by the Supreme Court when evaluating whether state, local, or federal laws, treaties, executive actions, or regulations align with the Constitution.

Majority Opinion

A Supreme Court opinion joined by at least five of the nine justices that sets binding precedent for all other courts.

Precedent

A legal rule established by a Supreme Court majority opinion that all lower courts are required to follow in subsequent cases.

Concurring Opinion

An opinion written by a justice who agrees with the outcome reached by the majority but disagrees with the reasoning or seeks to offer narrower rationale for future influence.

Dissenting Opinion

An opinion written by justices who disagree with the majority decision and believe the opposing party should have won.

Analytic Reasoning

The process of taking complex problems, breaking them down into component parts, and analyzing them step by step.

Issue Spotter Exam

An exam format where students are given a complex narrative of facts and must identify the legal issues and apply case principles to reach conclusions.

As Applied Challenge

A constitutional challenge claiming that a specific law is unconstitutional when applied to an individual's specific actions or situation.

On Its Face Challenge

A constitutional challenge arguing that a law is invalid under any and all possible circumstances.

Skinner v. Oklahoma

A 1941 Supreme Court case striking down a compulsory sterilization law by establishing that the right to bear or beget a child is a fundamental human right.

Oklahoma Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act

A state law requiring sterilization for individuals convicted three or more times of crimes involving moral turpitude.

Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado

A Supreme Court case resolved through narrow reasoning after finding explicit state commission hostility toward religion on the record.

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights

A treaty provision guaranteeing the right to respect for private and family life, home, and correspondence, invoked to challenge France's transgender sterilization requirement.