Gateways to Democracy: Chapter 15 (supreme court)

dissenting opinion

Opinion that disagrees with the majority opinion as to which party wins.

concurring opinion

Opinion that agrees with the results of the majority opinion (that is, which party wins) but sets out a separate rationale.

rule of four

Supreme Court rule that grants review to a case if as few as four of the justices support review.

majority opinion

Opinion of a court laying out the official position of the court in the case.

plea bargins

Agreement by a criminal defendant to plead guilty in return for a reduced sentence.

Solicitor General

Official in the Justice Department who represents the president in federal court.

amicus curiae

Latin term meaning "friend of the court" that is used to describe individuals or interest groups who have an interest in a lawsuit but are not themselves direct parties to the suit.

class action lawsuits

Lawsuit filed by one person on behalf of that person plus all similarly situated people.

judicial independence

Ability of judges to reach decisions without fear of political retribution.

judicial restraint

Decisions by judges respecting the decisions of other branches or, through the concept of precedent, the decisions of earlier judges.

judicial activism

Decisions that go beyond what the law requires made by judges who seek to impose their own policy preferences on society through their judicial decisions.

countermajoritarian difficulty

Alexander Bickel's phrase for the tension that exists for representative government when unelected judges have the power to strike laws passed by elected representatives.

petition of writ of certiorari

Request to the Supreme Court that it review a lower court case.

en banc

Decision by an entire Court of Appeals circuit, typically following an original judgment by a three-judge panel of the circuit.

Marbury v Madison

An 1803 Supreme Court decision that established the Supreme Court's power of judicial review.

judicial review

Authority of courts to declare laws passed by Congress and acts of the executive branch to be unconstitutional.

jurisdiction

Lawful authority of a court to hear a case.

district (trial) courts

Federal trial courts at the bottom of the federal judicial hierarchy.

precedents

Practice of reaching decisions based on the previous decisions of other judges.

common law

Judge-made law in England and the United States that results from gaps in statutory law.

civil suit

Lawsuit by a person, organization, or government against another person, organization, or government.

criminal case

Government prosecution of an individual for breaking the law.

courts of appeals

Intermediate federal courts that are above the district courts and below the Supreme Court.

appeals

Legal proceeding whereby the decision of a lower court on a question of law can be challenged and reviewed by a higher court.

adversary process

Confrontational legal process under which each party presents its version of events.

affirmative action

Policies that support greater equality, often by granting racial or gender preferences in hiring, education, or contracting.