AP gove. Chapter 13- The Judiciary

amicus curiae

appellate court

appellate jurisdiction

associate justice

brief

cheif justice

circuit courts 

civil law

common law

concurring opinion

conference

court of appeals

criminal law

dissenting opinions

district courts

docket

dual court system

judicial activism 

judicial restraint

a judicial philosophy in which a justice is more likely to overturn decisions or rule actions by other branches unconstitutional, especially in an attempt to to broaden individual rights and liberties

judicial review

the power of the courts to review actions taken by the other branches of government and the states and to rule on wheter those actions are constitutional

majority opinion

an opinion of the Court with which more than half the nine justices agree

Marbury v. Madison

the 1803 Supreme Court case that established the courts’ power of judicial review and the first time the Supreme Court ruled an act of Congress unconstitutional

oral argument

words spoken before the Supreme Court (usually by lawyers) explaining the legal reasons behind their position in a case and why it should prevail

original jurisdiction

the power of the court to hear a case for the first time

precedent

the principles or guidelines established by courts in earlier cases that fram the ongoing operation of the courts steering the direction of the entire system

Rule of Four

a supreme court custom in which a case will be heard when four justices decide to do so

senatorial courtesy 

an unwritten custom by which the president consults the senators in the state before nominating a candidate for a federal vacancy there, particularly for court positions

solicitor general

the lawyer who represents the federla government and argues some cases before the Supreme Court

stare decisis

the principle by which courts rely on past decisions and thier precedents when making decisions in new cases

trial court

the level of court in which a case starts or is first tried

writ of certiorari

an order of the Supreme Court calling up the records of the lower court so a case may be reviewed; sometimes abbreviated cert.