Chapter 12- American Government

Amicus Brief

A brief submitted to the Supreme Court by an amicus curiae (Latin for "friend of the court"), which is is a person or group who is not a party to the case but is interested in its outcome. Amici curiae submit amicus briefs to offer their opinion, analysis, and recommendations about how the Court should rule on a given case.

Appellate Court

A court with appellate jurisdiction, meaning it has authority to review cases already decided by a lower court and to change the lower court’s decision.

Appellate Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case on appeal from a lower court and possibly change the lower court’s decision.

Circuit Courts

The intermediate appellate courts of the federal court system review decisions of the lower (district) courts.  Also known as "Courts of Appeals."

Civil Law

Area of American law that deals with disputes between individuals and/or organizations. Unlike in criminal law, the losing party in a civil case cannot be fined, incarcerated, or executed.  They can, however, be ordered to pay damages to the winning party.

Common Law

The pattern of law developed by judges through case decisions largely based on precedent.

Concurring Opinion

An opinion written by a justice who agrees with the Court’s majority decision on the case but has different reasons for supporting it from that offered in the majority opinion.

Conference

Closed meeting of the justices where they discuss cases after oral argument and take an initial vote on the merits of the case.

Court of Last Resort

An appellate court that, like the U.S. Supreme Court, has no appellate court above it.

Courts of Appeals

The intermediate appellate courts of the federal court system that review decisions of the lower (district) courts.

Court Packing

Expanding the size of the Supreme Court so the president and Congress can add a sufficient number of new justices to change the Court's decision-making in a way they desire.

Criminal Law

Body of law that deals with crime and the legal  punishment of criminal offenses. In criminal law, unlike in civil law, the government initiates cases against defendants and a guilty defendant can be fined, incarcerated, or executed.

Discretionary Appellate Jurisdiction

When an appellate court is allowed to choose whether or not to hear cases on appeal.

Dissenting Opinion

An opinion written by a justice that explains why they disagree with the Court's majority decision in the case.

District Courts

The primary trial courts of the federal court system.

Docket

The pending cases listed on a court’s calendar.

Dual Court System

Phrase that refers to the fact that each state has its own semi-autonomous court system that exists parallel to the federal court system. When state courts make decisions that rely on the U.S. Constitution or federal laws, then those state court decisions can be reviewed by federal appellate courts. Otherwise, state courts operate independently of federal courts.

Intermediate Appellate Courts

Appellate courts that are subject to the appellate jurisdiction of at least one other court. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over U.S. federal courts of appeals, so the latter are considered intermediate appellate courts.

Judicial Activism

A judicial philosophy in which a justice is more likely to support the expansion of the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction and powers, to embrace innovative constitutional doctrines, to overturn precedents, and/or to rule actions by the other branches unconstitutional.

Judicial Independence

A condition in which judges are free from political pressure and financial influence. Judicial independence aims to promote the rule of law by enabling judges to make impartial decisions based on case facts and the law as they understand it.

Judicial Restraint

A judicial philosophy in which a justice is more likely to support a limited scope for the Supreme Court's jurisdiction and powers, to be averse to innovative legal doctrines, and to be reluctant to overturn precedents and/or rule actions by the other branches to be unconstitutional.

Judicial Review

The authority of courts to decide whether acts of government are constitutional or unconstitutional.

Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a legal case and rule on it.

Majority Opinion

The Court's official written justification for its decision in a case.

Mandatory Appellate Jurisdiction

When an appellate court is required to hear cases on appeal.

Oral Argument

Official event in which opposing parties in a case present their sides' positions to the justices and answer questions asked of them by the justices.

Original Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to be the first to hear a legal case.

Precedent

The rules, principles, or guidelines established by courts in earlier cases that frame 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 vote to do so.

Senatorial Courtesy

An unwritten custom by which the president consults with the senators of a state before nominating a candidate for a lower federal court vacancy in that state.

Solicitor General

The lawyer who represents the federal government and argues some cases before the Supreme Court.

Stare Decisis

The principle by which courts rely on past decisions and their precedents when making decisions in new cases. (The phrase is Latin for "stand by things decided.")

Trial Court

The level of court in which a case starts or is first tried. To be a trial court for a case, a court must have original jurisdiction for the case.

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.