Law, Courts, Politics Running Vocab List

En banc

all judges of the court (in appellate courts, judge sit in a panel to consider legal arguments made by attorneys)

Notice of appeal

Filed by litigant unhappy with the trial court outcome

Appellant, Plaintiff in Error

litigant appealing the decision

Appellee, Respondent

Litigant who did not initiate the appeal

Mandatory Jurisdiction

possessed by some courts in the US where they must decide cases appealed to them from lower courts

Discretionary Jursidiction

High courts of a state and Supreme Court where they can choose which cases they wish to review among the cases appealed to them

Writ of Certiorari

request made through a petition to allow the court to accept the case for review

Imprimatur

given by highest court for lower court ruling in a given jurisdiction

Docket

set of cases awaiting court action and decision

Brandeis Brief

type of legal brief that supplements legal arguments with broader information

Amicus Curiae briefs (amicus briefs)

third party briefs that originally had no stake in the outcome of a case, but provide informed expertise, but now are tools of advocacy to persuade courts

Dismissal with Prejudice

Court terminates the appeal and bars appellant from appealing the same case in the future, for extreme cases with appellant does not comply with the appellate process

Dismissal without prejudice

Court terminates the appeal but the appellant may refile the appeal

Oral Arguments

Stage in appellate process where judges ask attorneys questions to help them make up their minds and raise issues they want other judges to consider, engagement of appellate judges in dialogue through attorneys

Concurring Opinion

written by judges when they agree with the outcome but for reasons differently than those laid out in the majority opinion or to make a further point on necessary clarification

Special Concurrence

agrees with majority otucome for different reasons

Regular concurrence

agrees with majority outcome for same reasons

Dissenting Opinion

written by judge that indicates why they disagree with majority opinion of the outcome of a case

Supersedeas (appeal) Bond

posted by a defendant that files notice of appeal within prescribed period to suspend plaintiff’s collection of any amount awarded during appellate review

Fact-Bound

appeal lacks significant procedural issues or legal questions

Standing

A group can only bring a suit on its own behalf if it can demonstrate that it is directly injured

Legal Model

stare decisis (rule of law)

suggests there is some logical form of reasoning internal to law where decisions of judges are influenced by legal considerations

judges only want to interpret the law as well as possible

Legal Realists

argue that judicial discretion is broad and the common law can lead to many results

law is compatible with multiple outcomes

Attitudinal Model

Supreme Court justices decide disputes in light of facts based on ideological aptitudes and values of the justices

Strategic Model

sees judges as strategic actors who realize their ability to achieve their goals depending on a consideration of the preference of other actors, choices they expect others to make, and institutional context they act in