polisci quiz#2 --> chap 14,13,6

original jurisdiction

the authority of a court to handle a case first, as in the Supreme Court's authority to initially hear disputes between two states. However, original jurisdiction for the Supreme Court is not exclusive; the Court may assign such a case to a lower court.

Judiciary Act of 1789

The law in which Congress laid out the organization of the federal judiciary. The law refined and clarified federal court jurisdiction and set the original number of justices at six. It also created the office of the attorney general and established the lower federal courts.

district courts

Lower-level trial courts of the federal judicial system that handle most U.S. federal cases

appellate jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear appeals from lower courts and change or uphold the decision.

judicial review

The Supreme Court's power to strike down a law or an executive branch action that it finds unconstitutional.

constitutional interpretation

The process of determining whether a piece of legislation or governmental action is supported by the Constitution.

statutory interpretation

The various methods and tests used by the courts for determining the meaning of a law and applying it to specific situations. Congress may overturn the courts' interpretation by writing a new law; thus, it also engages in statutory interpretation.

class-action lawsuit

A case brought by a group of individuals on behalf of themselves and others in the general public who are in similar circumstances.

common law

Law based on the precedent of previous court rulings rather than on legislation. It is used in all federal courts and 49 of the 50 state courts.

precedent

A legal norm established in court cases that is then applied to future cases dealing with the same legal questions.

standing

Legitimate justification for bringing a civil case to court.

jurisdiction

The sphere of a court's legal authority to hear and decide cases.

appeals courts

The intermediate level of federal courts that hear appeals from district courts. More generally, an ____________ is any court with appellate jurisdiction.

senatorial courtesy

A norm in the nomination of district court judges in which the president consults with their party's senators from the relevant state in choosing the nominee.

writ of certiorari

The most common way for a case to reach the Supreme Court, in which at least four of the nine justices agree to hear a case that has reached them via an appeal from the losing party in a lower court's ruling.

mootness

The irrelevance of a case by the time it is received by a federal court, causing the Supreme Court to decline to hear the case

cert pool

A system initiated in the Supreme Court in the 1970s in which law clerks screen cases that come to the Supreme Court and recommend to the justices which cases should be heard

solicitor general

A presidential appointee in the Justice Department who conducts all litigation on behalf of the federal government before the Supreme Court and supervises litigation in the federal appellate courts.

amicus curiae

Latin for "friend of the court," referring to an interested group or person who shares relevant information about a case to help the Court reach a decision.

oral arguments

Spoken presentations made in person by the lawyers of each party to a judge or an appellate court outlining the legal reasons their side should prevail.

shadow docket

The alternative path to the Supreme Court that involves emergency appeals of lower-court decisions. The cases do not involve a full briefing and oral arguments and often are unsigned opinions.

strict construction

A way of interpreting the Constitution based on its language alone.

original intent

The theory that justices should surmise the intentions of the Founders when the language of the Constitution is unclear.

living Constitution

A way of interpreting the Constitution that takes into account evolving national attitudes and circumstances rather than the text alone.

attitudinalist approach

A way of understanding decisions of the Supreme Court based on the political ideologies of the justices.

judicial restraint

The idea that the Supreme Court should defer to the democratically elected executive and legislative branches of government rather than contradicting existing laws.

judicial activism

The idea that the Supreme Court should assert its interpretation of the law even if it overrules the elected executive and legislative branches of government.

liberal or conservative ideology

A way of describing political beliefs in terms of a position on the spectrum running from liberal to moderate to conservative.

latent opinion

An opinion formed on the spot, when it is needed (as distinct from a deeply held opinion that is stable over time).

political socialization

The process by which an individual's political opinions are shaped by other people and the surrounding culture.

sampling error

The predicted difference between the average opinion expressed by survey respondents and the average opinion in the population, sometimes called the margin of error. Increasing the number of respondents lowers the sampling error.

ideological polarization

Sharp differences in Americans' overall ideas of the size and scope of government.

policy mood

The level of public support for expanding the government's role in society; whether the public wants government action on a specific issue.

bureaucracy

The system of civil servants and political appointees who implement congressional or presidential decisions; also known as the administrative state.

civil servants

Employees of bureaucratic agencies within the government.

political appointees

People selected by an elected leader, such as the president, to hold a government position

regulation

A rule that allows the government to exercise control over individuals and corporations by restricting certain behaviors.

notice-and-comment procedure

A step in the rule-making process in which proposed rules are published in the Federal Register and made available for debate by the general public.

state capacity

The knowledge, personnel, and institutions that the government requires to effectively implement policies.

problem of control

A difficulty faced by elected officials in ensuring that when bureaucrats implement policies they follow these officials' intentions but still have enough discretion to use their expertise

principal–agent game

The interaction between a principal (such as the president or Congress), who needs something done, and an agent (such as a bureaucrat), who is responsible for carrying out the principal's orders.

regulatory capture

A situation in which bureaucrats favor the interests of the groups or corporations they are supposed to regulate at the expense of the general public.

red tape

Excessive or unnecessarily complex regulations imposed by the bureaucracy.

standard operating procedures (SOPs)

Rules that lower-level bureaucrats must follow when implementing policies.

federal civil service

A system created by the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Act in which bureaucrats are hired on the basis of merit rather than political connections.

Office of Management and Budget

An office within the EOP that is responsible for creating the president's annual budget proposal to Congress, reviewing proposed rules, and performing other budget-related tasks.

independent agencies

Government offices or organizations that provide government services and are not part of an executive department.

budget maximizers

Bureaucrats who seek to increase funding for their agency whether or not that additional spending is worthwhile.

turkey farms

Agencies to which campaign workers and donors can be appointed in reward for their service because it is unlikely that their lack of qualifications will lead to bad policy.

bureaucratic drift

Bureaucrats' tendency to implement policies in a way that favors their own political objectives rather than following the original intentions of the legislation.

oversight

Congressional efforts to make sure that laws are implemented correctly by the bureaucracy after they have been passed.

police patrol oversight

A method of oversight in which members of Congress constantly monitor the bureaucracy to make sure that laws are implemented correctly.

fire alarm oversight

A method of oversight in which members of Congress respond to complaints about the bureaucracy or problems of implementation only as they arise rather than exercising constant vigilance.