Governing States and Localities, Chapter 9

Activist Judge

Activist Judge

A judge who is said to act as an independent policymaker by creatively interpreting a constitution or statue.

Criminal Case

A legal case brought by the state intending to punish a violation of the law.

Civil Case

A legal case that involves a dispute between private parties

Trial Court

The first level of the court system

Settlement

A mutual agreement between parties to end a civil case before going to trial.

Plea Bargain

An agreement in which the accused in a criminal case admits guilt, usually in exchange for a promise that a particular sentence will be imposed.

Appeal

A request to have a lower court's decision in a case reviewed by a higher court.

Intermediate Appellate Court

A court that reviews court cases to find possible errors in their proceedings.

State Supreme Court

The highest level of appeals court in a state.

Precedent

In law, the use of the past to determine current interpretation and decision making

Court of First Instance

The court in which a case is introduced and nothing has been determined yet.

Bench Trial

A trial in which no jury is present and the judge decides the facts as well as the law.

General Jurisdiction Trial Court

A court that hears any civil or criminal cases that have not been assigned to a special court.

Limited, or Special Jurisdiction, Trial Court

A court that hears cases that are statutorily limited by either the degree of seriousness or the types of parties involved.

Prejudicial Error

An error that affects the outcome of a case.

Discretionary Jurisdiction

The power of a court to decide whether or not to grant review of a case.

Mandatory Jurisdiction

The requirement that a court hear every case presented before it

En Banc

Appeals court sessions in which all the judges hear a case together.

Panel

A group of (usually) three judges who sit to hear cases in a state court of appeals.

Retention Election

an election in which a judge runs uncontested and voters are asked to vote yes or no on the question of whether they wish to retain the judge in office for another term.

Pure Appointive System

A judicial selection system in which the governor appoints judges alone, without preselection of candidates by a nominating commission.

Prosecutor

A government official and lawyer who conducts criminal cases on behalf of the people.

Public Defender

A government lawyer who provides free legal services to persons accused of crimes who cannot afford to hire lawyers.

Legislative Overcriminalization

The tendency of government to make a crime out of anything the public does not like.

Indictment

A formal criminal charge

Grand Jury

A group of between sixteen and twenty-three citizens who decide if a case should go to trial; if the grand jury decides that it should, an indictment is issued.

Jury Nullification

A jury's returning a verdict of "not guilty" even though jurists believe the defendant is guilty. By doing so, the jury cancels out the effect of a law that the jurors believe is immoral or was wrongly applied to the defendant.

Felony

A serious crime, such as murder or arson.

Misdemeanor

A less serious crime, such as shoplifting

Assigned Counsel

Private lawyers selected by the courts to handle particular cases and paid from public funds.

Contract Attorney

A private attorney who enters into an agreement with a state, country, or judicial district to work on a fixed-fee basis per case or for a specific length of time.

Liability

A legal obligation or responsibility

Voir Dire

The interviewing and examination of potential jurors by the attorneys for both sides of a case.

For Cause Challenge

A lawyer's asking the judge to excuse a potential juror because the individual appears to be biased or unable to be fair.

Peremptory Challenge

A lawyer's dismissal of a potential juror for any reason except race or gender.

Indeterminate Sentencing

The sentencing of an offender, by a judge, to a minimum and a maximum amount of time in prison, with a parole board deciding how long the offender actually remains in prison.

Determinate Sentencing

The sentencing of an offender, by a judge, to a specific amount of time in prison depending on the crime.

Mandatory Minimum Sentence

The shortest sentence that an offender may receive upon conviction for a certain offense. The court has no authority to impose a shorter sentence.

Habitual Offender Laws

Statutes imposing harsher sentences on offenders who previously have been sentenced for crimes.

Truth-in-Sentencing Laws

Laws that give parole boards less authority to shorten sentences for good behavior by specifying the proportion of a sentence an offender must serve before becoming eligible for parole.

Recidivism

A return to, or relapse into, criminal behavior.

Rocket Docket

Fast-tracked cases that often have limited, specific deadlines for specific court procedures.

Magistrate

A local official or attorney granted limited judicial powers.

Recusal

The disqualification of a judge because of an actual or perceived bias or conflict of interest calling the judge's impartiality into question.