THE FEDERAL COURTS VOCAB

standing to sue

the requirement that plaintiffs have a serious interest in a case

class action suits

lawsuits in which a small number of people sue on behalf of all people in similar circumstances

justiciable disputes

issues capable of being settled as matter of law

amicus curiae briefs

legal briefs submitted by a friend of the court for the purpose of influencing a courts decision by raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties

original jurisdiction

the jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial

appellate jurisdiction

the jurisdiction of court that hear cases brought to them on appeal from lower courts

district courts

the 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction

courts of appeal

appellate courts empowered to review all final decision of district courts except in rare cases

supreme court

the pinnacle of the American judicial system

senatorial courtesy

an unwritten tradition whereby nominations for state level federal judicial posts are usually not confirmed if they are opposed by a senator of the presents party rom the state in which the nominee will survive

opinion

a statement of legal reasoning behind a judicial decision

state decisis

a latin ohrase meaning “let the decision stand”

precedents

how similar cases have been decided in the past

original intent

a view that the constitution should be interpreted according to the original intentions or original meaning of the Framers

judicial implementation

how and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy thereb affecting the behavior of others

marbury v madison

the 1803 case in which chief justice ad his associates asserted the right of the supreme court to determine the meaning of the US Constitution

judicial review

the power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress and by implication the executive are in accord with the US Constitution

united states v nixon

decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court unanimously ordered President Richard Nixon to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials related to the Watergate scandal to a federal district court

judicial restraint

an approach to decision making in which judges play minimal policymaking roles and defer to legislatures whenever possible

judicial activism

an approach to decision making in which judges sometimes make bold policy decision, even charting new constitutional ground

political questions

a doctrine developed by the deferral courts and used as a means to avoid deciding some cases, principally hose involving conflicts between the president and Congress

statutory construction

the judicial interpretation of an act of Congress