civics judicial branch test

Plaintiff-

The person who files a lawsuit in a court case, they complain and bring the case to court

defendant - 

The one who is accused or sued in court, they must respond to the plaintiffs complaint and defend themselves 

Prosecution-

  The legal party responsible for bring charges against someone accused of the crime, typically the state that the crime was in 

plaintiff The person who fles a lawsuit in a court case, they complain and bring the case to

court

2. Defendant The one who is accused or sued in court, they must respond to the plaintifs

complaint and defend themselves

3. Prosecution The legal party responsible for bring charges against someone accused of the

crime, typically the state that the crime was in

4. Precedent Legal decision or case that will serve as an example or rule to be followed in future

cases

5. Original jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case for the frst time, courts with original

jurisdiction handle trials

6. Appeal When one party requests that a higher court review and change the decision of a

lower court. Based on the belief there was legal error in a trial

7. Appellate jurisdiction

Authority of a court to review and possibly change the decision of a lower court

8. Judicial review The power of courts to examine laws or government actions to decide whether they

are constitutional or not

9. Judicial activism When judges interpret the constitution and laws broadly and may create new

policies through their rulings

10. Judicial restraint When judges limit their own power by deferring to the decisions of the legislative

and executive branches

11. Civil Law Deals with disputes between individuals or organizations usually over rights, responsibilities or damages.

12. Tort

A type of civil wrong such as negligence or harm where one party sues another for

compensation

13. Liable Being legally responsible for something, if someone is found liable in a case that

means they are responsible for causing harm or damages

14. Liability The legal responsibility a person or organization has for their actions especially

when those actions cause harm or damage

15. Intentional

wrong

A wrongful act done on purpose with the intent to harm something or someone

16. Unintentional

tort

Wrongful act that causes harm without intent or purpose to cause damage, usually

from negligence

17. Strict liability Legal responsibility for harm and damages even if the person was not negligent

or did not intend to cause harm

18. Preponderance

of the evidence

The standard of proof for most civil cases, it means that evidence shows something

is more likely true than not

19. Caps on damages When the maximum amount of money that plaintif can receive from a civil lawsuit

is limited legally to prevent frivolous awards

20. Mandatory arbitration

Parties in a dispute are required to resolve their confict through a private less

formal process than court

21. Tort reform Changes in the civil justice system aimed at limiting lawsuits or the amount of

damages people can receive in civil cases. This does not beneft the average

person, it does favor big corporations because if they do harm to a customer they

have less to pay to them.

22. The U.S supreme

court

The highest court in the us, it has final authority on interpreting the constitution

and federal laws

23. Majority opinion The official statement written by the majority opinion in a court case, explaining

their decision, sets the legal precedent

24. Dissenting opinion

Opinion written by the judges who disagree with the majority opinion

25. Concurring decision

Opinion written by a judge who agrees with the majority opinion but for diferent

reasons

26. Writ of certiorari Formal order from the supreme court to send up records of a case from a lower

court for review

27. Plenary review When the us supreme court or another appellate court fully reviews a case, all legal

issues and arguments

28. Legal brief Written document submitted to a court that explains a party's legal arguments,

facts, and relevant laws

29. Petitioner The party who fles a petition to a higher court asking the court to review the

decisions made on a case

30. Respondent The party who responds to the petition fled by the other party

31. Oral arguments The spoken presentation made by attorneys explaining their arguments and answering questions asked by the judges

32. Sandra Day

O'Connor

First woman on the supreme court (1981)

33. Thurgood Marshall

First african american supreme court justice (1967)