Judicial branch vocab

ap comp gov vocab quiz

Amicus Curiae

Latin for “Friend of the Court”. A person or group that is not directly involved in a case submits information or arguments to help the court make a decision.

Civil law

law dealing with disputes between individuals, groups, or organizations, often involving money, property, or rights

Common law

law developed through court decisions and past judicial rulings, rather than solely through written laws passed by a legislature.

Concurring opinion

A written opinion by a judge who agrees with the court’s final decision but has different reasoning from the majority opinion

Criminal law

Law dealing with actions considered offenses against society or the state, such as theft or murder, and the punishments for those offenses

Dissenting opinion

A written opinion by a judge who disagrees with the majority’s decision in a case

Judicial Activism

An approach in which judges are more willing to interpret the constitution broadly or overturn laws and precedents they consider unconstitutional

Judicial restraint

An approach in which judges generally defer to elected branches of government and avoid overturning laws unless they clearly violate the Constitution.

Judicial review

the power of courts to determine whether laws or government actions violate the Constitution. Established at the federal level in Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Litigation

The process of taking legal action or resolving disputes through the court system

Majority opinion

The official written opinion explaining the reasoning behind a court’s decision, supported by more than half of the participating judges.

Political questions

Issues the courts may consider inappropriate for judicial resolution because the Constitution assigns them to the elected branches or they lack manageable judicial standards

precedent

a previous court decision used as a guide when deciding similar cases in the future.

Per curiam decision

A court decision issued in the name of the court as a whole rather than attributed to a specific judge or justice.

Rule of four

The supreme court practice requiring at least four of the nine justices to agree to hear a case by granting a writ of certiorari.

Strict constitution

a narrow interpretation of the constitution or laws, generally limiting their meaning to what is explicitly stated in the text

Stare decisis

Latin for “Let the decision stand”. The principle that courts should generally follow precedent when deciding similar cases.

Statutory law

Written laws formally enacted by a legislative body, such as congress or a state legislature

Federal district court

the main federal trial courts, where cases are first heard, evidence is presented, and facts are determined

Original jurisdiction

A court’s authority to hear a case for the first time, rather than reviewing a lower court’s decision

writ of certiorari

An order by the Supreme court agreeing to review a lower court’s decision

writ of habeas corpus

a court order requiring the government to bring a detained person before a court to determine whether their detention is lawful