American Federal Government - Exam 4

Appellate Jurisdiction

the power of a court to hear a case on appeal from a lower court and possibly change the lower court's decision

Original Jurisdiction

the power of a court to hear a case for the first time

Judicial Review

the power of the courts to review actions taken by the other branches of government and the states and to rule on whether those actions are constitutional

Madison

the 1803 Supreme Court case that established the courts' power of judicial review and the first time the Supreme Court ruled an act of Congress to be unconstitutional​

Common Law

the pattern of law developed by judges through case decisions largely based on precedent​

Dual Court System

the division of the courts into two separate systems, one federal and one state, with each of the fifty states having its own courts​

Trial Courts

the level of court in which a case starts or is first tried​

Appellate Courts

a court that reviews cases already decided by a lower or trial court and that may change the lower court's decision​

Criminal Law

a law that prohibits actions that could harm or endanger others, and establishes punishment for those actions​

Precedent

the principles or guidelines established by courts in earlier cases that frame the ongoing operation of the courts, steering the direction of the entire system​

Court of Appeals

the appellate courts of the federal court system that review decisions of the lower (district) courts; also called circuit courts​

Circuit Courts

the appeals (appellate) courts of the federal court system that review decisions of the lower (district) courts; also called courts of appeals​

Stare Decisis

the principle by which courts rely on past decisions and their precedents when making decisions in new cases​

Senatorial Courtesy

an unwritten custom by which the president consults the senators in the state before nominating a candidate for a federal vacancy there, particularly for court positions​

Chief Justice

the highest-ranking justice on the Supreme Court​

Associate Justices

a member of the Supreme Court who is not the chief justice​

Writ of Certiorari

an order of the Supreme Court calling up the records of the lower court so a case may be reviewed; sometimes abbreviated cert.​

Rule of Four

a Supreme Court custom in which a case will be heard when four justices decide to do so​

Solicitor General

the lawyer who represents the federal government and argues some cases before the Supreme Court​

Amicus Curiae

literally a 'friend of the court' and used for a brief filed by someone who is interested in but not party to a case​

Dissenting Opinion

an opinion written by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion of the Court​

Concurring Opinion

an opinion written by a justice who agrees with the Court's majority opinion but has different reasons for doing so​

Judicial Activism

a judicial philosophy in which a justice is more likely to overturn decisions or rule actions by the other branches unconstitutional, especially in an attempt to broaden individual rights and liberties​

Judicial Restraint

a judicial philosophy in which a justice is more likely to let stand the decisions or actions of the other branches of government​

Expressed Powers

those powers specifically provided to the Congress and the president in the U.S. Constitution​

Implied Powers

those powers not specifically detailed in the U.S. Constitution but inferred as necessary to achieve the objectives of the national government​

Charter

a document that provides a framework and detailed account of local government responsibilities and areas of authority​

Home Rule

principle that provides local governments some degree of independence from the state government, typically detailed in a charter​

Moralistic Political Culture

a culture that views the government as a means to better society and promote the general welfare​

Formal Powers

those powers a governor may exercise that are specifically outlined in the state constitution or state law​

Line-Item Veto

a state governor's ability to strike out a line or individual portions of a bill while letting the remainder pass into law​

Amendatory Veto

a veto that allows a governor to send a bill back to the legislature with a message requesting a specific amendment​

Reduction Veto

a governor's authority to reduce the amount budgeted in a piece of legislation​

Delegate Legislature

a legislator who represents the will of those who elected the legislator to office and acts in their expressed interest, even when it goes against a personal belief about what is ultimately in the constituency's best interest​

Trustees

an officeholder who believes they were elected to exercise judgment and to know best by virtue of having the time and expertise to study and understand an issue​

Commission System

an elected commission that serves as the governing body within a given county​

Council-Administrator System

an elected council that appoints an administrator to oversee the operation of the county government​

Council-Elected System

a county government in which voters elect both the members of the council and the executive​

Council-Manager System

a structure of government in which elected members of the city council appoint a city manager to carry out administrative functions​

Mayor-Council System

a structure of government in which both city council members and the mayor are elected by voters​

Bureaucracy

an administrative group of nonelected officials charged with carrying out functions connected to a series of policies and programs​

Bureaucrats

the civil servants or political appointees who fill nonelected positions in government and make up the bureaucracy​

Civil Servants

the individuals who fill nonelected positions in government and make up the bureaucracy; also known as bureaucrats​

Spoils System

a system that rewards political loyalties or party support during elections with bureaucratic appointments after victory​

Patronage

the use of government positions to reward individuals for their political support​

Merit System

a system of filling civil service positions by using competitive examinations to value experience and competence over political loyalties​

Pay Schedule

a chart that shows salary ranges for different levels of positions vertically and for different ranks of seniority horizontally​

Government Corporations

a corporation that fulfills an important public interest and is therefore overseen by government authorities to a much larger degree than private businesses​

Red Tape

the mechanisms, procedures, and rules that must be followed to get something done​

Negotiated Rulemaking

a rulemaking process in which neutral advisors convene a committee of those who have vested interests in the proposed rules and help the committee reach a consensus on them​

Privatization

measures that incorporate the market forces of the private sector into the function of government to varying degrees