BGSU POLS 1200 Midterm 2 Terms - Definitions

Amicus Curiae

"Friend of the court"; a brief filed by a third party not directly involved in a lawsuit to provide additional arguments, data, or perspective to influence the judges' decision.

Jurisdiction

The official authority of a court to hear, hear evidence for, and make legal decisions on a case.

Levels of courts

The hierarchical structure of the judiciary system, typically divided into trial courts (district courts), intermediate appellate courts (circuit courts), and the court of last resort (Supreme Court).

Brandenburg v. Ohio

A 1969 landmark Supreme Court decision establishing that speech cannot be prohibited unless it is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.

Dissenting Opinion

A written opinion by one or more judges who disagree with the majority decision of the court, outlining their reasoning.

Structure of the judiciary

The organization of federal and state court systems, including trial, appellate, and supreme courts that handle statutory and constitutional interpretation.

Judicial Doctrine

Guidelines and legal principles established by court decisions that guide lower courts in deciding similar future cases.

Judicial Review

The authority of the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, to declare legislative acts or executive decisions unconstitutional and nullify them.

Rule of Four

An unwritten practice in the U.S. Supreme Court requiring at least four of the nine justices to vote to grant a writ of certiorari for a case to be heard.

Judiciary Act of 1925

An act that gave the Supreme Court almost complete discretion over its docket by replacing mandatory appeals with writs of certiorari.

Senatorial Courtesy

An informal tradition where the president consults home-state senators of their own party before nominating a federal judge to serve in that state.

Marbury v. Madison

The 1803 landmark Supreme Court case that formally established the principle of judicial review in the United States.

McCulloch v. Maryland

The 1819 Supreme Court case establishing federal supremacy over states and holding that Congress possesses implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause.

Solicitor General

The high-ranking Justice Department official responsible for representing the U.S. federal government before the Supreme Court.

Stare decisis

"Let the decision stand"; the legal doctrine directing courts to follow precedent set by prior judicial rulings when deciding active cases.

Substantive Doctrine

Judicial principles and standards created by legal precedents that guide judges on how to decide cases on their substantive legal merits rather than procedural rules.

Writ of Certiorari

An order issued by a higher court directing a lower court to send up the records of a case for judicial review.

Writ of Mandamus

A legal court order requiring a government official or lower entity to perform an official, mandatory duty.

Supreme Court Justices

The nine appointed judges (one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices) who make up the highest court in the U.S. judicial branch.

Constitutional Penumbras

Implied legal rights and liberties derived from the explicit protections listed in the Bill of Rights, such as the right to privacy.

Affirmative Action

Policies and programs designed to improve educational or employment opportunities for minority groups and women who have historically faced discrimination.

Civil Rights

Constitutional protections and legal rights ensuring freedom from discrimination and equal treatment under the law.

Civil Liberties

Basic individual rights and freedoms protected from government infringement, primarily enumerated in the Bill of Rights.

De Facto Segregation

Racial segregation that occurs as a result of social, economic, or private factors rather than formal legal enforcement.

De Jure Segregation

Racial segregation mandated and enforced by laws or official government actions.

Fugitive Slave Law

Federal laws enacted in 1793 and 1850 requiring the return of escaped enslaved individuals from free states to their owners in slave states.

Grandfather Clause

A legal mechanism used by Southern states to disenfranchise Black voters by exempting individuals whose ancestors had the right to vote prior to 1867 from literacy tests and voting restrictions.

Poll Tax

A fee levied as a requirement for voting, used historically in Southern states to disenfranchise low-income citizens and Black Americans until banned by the 24th Amendment.

Jim Crow Laws

Southern state and local statutes enacted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that legally enforced racial segregation and voter suppression.

Plessy v. Ferguson

The 1896 Supreme Court ruling that upheld racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.

Brown v. Board of Education

The 1954 landmark Supreme Court decision ruling that state-mandated racial segregation in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause, overruling Plessy v. Ferguson.

Shelby County v. Holder

The 2013 Supreme Court decision striking down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, removing federal preclearance requirements for states with histories of voter discrimination.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislation that banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in employment and public accommodations.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Federal legislation that prohibited racial discrimination in voting, outlawing literacy tests and providing federal oversight over state election procedures.

White Primary

Primary elections held in Southern states in which only white voters were permitted to participate, effectively disenfranchising Black citizens in one-party states.

Equal Protection (14th Amendment)

The clause in the Fourteenth Amendment stating that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Civil Rights for many groups

The expansion of civil rights protections beyond African Americans to women, LGBTQ+ individuals, religious minorities, immigrants, and persons with disabilities.

Clear and Present Danger

A judicial standard originating from Schenck v. United States permitting government limits on free speech if the words create a clear and immediate danger of bringing about substantive evils.

Court Eras

Distinct periods in Supreme Court history characterized by primary policy concerns, such as nation-building, economic regulation, and individual civil liberties.

Miller v. California

The 1973 Supreme Court case establishing a three-part test (the Miller Test) to determine whether speech or material is legally obscene and unprotected by the First Amendment.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

A protection guaranteed under the Eighth Amendment prohibiting excessive fines or punishments that are degrading, inhumane, or disproportionate.

Due Process

The constitutional guarantee under the 5th and 14th Amendments that government must respect all legal rights owed to a person and follow fair legal procedures.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, detailing individual civil liberties and protections against federal overreach.

Prior Restraint

Government censorship of material before it is published or broadcast, which is generally prohibited by the First Amendment.

Jacobellis v. Ohio

A 1964 Supreme Court decision regarding obscenity and public decency, famous for Justice Potter Stewart's description of pornography: "I know it when I see it."

Snyder v. Phelps

A 2011 Supreme Court ruling protecting public speech on matters of public concern—even if deeply offensive—from tort liability under the First Amendment.

Engel v. Vitale

The 1962 landmark Supreme Court decision declaring state-sponsored, official prayer in public schools unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause.

Gideon v. Wainwright

The 1963 landmark decision holding that the Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to legal counsel, even if they cannot afford an attorney.

Roper v. Simmons

The 2005 Supreme Court ruling that executing individuals who committed crimes while under 18 years of age violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah

A 1993 Supreme Court decision ruling that laws targeting specific religious rituals (such as animal sacrifice) violate the Free Exercise Clause.

Lawrence v. Texas

The 2003 Supreme Court ruling striking down state anti-sodomy laws, affirming individual rights to liberty and privacy under the Due Process Clause.

Hustler v. Falwell

The 1988 Supreme Court ruling protecting parody and satire of public figures from claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress under the First Amendment.

Three Strikes Laws

Statutes mandating significantly harsher, long-term prison sentences for individuals convicted of three or more serious or violent felonies.

Establishment Clause

The clause in the First Amendment prohibiting the government from establishing a state religion or favoring one religion over another.

Lemon Test

A three-part test derived from Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) used by courts to determine if a statute violates the Establishment Clause.

Miranda Rule

The requirement established in Miranda v. Arizona (1966) that police must inform suspects of their constitutional rights to remain silent and consult an attorney prior to interrogation.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

The 1857 Supreme Court ruling declaring that enslaved or free African Americans were not U.S. citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in federal territories.

Missouri Compromise

An 1820 federal statute regulating slavery in the western territories by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, later declared unconstitutional in Dred Scott v. Sandford.