The Federal and State Court Systems and Judicial Selection

Vocabulary flashcards covering the structural hierarchy, judicial appointment processes, constitutional interpretations, and landmark privacy jurisprudence of the federal and state court systems.

Justice (Ideological Goal)

An ideological goal of the court system centered on ensuring the outcome of legal proceedings is fair and just.

Fairness (Ideological Goal)

An ideological goal of the court system stipulating that all individuals are treated equally under the law.

Federal Judicial System Jurisdiction

The authority of federal courts to hear cases involving violations of federal laws, constitutional issues (violations of constitutional rights), and conflicts arising between two or more states.

U.S. District Courts

The basic trial courts of the federal system consisting of 94 courts; they handle both criminal and civil cases, are typically presided over by a single judge, serve as the only federal court level utilizing juries, and establish the official record for appeals.

U.S. Court of Appeals

The 13 intermediate appellate circuit courts that review cases from district courts within their circuit; rulings are normally decided by a majority vote of a 3-judge panel based on substantive or procedural violations of due process rather than claims of factual innocence.

En Banc

A session in which all judges or justices of an appellate circuit court or the Supreme Court participate together to hear and decide a case.

U.S. Supreme Court

The ultimate court of last resort consisting of 9 justices; it exercises almost total discretion over its docket, reviewing appeals from federal appellate courts and state supreme courts that raise a federal question, hearing roughly 100 to 150 of more than 7,000 requests per term with around 75 receiving full written rationales.

Writ of Certiorari

An order issued by the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing to grant review and take up an appealed case ("granting cert").

Chief Justice John Roberts

The presiding justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, who holds the authority to decide who authors the court's majority opinion when in the majority.

Senatorial Courtesy

An unwritten, non-binding norm applied at the federal district court level where the U.S. president consults home-state senators of the president's political party prior to nominating a judge, effectively granting them veto power over candidates.

Senate Judiciary Committee

A U.S. Senate subcommittee that conducts open confirmation hearings to question presidential nominees for federal court vacancies and votes on whether to recommend them to the full Senate.

Originalism (Strict Constructionism)

A judicial philosophy asserting that the Constitution must be interpreted word for word based solely on its explicit text, meaning that any right not expressly enumerated in the text is not protected.

Living Constitution

A judicial philosophy viewing the Constitution as an evolving document that must be interpreted in light of modern, changing times and the broader spirit of the text rather than rigid literal wording.

Judicial Activism

A critical term or accusation leveled against judges who adopt broad or flexible constitutional interpretations, alleging they are improperly legislating and making laws from the bench.

Partisan Elections (State Judicial Selection)

A method of selecting state court judges where candidates run on an election ballot with their political party affiliation clearly identified, granting electoral power to the voters.

Non-partisan Elections (State Judicial Selection)

A method of selecting state court judges where candidates run for office without displaying a political party affiliation on the ballot.

Merit Selection (Missouri Plan)

A judicial selection method where the governor appoints a judge to serve an initial short term, after which the public votes in a retention election to decide whether the judge remains in office based on performance.

Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

Lower-level state courts comprising about 90% of all courts that adjudicate minor fines, minor civil actions (such as child custody, divorce, and wills), and lower-level criminal matters including traffic violations, misdemeanors, low-level drug offenses, arraignments, and bail hearings.

Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction

State trial courts that handle serious civil and criminal matters, hear appeals from limited jurisdiction courts, and conduct bench trials (where the judge decides without a jury) as well as jury trials.

Intermediate Appellate Courts (State)

State-level appellate courts that review trial court proceedings to identify possible violations of substantive and procedural due process rather than retrying guilt or innocence.

State Supreme Court

The highest appellate court in a state judicial system (with at least one in every state) that hears appeals from intermediate appellate courts; it represents the final venue where state-level litigation concludes.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

A landmark Supreme Court decision that invalidated a ban on birth control for married couples, explicitly recognizing a constitutional right to privacy for the first time by relying on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 9th Amendments.

Eisenstadt v. Baird (1971)

A Supreme Court ruling arising from charges for giving birth control to an unmarried woman, which extended the recognized right to privacy to single individuals.

Roe v. Wade

The Supreme Court decision establishing that the constitutional right to privacy encompasses a woman's decision to continue or terminate a pregnancy, implemented across a trimester framework.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022)

The Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood by a 5-to-4 vote (with a 6-to-3 ruling sustaining a 15-week abortion ban), holding that the Constitution does not protect an implicit right to privacy regarding abortion.