Judicial Branch

Federalist #78
Judicial is the least dangerous branch and should be secured with life tenure and able to practice judicial Review in order to protect the people from the other two more dangerous branches.

amicus curiae brief
Literally, a "friend of the court" brief, filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties (litigants) to a case. A way to lobby an appeals court.

appellate jurisdiction
The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts by looking for errors of law.

briefs
written documents in which attorneys explain, using case precedents, why the court should find in favor of their client

certiorari
SCOTUS agrees to hear a case

Circuit Court of Appeals
The court to which decisions by federal district courts are appealed in order to determine if the law was applied correctly during the trial.

concurring jurisdiction
Cases that may be tried in either the federal or state courts

concurring opinion
Written when a Justice agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but has additional reasoning they want officially stated.

Constitutional Courts
Federal courts created by the Constitution or Congress under Article III of the Constitution, including the district courts, courts of appeals, & supreme.

dissenting opinion
A written statement by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion that presents his or her opinion to why the majority was wrong.

District Court (Federal)
AN entry-level federal court; therefore, has original jurisdiction over most federal cases. It is where the trial over the facts of the case is decided, usually by a petit jury verdict.

due process of law
the right of every citizen against arbitrary action by national or state governments. It is the basis for civil liberties. (there are two types: procedural & substantive)

en banc
the term used when the full panel of judges on the appellate court hears a case

federal question
A question that has to do with the U.S. Constitution, U.S. Laws, or treaties. A federal question provides a basis for federal jurisdiction.

general jurisdiction
A court that has the power to hear almost any kind of case. (small, large, civil, criminal, etc...)

grand jury
A group of citizens that decides whether there is sufficient evidence to accuse someone of a crime with a trial.

indictment
A formal charge that there is enough evidence to make a trial reasonable by a grand jury

inferior courts
The lower federal courts; any court beneath the Supreme Court

judicial activism
the idea that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect current conditions and values by loosely interpreting the Constitution.

judicial restraint
judges play minimal policymaking roles, leaving that duty strictly to elected officials like Congress. A judge refrains from changing the meaning of the law or the Constitution even when it goes against their values.

Judicial Review
An act by the US Supreme Court in deciding the constitutional validity of an executive or legislative act.

justiciable
appropriate for court assessment

Jurisdiction
(n.) an area of authority or control; the right to administer justice. What court takes which case.

legislative courts
Highly specialized federal courts created by Congress under the authority of Article I of the Constitution to help Congress carry out their enumerated powers.

majority opinion
a statement that presents the views of the majority (5/9) of supreme court justices regarding a case. Often referred to as the Ruling of the Court or Court's Opinion.

opinions of the court
An explanation for the decision of the Supreme Court or any other appellate court.

oral arguments
The verbal arguments presented in person by attorneys to an appellate court. Each attorney presents reasons to the court why the court should rule in her or his client's favor. In the Supreme Court, it becomes the Justices asking the litigants questions about their brief's arguments.

original jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts about a case.

per curiam opinion
A brief, unsigned opinion issued by the Supreme Court to explain its ruling. These are usually done in emergency situations where there is no time for normal procedures.

petit jury
a trial jury, usually consisting of 12 persons, that weighs the evidence presented at a trial and renders a verdict

political question
An issue for the executive and legislative branches to decide because they were chosen by the people. Not Justiciable.

precedent
Similar cases that have been decided in the past. They act as a guide for current judge decisions.

Rule of Four
At least four justices of the Supreme Court must vote to consider a case before it can be heard

senatorial courtesy
Presidential custom of submitting the names of prospective appointees for approval to senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.

stare decisis
Let the decision stand; decisions are based on precedents from previous cases

strict scrutiny
Supreme Court rule that classification by race and ethnic background is inherently suspect and must be justified by a "compelling public interest."

writ of certiorari (cert)
An order by a higher court directing a lower court to send up a case for review

life tenure
federal judges keep their jobs until they retire or die; however, they can be impeached

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
established by congress to speed up the handling of appeals in certain kinds of civil case. The only federal appeals court that does not have general jurisdiction and hears cases from across the entire country.