THE COURTS AND THE BUREAUCRACY
Appellate jurisdiction: authority of a court to hear an appeal from a lower court.
Bureaucracy: departments, agencies, bureaus, and commissions in the executive branch of government.
Cabinet: collective name for the 15 federal departments that are each responsible for one broadly defined policy area and whose heads are appointed by the president.
Certiorari petition: a request to the Supreme Court to review a case that has already been decided by a lower court.
Civil law: concerns non criminal disputes between private parties.
Civil servants: bureaucrats hired through the merit-based personnel system and who have job protection.
Class action lawsuit: lawsuit brought on behalf of a class of people against a defendant, e.g., lawsuits brought by those who have suffered from smoking against tobacco companies.
Concurring opinion: written by a Supreme Court Justice who voted with the majority, but for different reasons.
Criminal law: concerns conduct that is prohibited because of its harmful effects to society as a whole (punished and prosecuted by the government).
Discretionary authority: ability of executive agencies to decide whether or not to take certain courses of action when implementing existing laws.
Dissenting opinion: written by a Supreme Court Justice (or Justices) who express a minority viewpoint in a case.
Government corporation: an executive branch unit that sells a service and is expected to be financially self-sufficient (e.g. the U.S. Postal Service or Amtrak).
Independent executive agencies: a group of executive units created by Congress and the president that are responsible for more narrowly defined functions of the national government.
Independent regulatory agencies: an executive branch unit outside of cabinet departments that is responsible for monitoring and regulating specific industries.
Injunction: court order that forbids a party from performing a certain action.
Judicial activism: philosophy that the courts should take an active role in solving problems.
Judicial restraint: philosophy that the courts should defer to elected lawmakers in setting policy and should instead focus on interpreting law rather than making law.
Judicial review: power of the courts to review the constitutionality of laws or government actions.
Majority opinion: written to express the majority viewpoint in a Supreme Court case.
Merit system: system of hiring federal workers based upon competitive exams, qualifications and competition.
Original jurisdiction: authority of a court to first hear a case.
Outsourcing: the process of the government signing work contracts with private organizations to assist in implementing national policy.
Political appointees: those who have received presidential appointments to office. Contrast with Civil Service employees, who receive federal jobs by competitive exams.
Red tape: complex rules and procedures required by bureaucratic agencies.
Remand: the Supreme Court’s sending of a case back to the original court in which it was heard.
Rule making authority: process by which an independent agency or commission fills in the details of a vague law by creating rules and regulations that will be enforced.
Rule of four: the Supreme Court will hear a case if four Justices agree to do so.
Senatorial courtesy: a custom that the Senate will not confirm a person nominated by the president if he or she is opposed by either senator from the nominee’s home state.
Stare decisis: Latin for “let the decision stand.” Supreme Court policy of following precedent in deciding cases.
Whistleblower: an employee who exposes unethical or illegal conduct within the federal government or one of its contractors.
Writ of certiorari: issued by the Supreme Court to a lower court to send up the records of a case so that it can be reviewed by the high court.
Writ of habeas corpus: court order that the authorities show cause for why they are holding a prisoner in custody. Deters unlawful imprisonment.
Writ of mandamus: court order directing a party to perform a certain action.