American National Government- Chapter 15

Amicus curiae brief

Latin for a "friend of the court" brief submitted by an individual or organization that has an interest in the outcome of case but is not formally a party to it.

United States Courts of Appeal

The federal courts intermediary between the district courts and the Supreme Court, one for each of 12 regions of the country and one for the Federal Circuit, which handles specialized cases.

Brief

a document written for an appellate court that gives legal arguments for over-turning or sustaining the decision of a lower court.

Solicitor general

a high-ranking official in the Department of Justice who represents the United States before the Supreme Court.

Class action

a lawsuit in which one or a few individuals are certified by the court as representing many others in a similar situation and in which the resulting remedies, if any, apply to the entire class.

Strict construction

a method of interpreting the Constitution that claims to follow closely the actual words of the document as originally understood by those who wrote and ratified it.

Standing

a party's right to bring a case to court and receive a judicial resolution, usually requiring that the party has suffered a real injury and does not simply have a generalized grievance against an individual, organization, or the government.

Writ of certiorari

a request by the losing side in a case decided by a federal appeals court or a state supreme court to have the U.S. Supreme Court review and overturn the decision.

Preponderance of the evidence

a standard of proof used in most civil cases, which requires that the weight of the evidence support the plaintiff's case, even if only slightly.

Advisory opinion

an opinion by a court giving its advice or interpretation on a legal matter outside of a specific case or controversy. Federal courts do not issue advisory opinions.

Majority opinion

an opinion of an appellate court, such as the U.S. Supreme Court, that garners the approval of a majority of the members of the court.

Unanimous opinion

an opinion of an appellate court, such as the U.S. Supreme Court, that garners the approval of every member of the court.

Writ of mandamus

an order from a court to an officer of the government or to a lower court requiring the performance of some mandatory, or ministerial, duty.

Oral arguments

arguments made in person before an appellate court, making the legal case for reversing or reaffirming a lower court decision.

Civil case

case in which one individual sues another person or an organization (or even the government, if the law allows) because of some alleged harm, such as a violation of a contract, a libel, or the sale of a defective product.

Criminal case

case in which the government prosecutes an individual for violating a criminal statute, such as a law against violence, theft, corporate fraud, or drug trafficking.

Opinion of the Court

in a Supreme Court case the opinion that explains and justifies the holding of the majority.

Dissenting opinion

in a Supreme Court case, an opinion written by a justice in the minority explaining why he or she disagrees with the majority.

Concurring opinion

in a Supreme Court case, an opinion written by a justice who agrees with the holding of the majority but for reasons in addition to, or different from, those stated in the opinion of the court.

Plurality opinion

in a Supreme Court case, the opinion written by the most justices who support the decision, when a majority of justices cannot agree on a single opinion.

Law clerk

in the Supreme Court, usually a recent top graduate of a prestigious law school who works for a year assisting a justice with legal research and, possibly, opinion writing.

Warren Court

the Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice Earl Warren, 1953-1969. It is famous for its rulings expanding rights.

Marshall Court

the Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice John Marshall, 1801-1835. Its decisions cemented the Court's position as a coequal branch of the national government, affirmed the supremacy of the federal Constitution and federal law over state constitutions and state law, and legitimized a broad interpretation of Congress's enumerated powers.

Midnight appointments

the appointments to the federal judiciary that President John Adams and the lame-duck Federalist Congress made in the final months and weeks of Adams's one term as president.

Original jurisdiction

the authority of a court to hear a case taken directly to it, as a new legal controversy.

Appellate jurisdiction

the authority of a court to review a decision reached by a lower court.

District courts

the basic trial courts (civil and criminal) in the federal system, where the typical federal case begins.

United States District Courts

the basic trial courts (civil and criminal) in the federal system, where the typical federal case begins.

Case law

the body of authoritative prior court decisions.

Precedents

the body of court decisions on similar matters to an issue before the courts.

Judicial activism

the charge that under the guise of interpreting the Constitution, federal judges read their own policy preferences into the fundamental law.

United States Attorney

the chief prosecutor in each of the 94 federal judicial districts, nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Court-packing plan

the common name for President Franklin Roosevelt's proposal to increase the size of the Supreme Court by up to six additional members.

Trial court

the court, such as federal district court, in which civil and criminal trials occur.

Judicial self-restraint

the doctrine that judges should exercise restraint in the kinds of cases they decide, deferring to the political branches on most matters.

Original meaning

the doctrine that judges should interpret the Constitution based on how it was understood by those who wrote and ratified it. See also original intent.

Original intent

the doctrine that judges should interpret the Constitution based on the original intent of those who wrote and ratified it. See also original meaning.

Political questions

the doctrine that the courts should not decide issues that the Constitution has given over to the discretion of the Congress or the president.

Mootness

the doctrine that the courts will not decide a case if the dispute has been resolved or rendered irrelevant by subsequent events.

Ripeness

the doctrine that the courts will not hear cases brought prematurely—that is, before the dispute is well developed and ready, or ripe, for adjudication.

Chief justice

the head of the U.S. Supreme Court and the administrative head of the U.S. court system.

Equity power

the judicial power, derived from the British legal tradition, to issue injunctions or provide for other kinds of relief, especially when a strict application of the law would lead to unjust results.

Judiciary Act of 1789

the law passed by the First Congress that created a three-tiered federal court structure.

Living Constitution

the notion that the Constitution is a living document that changes, or evolves, to meet changing circumstances. See also evolving Constitution.

Evolving Constitution

the notion that the meaning of the Constitution changes, or evolves, over time to meet changing circumstances or norms. See also living Constitution.

Circuit court

the original name for the federal courts intermediary between the district courts and the Supreme Court. The name is still used informally to apply to the federal courts of appeal. See United States Court of Appeal.

Appellant

the party who appeals a case from a lower court, seeking reversal of the decision.

Appellee

the party who won in the lower court and responds to the appeal by the losing side by seeking a reaffirmation of the lower court decision.

Lochner era

the period from 1905 until 1937 when the Supreme Court overturned many state and federal laws for interfering with the free-market economy. The name comes from the Supreme Court case Lochner v. New York of 1905.

Defendant

the person sued in a civil case or charged with a crime in a criminal case.

Plaintiff

the person who initiates a civil case by suing another individual, an organization, or the government.

Judicial review

the power of courts to strike down laws that they judge to be in violation of the federal or state constitutions.

Rule of four

the practice of the Supreme Court that it will hear a case if at least four justices agree to do so.

Stare decisis

the principle, from the Latin for "let the decision stand," that calls for judges to look to past precedents as a guide whenever possible.

Beyond a reasonable doubt

the standard of proof used in criminal cases, which requires that the state prove the defendant's guilt beyond a doubt based on reasons related to the evidence and facts in the case.

Originalism

the theory that in interpreting the Constitution judges should look to how it was understood by those who wrote and ratified it.