Judicial Review
Power of the courts to review acts of other branches of government and the states.
Judiciary Act of 1789
Established the basic three-tiered structure of the federal court system.
Marbury v. Madison
Case in which the Supreme Court first asserted the power of judicial review by finding that the congressional statute extending the Court's original jurisdiction was unconstitutional.
Trial Court
Court of original jurisdiction where cases begin.
Appellate Court
Court that generally reviews only finding of law made by lower courts.
Jurisdiction
Authority vested in a particular court to hear and decide the issues in any particular case.
Original jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These courts determine in facts of a case.
Appellate Jursidiction
The power vested in particular courts to review and/or revise the decisions of a lower court.
Criminal Law
Codes of behavior related to the protection of property and individual safety.
Civil Law
Codes of behavior related to business and contractual relationships between groups and individuals.
Constitutional Courts
Federal courts specifically created by the U.S. Constitution or by Congress pursuant to its authority in Article III.
Legislative Court
Courts established by Congress for specialized purposes, such as the Court of Military Appeals.
Brief
A document containing the legal written arguments in a case filed with a court by a party prior to a hearing or trial.
Precedent
A prior judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling subsequent cases of a similar nature.
Stare decisis
In court rulings, a reliance on past decisions or precedents to formulate decisions in new cases.
Senatorial Courtesy
Process by which presidents generally defer selection of district court judges to the choice of senators of their own party who represents the state where the vacancy occurs.
Writ of Certiorari
A request for the Court to order up the records from a lower court to review the case.
Rule of Four
At least four justices of the Supreme Court must vote to consider a case before it can be heard.
Solicitor General
The fourth-ranking member of the Department of Justice; responsible for handling all appeals on behalf of the U.S. government to the Supreme Court.
Amicus Curiae
Friend of the court"; amici may file briefs or even appear to argue their interests orally before the court.
Judicial Restraint
A philosophy of judicial decision making that argues courts should allow the decisions of other branches of government to stand, even when they offend a judge's own sense of principles.
Strict Constructionists
An approach to constitutional interpretation that emphasizes the Framers' original intentions.
Judicial activism
A philosophy of judicial decision making that argues judges should use their power broadly to further justice, especially in the areas of equality and personal liberty.
Judicial Implementation
How and whether judicial decisions are translated into actual public policies affecting more than the immediate parties to a lawsuit.