Caption
lists parties names and party designation
petitioner
person who filed the appeal or petition
headnote
summary of a particular point of law discussed in a case
court brief
the party's written argument
case brief
summary of a case used by researcher
citation
where to find the case in the library or online
facts
summarize the relevant facts
procedural history
what has happened in the court system so far
issues
the question the court has to answer-one sentence on the form of a question. each issue should be a separate question
holding
answer to the issue question-one sentence
reasoning
discussion analysis-why did the court reach their decision-will contain the rules of law
result
outcome/disposition. reverse, affirm, or vacate-the courts final ruling with respect to the lower courts decision
trial court
2 parties present their evidence at the trial level-evidence may be testimony, documents or tangible evidence-the role of the trial court is to determine the facts and apply the applicable law to the facts
intermediate appellate court
an appellate court that is subject to judicial review by a higher appellate court
court of last resort
the highest teir in the federal and state court system, which usually contains 1 court-all members of the court participate in deciding cases
jurisdiction
the right and power of a court to make legally binding decisions in a particular geographical area over particular persons and subject matters
geographical jurisdiction
refers to the geographical area within which the court has the right and power to make decisions that are legally binding
subject matter jurisdiction
the person about whom and the subject matters about which a court has the right and power to make decisions that are legally binding
general jurisdiction
the power of a court to hear and decide any of a wide range of cases that arise within its geographical area
limited jurisdiction
a court of limited jurisdiction is limited to hearing certain types of cases
in personam jurisdiction(personal)
the authority of the court to determine the rights of the defendent
in rem jurisdiction(property)
the authority of the court to determine the status of property
hierarchical jurisdiction
the level of court deciding a case. The court of original jurisdiction initially hears and decides a case. on appeal the case is heard by a court with appellate jurisdiction
original jurisdiction
the power of a court to take a case, try it and decide it(as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, the power of a court to hear and decide an appeal)
appellate jurisdiction
the power and authority of a higher court to take up cases that have already been in a lower court and the power to make decisions about these cases
testimony
evidence given by a witness under oath
charge
the judges final summary of a case and instructions to the jury
questions of law
a point in dispute in a lawsuit; an issue for decision by the judge
admissability
a judge must decide whether a piece of evidence may be considered by the factfinder in deciding a case
motion
a request that a judge make a ruling or take some other action-motions are either granted or denied by the judge
motion for a directed verdict
a request that the judge take the decision out of the jury's hands. The judge does this by telling the jurors what the jury must decide or by actually making the decision. The judge might do this when the person suing hads presented facts that ,even if believed by a jury, cannot add up to a successful case
motion for a summary judgement
a request that the judge enter a final judgement(victory) for one side of a lawsuit(or in one part of a lawsuit)without trial, when a judge finds that there is no genuine factual issue in the lawsuit
bench trial
a case tried w/o a jury
discretionary jurisdiction
a court that decides if the court should hear the case
appellate court
a court whose jurisdiction is to review decisions of lower courts or agencies
questions of fact
a point in dispute in a lawsuit; an issue for decision by judge or jury
remands
sends back-for example a higher court may sendback a case to a lwer court,directing a lower court to take some action
panel
a group of judges that decides a case
appellate brief
an attorney's written argument presented to an appeal court, setting forth a statement of the law as it should be applied to the client's facts
oral argument
the presentation of each side of a case before an appeals court
us district courts
us trial courts
federal question jurisdiction
Jurisdiction given to federal courts in cases involving the interpretation and application of the U.S. Constitution, acts of Congress, and treaties.
diversity jurisdiction
federal courts have diversity jurisdiction as long as the amount in controversy is more than 75,000 and the parties have the requistite diversity of citzenship with the parties from different states or one party a citizen of a state and the other party
united states courts of appeals
13 courts with appellate jurisdiction in 12 districts to ease Supreme Court workload
justice
Title of a judge on the state Supreme Court or federal Supreme Court
cheif justice
The head of a court. The Cheif Justice of the United States is the highest ranking judicial official in the nation and is the head of the U.S. Supreme Court.
petition for a writ of certiorari
a request for a writ of certiorari is like an appeal, but one which the higher court is not required to take for decision