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| The authority of a court to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional and therefore invalid. |
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| "We command." A court issued writ commanding a public official to carry out a specific act or duty. |
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| An attempt by President Franklin Roosevelt, in 1937, to remodel the federal judiciary. Its purpose ostensibly was to alleviate the overcrowding of federal court dockets by allowing the the president to appoint an additional Supreme Court justice for every sitting justice over the age of seventy. The legislation passed the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate by a single vote. |
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| Category of federal courts vested with the general judiciary authority outlined in Article III of the Constitution. The most important are the Supreme Court, the court of appeals, and the ninety-four district courts. |
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| The trial courts of original jurisdiction in the federal judicial system, below the Supreme Court and the court of appeals. |
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| The second tier courts in the federal judicial system. One court of appeals serves each of eleven regions, or circuits, plus one for D.C. |
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| An order that is given by a superior court to an appellate court and that directs the lower court to send up a case the superior court has chosen to review. This is central to means by which the Supreme Court determines what cases it will hear. |
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| A rule employed by the Supreme Court's stating that when four justices support hearing a case the certiorari petition is granted. |
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| "Friend of the Court." A brief filed in a lawsuit by an individual or group that is not party to the lawsuit but that has an interest in the outcome. |
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| The official responsible for representing the U.S. government before the Supreme Court. The solicitor general is a ranking member of the U.S. Department of Justice. |
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| The practice of prescribing in a decision a set of rules that are to guide future decisions on similar cases. Used by the Supreme Court to guide the lower courts in making decisions. |
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| Principle of law that governs how the lower courts do their work. |
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| Principal that guides judges on which party in a case should prevail - akin to policymaking. |
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| "Let the Decision Stand." In a court of rulings, a reliance on precedents, or previous rulings, in formulating decisions in new cases. |
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| The right to bring legal action. |
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| The judicial action of deferring to the policies emanating from the elected branches in the absence of a clear violation of the Constitution or established doctrine. |
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| When judges deliberately shape judicial doctrine to conform with their personal view of the Constitution and social policy. |
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| The written opinion of one or more Supreme Court justices who disagree with the ruling of the Court's majority. The opinion outlines the rationale for their disagreement. |
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| A written opinion by a Supreme Court justice who agrees with the decision of the Court but disagrees with the rationale for reaching that decision. |
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| The head of the justice department. As the nation's chief legal officer, the attorney general of the United States represent the federal government's interests in law courts throughout the nation. The attorney general is also the chief law enforcement officer. |
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| An informal practice in which senators are given veto power over federal judicial appointments in their home states. |
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