| A | B |
|---|
| judicial branch | disputes involving laws are resolved here |
| judges | most important members of the judicial branch |
| life | term of office for judges in the federal government |
| basic function of courts | apply the laws to actual real life situations |
| civil, criminal | kinds of court cases |
| criminal case | the court determines whether a person accused of breaking a law is innocent or guilty |
| civil case | the court settles a disagreement or lawsuit |
| plaintiff | individual or a group who brings a complaint |
| defendant | party who answers a complaint and defends against it |
| prosecutor | government lawyer in a criminal case |
| judge | directs the proceedings in a case and who determines which side's argument is most in keeping with the law |
| jury of peers | body that decides the facts in a case and decides whether the defendant is innocent or guilty |
| state courts and federal courts | two separate but interconnected court systems |
| district courts | lowest courts in the federal court system |
| courts of appeals | the "middle" courts in the federal court system |
| U.S. Supreme Court | highest court in the United States |
| the President | all federal judges are appointed by |
| impeachment process | a federal judge may be removed from office |
| the final court of appeals | major purpose of the U.S. Supreme Court |
| judicial review | the power to overturn any law that the court decides is in conflict with the constitution |
| John Marshall | Chief Justice from Virginia for 34 years that helped shape the U.S. Supreme Court |
| John Roberts | Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court today |
| Miranda v. Arizona | (court case) your rights must be read to you before being arrested |
| Roe v. Wade | (court case) legalized abortion |
| Marbury v. Madison | (court case) established judicial review |
| Plessy v. Ferguson | (court case) separate but equal was established |
| Brown v. Board of Education | (court case) separate but equal was overturned; schools must integrate |
| federal system of government | national government is supreme |
| federal bureaucracy | administered by executive branch |
| the President influences the policymaking process | giving the State of the Union Address |
| cabinet departments and regulatory agencies | help carry out federal laws |
| this federal court uses a jury to determine guilty or not guilty | United States District Court |
| this federal court would never have original jurisdiction | United States Courts of Appeals |
