| A | B |
|---|
| Article III | establishes the judicial branch of government |
| Judiciary Act of 1789 | created federal district courts |
| appeals courts | judiciary level between the district courts and the Supreme Court |
| criminal cases | juries decide whether people have committed crimes |
| civil cases | one party sues another for damages |
| jurisdiction | authority to hear and decide a case |
| exclusive jurisdiction | cases can only be heard in federal courts |
| concurrent jurisdiction | state and federal courts share the right to hear cases |
| district courts | where most federal lawsuits begin |
| original jurisdiction | authority to hear cases for the first time |
| term of a judge | life, "during good behavior" |
| magistrates | issue court orders and hear preliminary evidence |
| US attorney | government's lawyer |
| US marshal | arrests suspects, delivers defendants to court, and serves subpoenas |
| subpoena | order requiring someone to appear in court |
| appellate jurisdiction | appeals courts can only hear cases that have already been tried in district court |
| remand | return a case to the lower court for a new trial |
| Highest law of the land | Constitution |
| Judicial Review | the Court can determine the Constitutionality of any federal or state law |
| John Marshall | Supreme Court Chief Justice who set out the 3 principles of judicial review |
| President | appoints judges to federal courts |
| Senate | must approve appointments to the federal courts |
| 9 | number of judges on the Supreme Court |
| Thurgood Marshall | first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court |
| Sandra Day O'Connor | first woman to serve on the Supreme Court |
| 5 | number of votes needed to determine the outcome of a case before the Supreme Court |
| majority opinion | written to explain why the Supreme Court decided as it did in a case |
| dissenting opinion | written by a Justice who did not agree with the verdict of the Supreme Court |
