| A | B |
|---|
| concurrent jurisdiction | authority shared by both federal and state courts |
| original jurisdiction | the authority of a trial court to be first to hear a case |
| appelate jurisdiction | authority held by a court to hear a case that is appealed from lower court |
| litigant | a person engaged in a lawsuit |
| due process clause | principle in the Fifth Amendment stating that the government must follow proper constitutional procedures in trials and in other actions it takes against individuals |
| grand jury | group that hears charges against a suspect and decides whether there is sufficient evidence to bring the person to trial |
| indictment | a formal charge by a grand jury |
| petit jury | a trial jury, usually consisting of 6 or 12 people, that weighs the evidence presented at a trial and renders a verdict |
| judicial circuit | a region containing a United States appellate court |
| senatorial courtesy | a system in which the president submits the name of a candidate for judicial appointment to the senators from the candidate's before formally submitting it for full Senate approval |
| riding the circuit | traveling to hold court in a justice's assigned region of the country |
| opinion | a written explanation of a Supreme Court decision; also, in some states, a written interpretation of a state constitution or state laws by the state's attorney general |
