| A | B |
|---|
| Popular Sovereignty | Asserts that the people are the source of any and all governmental power, and the government can only exist with the consent of the governed |
| Limited Government | Government is restricted in what it may do and each individual has rights that the government cannot take away |
| Fundamental Law | Laws of such basic and lasting importance; cannot be changed |
| Initiative | Process in which a certain number of qualified voters sign petitions in favor of proposal |
| Statutory Law | Laws passed by the legislature |
| Police Power | Power to protect and promote public health, public safety, public morals, and the general welfare |
| Constituent Power | Constitution-making and the constitutional amendment process |
| Referendum | Process by which a legislative measure is referred to the State's voters for final approval or rejection |
| Recall | A petition procedure by which voters may remove an elected official from office before the completion of his or her regular term |
| Item Veto | Governor may veto one or more items in a bill without rejecting the entire measure |
| Clemency | Powers of mercy that may be shown toward those convicted of a crime |
| Pardon | Governor may release a person from the legal consequences of a crime |
| Commutation | Governor may reduce the sentence imposed by a court |
| Reprieve | Post-pones the execution of a sentence |
| Parole | Allow the release of a prisoner short of the complete term of the original sentence |
| Common Law | Unwritten, judge-made law that has developed over centuries from those generally accepted ideas of right and wrong that have gained judicial recognition |
| Precedent | Guide to be followed in all later, similiar cases |
| Criminal Law | Offenses against the public order |
| Felony | The greater crime and may be punished by a heavy fine and/or imprisonment or death |
| Misdemeanor | The lesser offense, smaller fine, or short jail term |
| Civil Law | Relates to human conduct |
| Bench Trial | Case heard by the judge alone |
| Information | A formal charge filed by the prosecutor, without the action of a grand jury |
| Justice of the Peace | Stand on the lowest rung of the State judicial ladder |
| Warrant | A court order authorizing some offical action |
| Preliminary Hearing | Generally the first step ion a mjaor criminal prosecution |
| Magistrates | Handle those minor civil complaints and misdemeanor cases that arise in an urban setting |
| Appelate Jurisdiction | Most of their work involves the review of cases decided in the trial courts |
