| A | B |
|---|
| plaintiff | an individual or a group of people who bring a complaint against another party in a civil case |
| defendant | the party who answers a complaint and defends against it in a court case |
| prosecution | a government body that brings a charge against a defendant who is accused of beaking one of its laws |
| precedent | a guidline for how all similar court cases should be decided in the future |
| original jurisdiction | a court's authority to hear a case first |
| appeal | to ask a higher court to review a decision by another court |
| appellate jurisdiction | a courts authority to hear an appeal of a decision by another court |
| judicial review | the Supreme Court's power to overturn any law that it decides is in conflict with the Constitution |
| judicial activism | an effort by judges to take an active role in policymaking by overturning laws relatively often |
| judicial restraint | an effort by judges to avoid overturning laws and to leave policy making up to the other two branches of government |
| interpret | to clarify or explain the meaning of |
| remand | to return a case to a lower court for a new trial |
| arbitration | settling a dispute by agreeing to accept a third party's decision |
| adversary | an opposing side in a dispute |
| brief | a written argument prepared by an attorney |
| docket | a schedule of cases to be heard by a court of law |
| circut court | court in the U.S. that represents a region |
| concurring opinion | an opinion written by a justice who supports the majority decision but has different reasons |
| disenting opinion | the written statement of a judge who disagrees with the majority decision |
| criminal case | a case in which a person is accused of breaking the law |
| civil case | a case in which one party takes legal action against another party |
| conflict | opposing point of views |
| majority opinion | a statement explaining the majority view in a case in which the justices are divided |
