| A | B |
|---|
| Amicus curiae | "friend of the court"; briefs that may be sent to support the position of one side or the other. |
| Cases of equity | deals with contract issues and tort cases such as negligence and slander and defines the legal rights of individuals. |
| Common law | based on the legal concept of stare decisis, or judicial precedent. |
| Constitutional courts | courts that were formed to carry out the direction in the Constitution so that the Courts would exercise their judicial power. |
| Criminal law | cases that derive from criminal laws passed by the federal and state governments |
| Fletcher v Peck (1810) | decision that established the precedent that the Supreme Court could rule a state law unconstitutional. |
| Gibbon v Ogden (1824) | case established the principle that Congress has sole authority over interstate commerce. |
| Judicial activism | a philosophy of judicial review that results in decisions that overturn precedent. |
| Judicial restraint | a court that maintains the status quo or mirrors what the other branches of government have established as current policy. |
| Judiciary committee | key Senate committee that is responsible for recommending presidential judicial appointments to the full Senate for approval. |
| Marshall Court | John Marshall's time as Chief Justice that resulted in the landmark decisions of Marbury v Madison, McCulloch v Maryland, and Gibbons v Ogden. These cases shifted power to the judiciary and federal government. |
| McCulloch v Maryland (1819) | case that established the principle that the federal government was supreme over the state. |
| Original jurisdiction | cases heard by the Supreme Court that do not come on appeal and that "a ffect ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party. |
| Public law | includes constitutional law (cases involving constitutional issues), and administrative law (cases involving disputes over the jurisdiction of public or administrative agencies). |
| Special courts | courts created by Congress to deal with cases deriving from the delegated powers of Congress such as military appeals, tax appeals, and veteran appeals. |
| Stare decisis | Latin for judicial precedent, this concept originated in England in the twelfth century when judges settled disputes based on custom and tradition. |
| Writ of certiorari | Latin for "to be made more certain," the process in which the Supreme Court accepts written briefs on appeal based on the "rule of four" justices voting to hear the case. |
