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 | place (a defendant) on bail or in custody, especially when a trial is adjourned. |
Highest law of the land | Constitution |
Judicial Review | the Court can determine the Constitutionality of any federal or state law |
Marbury v. Madison (1803) | established the Court's power of Judicial Review |
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 |
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 |
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) | established the "separate, but equal" doctrine |
Brown v. Board of Ed Topeka (1954) | outlawed "separate, but equal" |
Roe v. Wade (1973) | legalized a woman's right to an abortion under certain circumstances |
Miranda v. Arizonia (1966) | ruled that police officers must inform suspects of their rights at the time of arrest |
concurring opinion | when a justice agrees with a majority opinion but for a different reason |
Gideon v. Wainwright | established that a person has the right for an attorney even if they can't afford one |
Bush. v. Gore | ruled that FLorida recount of Presidential election votes violated 14th amendment |
Engel v. Vitale | held that a public school district's practice of starting the day with prayer violates the establishment clause of the first amendment |
US v. Eichman | struck down the Federal Flag Protection Act. ; held that flag burning is expressive speech |
Tinker v. Des Moines | ruled that students had the right to freedom of expression ( as provided by the first amendment) when they attempted to wear black arm bands to protest Vietnam War |
US v. Nixon | ruled that the the President can't use executive privlege to withhold evidence |
Sandra Day Oconner | First female Supreme Court justice |
Thurgood Marshall | First black Supreme Court Justice |
New Jersey v. TLO | Students have a reduced expectation of privacy in school. |