| A | B |
|---|
| jurisdiction | authority to hear and try a case |
| inferior courts | courts of lower authority |
| criminal cases | cases in which juries decide whether people have committed crimes |
| civil cases | cases where two people disagree over some issue; one party sues or takes legal action against another party |
| exclusive jurisdiction | jurisdiction where only federal courts may hear and decide cases |
| concurrent jurisdiction | when state and federal courts share jurisdiction |
| district courts | federal courts where trials are held and lawsuits start |
| original jurisdiction | the authority to hear cases for the first time |
| magistrate | person who issues court orders and hears the preliminary evidence in a case to determine whether the case should be brought to trial |
| marshal | district court official who arrests suspects, delivers defendants to court, and serves people with subpoenas |
| subpoena | a court order requiring someone to appear in court |
| appellate jurisdiction | hears only cases that have come to them on appeal from the lower district courts or federal regulatory agencies |
| remand | returning a case to a lower court for a new trial |
| judicial review | the court can review any federal or state law to see if is in agreement with the Constitution or not |
| unconstitutional | not in agreement with the Constitution |
| misdemeanors | less serious crimes |
| justice of the peace | the judge of a local justice court |
| magistrate courts | what local courts are called in larger towns or small cities |
| felonies | more serious crimes |
| plea bargain | when a defendant agrees to plead guilty to a crime in exchange for a reduced sentence or some other form of leniancy |
| writ of habeaus corpus | a court order that guarantees a person who is arrested the right to appear before a judge in a court of law |
| bill of attainder | a law that punishes a person accused of a crime without a trial or a fair hearing in court |
| ex post facto | a law that would allow for an action that was not against the law when it was committed |
| contempt of court | when the judge thinks a person is obstructing or interfering with the judicial process |
| bench trial | when an accused person gives up the right to a jury trial to be tried by a judge |
