| A | B |
|---|
| plaintiff | the individual or entity instituting a lawsuit |
| defendant | the individual or entity named in and responding to a lawsuit |
| cause of action | a recognized set of circumstances upon which a court may grant relief |
| statute | law passed by legislature |
| ordinance | law passed by municipality or county |
| regulation | quasi-law passed by executive branch through appointed agencies |
| constitution | the formative document which lists the relative rights and duties of the branches of government and the rights of the governed |
| due process | idea that all citizens must be given just treatment; usually in the context of procedure |
| appellant | party bringing intermediate appeal; loser at trial court |
| appellee | one answering intermediate appeal; winner at trial |
| petitioner | person filing in Texas Supreme Court or Court of Criminal Appeals; loser at court of appeals |
| respondent | party to answer at highest court; winner in court of appeals |
| complaint | document that sets out basis in law and fact for lawsuit; called plaintiff's original petition in Texas practice |
| United States Supreme Court | highest court for matters of federal law |
| forum state | state in which federal court sits |
| writ of certiorari | order from US Supreme Court ordering referral of case to it |
| removal | ability of defendant to have case moved from state court to federal court when federal jurisdiction exists |
| comity | doctrine under which the laws of foreign nations may be recognized |
| conflict of laws | rules governing how to decide which jurisdiction's law to use where there is more than one involved |
| case law | law made by the judiciary |
| holding | point of law necessarily decided by the court to resolve the controversy |
| dicta | statements of law made by the court which are not directly presented by the facts or issues in the case |
| ex post facto clause | provision of the US constitution which forbids the legislature from making criminal laws retroactive |
| full faith and credit clause | provision of the United States Constitution which requires states to recognize each other's laws |
| supremacy clause | provision of the United States constitution that makes federal acts overrule state law to the extent of any conflict between them |
| commerce clause | provision of the US constitution which gives congress the power to regulate anything touching on interstate commerce |
| stare decisis | the common law doctrine that requires a new case to follow precedent (not an absolute) |
| precedent | holdings of prior cases from courts with authority over the current court which have not been overruled or reversed by a higher court |
| bench trial | a presentation of all evidence to the judge rather than a jury |
| general jurisdiction | court's right to hear all types of cases except certain ones |
| limited jurisdiction | court's authority to hear only certain types of cases |
| subject-matter jurisdiction | court's rights to hear cases by topic or dollar amount |
| jurisdiction | court's power over persons and subject in controversy which allows it to render a final and binding judgment |
| United States Courts of Appeal | intermediate courts of appeal for the federal system |
| discretionary appeal | where the appellate court has the right to decide whether to review a case; reserved to highest courts |
| waiver | generally, giving up a right; in jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction can be waived |
| service | formal process in which a defendant is notified of a suit pending against him and given a copy of the complaint/petition |
| territorial jurisdiction | the geographic limits of a court's power |
| Texas Supreme Court | highest court in Texas for civil and juvenile matters |
| Texas Court of Criminal Appeals | highest court in Texas for criminal matters |
| Texas District Courts | trial courts in Texas of widest general jurisdiction |
| United States District Courts | main trial court of federal system |
| minimum contacts requirement | when there is a non-resident defendant, due process requires that the defendant have enough relationship with the forum state to exercise personal jurisdiction |
| Erie doctrine | in diversity cases, the federal courts will apply the laws of the forum state |
| venue | the most appropriate physical court with jurisdiction to try a case |
| diversity jurisdiction | one of the areas of federal jurisdiction; exercised when there are no plaintiffs from the same state as any of the defendants and there is more than $75,000 in controversy |
