Kayla Hughes

Chapter 14 Terms
Judicial Review - The power of the courts to declare acts of the legislature and of the executive to be unconstitutional and hence null and void Marbury v. Madison - A landmark case in United States law and the basis for the exercise of judicial review of Federal statutes by the Supreme Court of the United States under Article Three of the United States Constitution Judicial Activism - A judicial philosophy in which judges make bold policy decisions, even charting new constitutional ground. Advocates of this approach emphasize that the courts can correct pressing needs, especially those unmet by the majoritarian political process Judicial Conference - A closed meeting of the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court to discuss and vote on the cases before them; the justices are not supposed to discuss conference proceedings with outsiders Jurisdiction - The authority of a court to decide certain cases Original Jurisdiction - The jurisdiction of courts that hear a case first, usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts about a case Appellate Jurisdiction - The jurisdiction to review cases and issues that were originally tried in lower courts Writ of Certiorari - Order by the Supreme Court directing a lower court to send up the records of a case for review Misdemeanors - A criminal offense that is less serious than a felony and generally punishable by a fine, a jail term of up to a year, or both

 Felonies - One of several grave crimes, such as murder, rape, or burglary, punishable by a more stringent sentence than that given for a misdemeanor Indictment - A written statement charging a party with the commission of a crime or other offense, drawn up by a prosecuting attorney and found and presented by a grand jury Arraignment - To call (an accused person) before a court to answer the charge made against him or her by indictment, information, or complaint. Common Law - Legal precedents derived from previous judicial decisions Stare Decisis - The practice of basing judicial decisions on precedents established in similar cases decided in the past Statutory Law - The written law enacted by a legislature, as distinguished from unwritten law or common law Living Constitution Theory - A method of interpreting the Constitution that emphasizes the principles it embodies and their application to changing circumstances and needs Civil Law - The body of rules defining relationships among private citizens. It consists of both statutes and the accumulated customary law embodied in judicial decisions Criminal Law - The body of rules concerned with public wrongs against society Administrative Law - The body of rules and regulations and orders and decisions created by administrative agencies of government Compliance - The state or fact of according with or meeting rules or standards Concurring Opinion - An opinion that agrees with the court's disposition of the case but is written to express a particular judge's reasoning Dissenting Opinion - An opinion that disagrees with the court's disposition of the case

 Plurality Opinion - The opinion from a group of judges, often in an appellate court, in which no single opinion received the support of a majority of the court Originalism Theory - A method of interpreting the Constitution that emphasizes the meaning of its words at the time they were written Procedural Law - The rule by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil lawsuit, criminal or administrative