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| Question | Answer |
| jurisprudence | a philosophy of law—to settle disputes. In such a system, a body of written law regulates interactions. These laws or codes provide people with guidelines that regulate behavior. |
| dual court system | the court systems of the various states are sovereign governmental jurisdictions, each equal in importance and with separate political jurisdictions. The term dual means that there are two systems of courts. The federal courts are distinct from the state courts but do have limited jurisdiction over the state courts. |
| Article 3, Section 2 | The part of the U.S. Constitution that defines the jurisdiction of the federal courts. |
| Eleventh Amendment | A provision that prohibits a citizen from one state from suing the government of another state in federal court. |
| Tenth Amendment | A provision that states that powers not specifically delegated to the federal government are reserved for the states. |
| civil law | Also called private law, the body of law concerned with the definition, regulation, and enforcement of rights in noncriminal cases in which both the person who has the right and the person who has the obligation are private individuals. |
| tort | A private wrong that causes physical harm to another. |
| preponderance of the evidence | A majority vote of the jury—the standard required for a judgment in a civil case. |
| beyond a reasonable doubt | A unanimous verdict—the standard required for a verdict in a criminal case. |
| plaintiff | The party who files a civil lawsuit against the party who is alleged to have done harm. |
| defendant | The party whom a lawsuit is brought against. |
| judgment | A ruling by the court regarding the liability for injury or the claim alleged by the plaintiff. |
| Federal Judiciary Act | The congressional act of 1789 that created the lower federal courts. |
| circuits | Geographic divisions of the federal court system. |
| Marbury v. Madison | The 1803 case that established the court’s power of judicial review. |
| judicial review | The power of the courts to declare congressional and presidential acts unconstitutional. |
| U.S. magistrate courts | Federal lower courts whose powers are limited to trying lesser misdemeanors, setting bail, and assisting district courts with various legal matters. |
| U.S. district courts | The federal system’s trial courts of original jurisdiction. |
| When must SJC review a case | 1. A federal court has held an act of Congress to be unconstitutional. 2. A U.S. court of appeals has found a state statute to be unconstitutional. 3. A state’s highest court of appeals has ruled a federal law to be unconstitutional. 4. An individual’s challenge to a state statute on federal constitutional grounds is upheld by a state’s highest court of appeals. |
| U.S. courts of appeal | The third tier of the federal court system where decisions of lower courts can be appealed for review of significant judicial error that may have affected the verdict. |
| original jurisdiction | The first court to hear and render a verdict regarding charges against a defendant. |
| U.S. Supreme Court | The highest court in the U.S. judiciary system whose rulings on the constitutionality of laws, due process rights, and rules of evidence are binding on all federal and state courts. |
| certiorari power | The authority of the Supreme Court, based on agreement by four of its members that a case might raise significant constitutional or federal issues, to select a case for review. |
| writ of certiorari | An order to a lower court to forward the record of a case to the U.S. Supreme Court for review. |
| brief | A written statement submitted by an appellant’s attorneys that states the substantial constitutional or federal issue they believe the court should address. |
| per curiam opinion | A case that is disposed of by the U.S. Supreme Court without a full written opinion. |
| affirm the case | A finding by the Supreme Court that there was no substantial judicial or constitutional error and that the original opinion of the lower court stands. |
| affirm the case | A finding by the Supreme Court that there was no substantial judicial or constitutional error and that the original opinion of the lower court stands. |
| reversing the case | A finding by the Supreme Court that a judicial error or an unconstitutional issue was central to the lower court’s decision and voided the lower court’s ruling. |
| remanded | After the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of a decision of a lower court, the return of the case to the court of original jurisdiction with instructions to correct the judicial error. |
| stare decisis | The legal principle of determining points in litigation according to precedent. |
| landmark case | A U.S. Supreme Court case that marks a significant change in the interpretation of the Constitution. |
| courts of limited jurisdiction | State courts of original jurisdiction that handle traffic violations and criminal violations, small claims, misdemeanors, and violations of local ordinances and laws within the geographic jurisdiction of the town or village. |
| courts of record | Courts in which trial proceedings are transcribed. |
| trial de novo | A new trial granted by an appellate court. |
| general trial courts | State courts of original jurisdiction that hear all kinds of criminal cases. |
| appellate courts | State courts that have the authority to review the proceedings and verdicts of general trial courts for judicial errors and other significant issues. |
| court of last resort | A state court of final appeals that reviews lower court decisions and whose decisions can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. |
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