The supreme court
What are the number of Justices currently serving on the Supreme Court?
9
What are the three main levels of the federal court system, in order from lowest to highest?
District, Circuit (Appeals), and Supreme Court
What was the 1803 case that established the Supreme Court's power of judicial review.
Marbury v. Madison
A formal order from a higher court requesting a lower court to send up a case for review
writ of certiorari
The length of term for a federal judge or Supreme Court Justice.
life (or life tenure)
This type of opinion is written by justices who do not agree with the majority ruling?
Dissenting opinion
These courts are the only federal courts that use juries, witnesses, and hear evidence.
District Courts
What was the 1954 ruling that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional?
Brown v. Board of Education
A legal principle meaning "let the decision stand" or relying on past precedents.
stare decisis
The two steps in the process of appointing a Supreme Court Justice.
appointment by the President and confirmation by the Senate
What is the minimum number of justices needed to agree to hear a case?
4
The authority of a court to hear a case for the first time.
original jurisdiction
What was the case that requires police to read you your rights when arrested?
Miranda v. Arizona
The two main categories of law: one dealing with disputes between parties, the other with crimes.
Civil and Criminal
The way Congress can check the power of the Supreme Court if a law is declared unconstitutional.
amending the Constitution
Who is the current Chief Justice of the United States?
John Roberts
When a case is sent back to a lower court to be tried again.
remanding
What was the 1857 ruling that denied citizenship to enslaved people and fueled the Civil War?
Dred Scott v. Sandford
The person who brings a case against another in a court of law.
plaintiff
The philosophy that courts should defer to elected institutions and rarely overturn laws.
judicial restraint
What is the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional?
Judicial Review
The number of federal judicial districts in the United States.
94
What was the case that established that the accused have the right to an attorney, even if they cannot afford one?
Gideon v. Wainwright
Protection under the 5th Amendment that prevents someone from being tried twice for the same crime?
Double Jeopardy
The opposite of judicial restraint, where justices are accused of making policy from the bench.
judicial activism?