Law & Vocabulary
These are rules made and enforced by government
What is law?
This type of law deals with crimes against society
What is Criminal Law?
The first ten amendments to the Constitution have this name
What is the Bill of Rights?
Two people talk directly about their problem without help from anyone else.
What is Informal Talk?
A 15-year-old is accused of shoplifting.
What is Juvenile Court?
A person is accused of robbery. Who represents the government in the criminal case?
Who is the Prosecutor?
This principle means everyone, including government officials, must follow the law.
What is the Rule of Law?
A customer sues a repair shop for damaging a laptop
What is Civil Law?
This principle divides government power among three branches.
What is Separation of Powers?
Two people develop possible solutions and try to reach an agreement they both accept.
What is Negotiation?
Two parents disagree about child custody after a divorce.
What is Family Court?
Your phone repair costs $500. The repair fails, and the business refuses to refund your money. Which specialized court may be appropriate?
What is Small Claims Court?
These are written laws passed by a legislature
What are statutes?
A serious crime is called this, while a less serious crime is generally called a misdemeanor.
What is a Felony?
This system allows each branch to limit the powers of the other branches.
What are Checks and Balances?
A neutral third person helps both sides communicate but does not decide the outcome.
What is Mediation?
Family members disagree about a will after someone dies.
What is Probate Court?
Before a court can legally hear and decide a particular case, it must have this authority.
What is Jurisdiction?
This system divides power between the national government and state governments.
What is federalism?
Two neighbors disagree about damage to a fence, and one files a lawsuit against the other.
What is a civil case?
Courts use this power when they review a law or government action to determine whether it violates the Constitution.
What is Judicial Review?
A third person listens to both sides and makes the decision.
What is Arbitration?
A driver wants to challenge a traffic ticket.
What is Traffic Court?
A law that violates the Constitution may be described using this word.
What is unconstitutional?
This person or group begins a civil lawsuit
Who is the Plaintiff?
A person is charged with assault. This is this type of case.
What is a criminal case?
This constitutional principle establishes that valid federal law is supreme when it conflicts with state law.
What is the Supremacy Clause?
Other dispute-resolution methods have failed, so one party files a lawsuit.
What is Court Action?
This is the highest court in the United States.
What is the U.S. Supreme Court?
Police want to search someone's home without a reasonable legal basis. Which amendment from your study guide is most directly connected to this situation, and what does it protect?
The Fourth Amendment; it protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
This means government must use fair legal procedures before taking away life, liberty, or property
What is Due Process?
A driver leaves the scene of a crash and is later charged by the state with a serious crime. Explain why this is criminal rather than civil.
What is the government is charging the driver with violating a criminal law?
This amendment protects freedom of speech and religion.
What is the First Amendment?
Name the three negotiation stages in the correct order.
1. Preparation → 2. Negotiate → 3. Post-Negotiation.
A customer wants $700 back for a broken item that a store refuses to replace.
What is Small Claims Court?
A person accused of a crime wants an attorney and a speedy, public trial. This amendment provides those protections.
What is the Sixth Amendment?