The Constitution
This Article of the U.S. Constitution creates and defines the Judicial Branch
What is Article III?
The philosophy that judges should play an active role in shaping social policy and interpreting the Constitution for modern times.
What is Judicial Activism?
The three levels of the federal court system, from lowest to highest.
What are District, Circuit (Appeals), and Supreme Courts?
The primary job of the Judicial Branch regarding the laws of the United States.
What is to Interpret the Law?
A case involving a dispute between two people or organizations, usually over money or property.
What is a Civil Case?
According to the Constitution, this is the only crime specifically defined: levying war against the U.S. or helping enemies.
What is Treason?
The opposing philosophy where judges limit their own power, sticking strictly to the original intent of the law.
What is Judicial Restraint?
Under Article III, this is the length of a federal judge’s term, assuming "good behavior".
What is For Life?
The Supreme Court’s power to declare a law or executive action unconstitutional.
A case where the government charges a person with breaking a law.
What is a Criminal Case?
The Constitution gives this body the power to create "inferior" (lower) courts as needed.
What is Congress?
A legal system, like that in the U.S., where two advocate parties represent their case before an impartial person or jury.
What is an Adversarial System?
The number of justices currently serving on the U.S. Supreme Court.
What is Nine?
The term for a previous court decision that serves as a guide for future similar cases.
What is Precedent?
Legal cases involving ships, shipping, or crimes committed on the high seas fall under this category.
What is Admiralty (or Maritime) Law?
This amendment ensures that "the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial."
What is the Sixth Amendment?
This Latin phrase means "to stand by things decided" and is the basis for following precedent.
What is Stare Decisis?
This is the only level of the federal court system that uses a jury to reach a verdict.
What are District Courts?
To appeal a case to the Supreme Court, a party must request this formal order for the Court to review the lower court's record.
What is a Writ of Certiorari?
A person who brings a case against another in a court of law.
Who is a Plaintiff?
This clause in Article VI establishes that federal law and the Constitution take priority over state laws.
What is the Supremacy Clause?
The judicial philosophy that interprets the Constitution based on exactly what the words meant to the people who wrote them.
What is Originalism?
The two-step process for a person to become a federal judge.
What is Nomination by the President and Confirmation by the Senate?
When a higher court sends a case back to a lower court for a new trial or further action.
What is Remanding a case?
A person or group who is being sued or accused of a crime.
Who is a Defendant?