Question | Answer |
civil law | set of laws dealing with disputes between citizens |
criminal law | sets of laws dealing with criminal acts and their punshments |
redistricting | the process of adjusting legaslative districts every ten years to account for population changes |
consecutive | following immediately after |
municipal | city or other local government |
justice of the peace | a local government offfcial who troes minor cases and performs civil marriages |
misdemeanor | an unlawful act that does not do significant harn and has a less severe punishment than most felonies |
appeal | a request to have a case heard again before a court |
felony | a crime more serious than a misdemeanor |
precinct | a small district formed to handle specific government tasks such as voting |
auditor | a person who examines accounts |
constable | a public affair usually responsible for keeping the peace and for minor court dusties such as serving subpoenas |
trustee | a person who is responsible for the property or affairs of another person or an institution |
incorporate | to form into a legal body |
zoning | limiting the possible uses for each piece of property in a city |
home-rule city | city of more than 5,000 people that has the right to self-government |
general-law city | city od fewer than 5,000 people that must obey laws set by the state legislature |
strong mayor | maor has full executive authority |
weak mayor | mayor has limited autrhority; city council is in charge |
legeslative branch | makes the laws |
executive branch | enforces and carries out the law |
judicial branch | interprets the law |