the power and authority given to a court to hear a case and to make a judgment
diversity of citizenship cases
cases which involve citizens of different states and in which the amount of money in dispute exceeds $75,000
original jurisdiction
trying a case the first time it is heard
appellate courts
US courts of appeals; courts between lower courts and the highest court that have appellate jurisdiction
intermediate courts
appellate courts
appellate jurisdiction
any party to a suit decided in a federal district court may appeal to the federal court of appeals in the circuit where the case was tried
limited jurisdiction
local courts handling minor matters such as misdemeanors and civil actions involving small amounts of money
general jurisdiction
a general trial court that handles criminal and civil cases; all cases that involve major crimes and large amounts of money must begin in one of these courts
delinquent child
a minor under a certain age (generally 16-18) who has committed an adult crime
unruly child
a minor who has done something inappropriate that isn't considered an adult crime (e.g. violating curfew, skipping school, or using tobacco
neglected or abused child
a child who is homeless, destitute, or without adequate parental care
alternative dispute resolution
an increasingly popular process that occurs when parties try to resolve disagreements outside of the usual adversarial system by using creative settlement techniques
complaint
the formal papers that express the plaintiff's allegations or claims
answer
the defendant's response to those allegations
verdict
the jury's decision
judment
the court's determination or decision in the case
specific performance
the plaintiff's want for the defendant to do what he/she promised in a contract
injunction
an order to stop the defendant from performing an action
arrest
when a person is deprived of his or her freedom by the police
bail
money/property that is left with the court to assure that a person who has been arrested, but released, will return to trial
indictment
a written accusation charging the individual
arraignment
accused is brought to court, read the indictment containing crime-related information, and is asked to plead guilty/not; if they plead not guilty, the case proceeds to trial, if they plead guilty, the judge may impose sentencing
detention hearing
first step of disposition of juvenile cases in which the judge learns whether there are good reasons to keep the accused in custody
