POLS 2304 Exam 2 Word Scramble
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Question | Answer |
Criminal Law | Laws governing acts deemed illegal and punishable by government. |
Plaintiff | also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an action) before a court. Someone who files the suit. |
Defendant | is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute. Person being sued. |
Civil Law | Laws governing relations b/w private parties where: no criminal act is alleged, parties are making conflicting claims, parties are seeking to establish a legal relationship (Ex: marriage/divorce). |
Precedents | is a legal case establishing a principle or rule that a court or other judicial body utilizes when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. |
Public Law | theory of law governing the relationship between individuals (citizens, companies) and the state. Under this theory, constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law. |
Tort | a civil wrong in which a victim seeks monetary compensations. |
Examples of Torts | Personal Injury (automobile, slip & fall, dog bite). Medical Malpractice (infection by plastic surgery, extraction of wrong teeth, amputation of wrong leg). Product Liability (air bag failure, toys hurting children). |
Trial Court | Court in which most cases begin. |
Appellate Courts | A court having jurisdiction to review cases and issues that were originally tried in lower courts. Second Level. No new evidence introduced; facts are presumed correct. No juries. 3 judges (panel). Appealed to the Supreme Court. |
Supreme Courts | Mentioned in Constitution. Original jurisdiction over cases originating in supreme court & appellate jurisdiction over cases appealed from lower federal/state courts. Only accepts cases from FEDERAL APPEALS COURT (intermediate) & STATE SUPREME COURTS. |
Plea Bargains | is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence. |
Jurisdiction | The authority of a court to decide certain cases. Not all courts have the authority to decide all cases. Where a case arises and what its subject matter is are two jurisdictional issues. |
Due Process of Law | is the principle that the government must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person according to the law. Due process holds the government subservient to the law of the land, protecting individual persons from the state. |
Original Jurisdiction | The right to hear a case for the first time In the United States these courts are also referred to as trial courts. When this occurs, everyone gets to plead guilty or innocence before it occurs. |
Appellate Jurisdiction | power of a court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts. |
Supremacy Clause | clause in the United States Constitution, Article VI, Clause 2. The clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. treaties as "the supreme law of the land." |
Restrictive Covenants | a legal obligation imposed in a deed by the seller upon the buyer of real estate to do or not to do something. (Whites were only allowed to sell to other white, same for blacks, no mixing!) |
Miranda Rule | a warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody, or in a custodial situation, before they are interrogated. Miranda Rights! |
Levels of Federal Courts | Federal District Courts. Federal Circuit Courts. U.S. Supreme Court. |
Federal District Courts | Handles cases where FEDERAL GOVT. is a party; Claim on U.S. CONSTITUTION, INT'L TREATY, FEDERAL STATUTE; civil suite involving citizen from different state & amt. over $75,000. BUSIEST of 3 courts. |
Federal Appeals Courts (Circuit) | No new evidence is introduced; facts found by District Courts are presumed to be correct; No juries; 3 judges as a panel..Decisions based on a review of lower court records. |
U.S. Supreme Court | Congress decides court jurisdiction & size; power is determined by Congress. |
Cases Handled Directly by Supreme Court | UNITED STATES v. STATE; between 2 or more states (Ex: disputes over land/water). |
How does the Supreme Court handle cases? | Appoint a "Special Master". "Special Master" hears the case. "Special Master" writes a report & presents the arguments. |
Judge Appointment (Constitutional & Legislative Courts) | appointed by President & confirmed by Senate. Constitutional=lifelong terms; Legislative=15 yr. term. |
Federal District Courts (Judge Appointment) | recommended by Senators/Representatives from the President's Political Party. Nomination by President; confirmation by Senate; lifelong terms. |
Federal Appeals Court (Judge Appointment) | recommended by Senators/Representatives from the President's Political Party. Nomination by President; confirmation by Senate; lifelong terms. |
U.S. Supreme Court (Judge Appointment) | Highly political; nomination by President & confirmation by Senate. |
Judicial Review | The power of the Supreme Court or any court to declare unconstitutional federal or state laws and other acts of government. |
Supreme Court (Judicial Review) | Authority to review: lower court decisions (Federal Circuit Court & Federal State Supreme Court), state legislative decisions, acts of Congress. |
Who can be a "special master" | retired federal judge. |
Cases for Judicial Review | disputing the constitutionality of laws (state/federal); due process rights violated; involving public law violation/public officers & their acts suspected of exceeding their authorities. |
Judicial Review | Authority to review: lower court decisions (Federal Circuit Courts & Federal State Supreme Courts), state legislative decisions, acts of congress. |
Cases for Judicial Review | cases disputing the constitutionality of laws (state & federal); cases about due process rights violated; cases involving public law violation/public officers and their acts suspected of exceeding their authorities. |
Bills of attainder | is an act of the legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial. |
Ex post Facto Laws | is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences (or status) of actions committed or relationships that existed prior to the enactment of the law. |
Habeas Corpus | is a writ, or legal action, through which a person can seek relief from unlawful detention, or the relief of another person. The writ of habeas corpus protects persons from harming themselves, or from being harmed by the judicial system. |
Civil Liberties | Liberties in the constitution for ALL to enjoy. Those personal freedoms that are protected for all individuals. Civil liberties typically involve restraining the government’s actions against individuals. Substantive Liberties + Procedural Liberties |
Substantive Liberties | restraints limiting what the government shall have the power to do, such as restricting freedom of speech, freedom of religion, or freedom of the press. |
Procedural Liberties | restraints on how the government can act. For example, citizens are guaranteed due process of law when they are charged with a crime. |
Bill of Rights | first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. |
Civil Rights | Liberties in the constitution for ALL, REGARDLESS of characteristics. Generally, all rights rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. |
Establishment Clause | stating that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion". |
Lemon Test | Money can be provided if the school has a secular purpose; if funding will not advance or hinder religion; if funding does not entangle state and religion in each others affair. |
Free Exercise Clause | "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." |
Strict Scrutiny | the most stringent standard of judicial review used by United States courts reviewing federal law. Based on the EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE of the Fourteenth Amendment. |
Political Speech | Absolutely Protected Speech--protest, demonstrations, burning of American flag |
Libel | A written defamation of a person’s character, reputation, business, or property rights. |
Slander | The public uttering of a false statement that harms the good reputation of another. The statement must be made to, or within the hearing of, persons other than the defamed party. |
Obscenity and Pornography | Restrictions by govt.--Where they can be sold. Who the readers are. How they must be packaged. Zoning laws to regulate adult theaters. Public Nudity Laws to regulate nude dancing @ nightclubs. Laws to ban sale/rental of adult publications in to military. |
Child Pornography | NOT protected @ all b/c it: exploits children, shows act of abusing children, and has negligible artistic value. |
Exclusionary Rule | A policy forbidding the admission at trial of illegally seized evidence. Ability of courts to exclude evidence obtained in violation of the 4th amendment. |
Grand Jury | type of jury that determines whether there is enough evidence for a trial. Grand juries carry out this duty by examining evidence presented to them by a prosecutor and issuing indictments, or by investigating alleged crimes and issuing presentments. |
Double Jeopardy | a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried twice for the same crime on the same set of facts. |
Miranda Rights | A person must be informed prior to police interrogation of their rights to remain silent and to have the benefit of legal counsel (lawyer). |
Eminent Domain | the right of government to take private property for public use...usually provide compensation. |
Civil War Amendments | 13,14, and 15! |
13th Amendment | Outlawing slavery in the U.S. |
14th Amendment | Providing equal protection for all under the constitution. |
15th Amendment | Establishing the right for blacks to vote. |
Black Codes | laws passed @ the state and local level to restrict civil rights of black people, particularly former slaves. |
Jim Crow Laws | laws mandated "separate but equal" status for blacks. |
Grandfather Clause | those whose grandfathers voted before the civil war could vote. |
Plessy vs. Ferguson | "separate but equal" rule (made a National policy). Homer Plessy is 7/8 white...rides train...Plessy is asked to move to "black" side..Plessy says it's a violation of 14th amendment..Supreme Court rules in favor of state, it was NOT a violation! |
19th Amendment | guaranteed women the right to vote. |
Brown vs. Board of Education | "Separate but Equal" had no place in public education..separate educational facilities are inherently unequal..segregated schools fostered a sense of inferiority which in turn affected a child's motivation to learn. |
De Juro Segregation/Discrimination | racial segregation that occurs b/c of laws/administrative decisions by public agencies. |
De Facto Segregation/Discrimination | racial segregation that occurs b/c of social and economic conditions and residential racial patterns. |
ERA | was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which was intended to guarantee that equal rights under any federal, state, or local law could not be denied on account of sex. |
Affirmative Action | Policies that give special preferences/consideration in educational admissions and employment decisions to groups that have been discriminated against in the past. |
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