An opinion that agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but differs on the reasoning

An opinion written by a Supreme Court justice who is in the minority that presents the logic and thinking of the justices who opposed the majority opinion

the court's legal reasoning or holding

on their interpretation of both legal doctrine and precedential application of the laws

jurisprudence philosophies and ideological leaning, personal values, political philosophies, or political preferences

applicable constitutional law, statutory and administrative law, and precedent

-9 members: chief justice (presides over but same voting power) and 8 associate justices -President appoints them subject to senate approval -no restrictions on age, etc, appointed for life

a given court's authority to hear cases of a particular kind

the authority of a give court to be the first to hear a case

the authority to review cases that have already been heard in lower courts, determine whether a trial court in hearing a case has acted in accord with applicable law

the power to decide whether a governmental institution has acted within its constitutional power, declare null and void if not

a judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling subsequent cases in a similar nature, guide decisions of lower courts

-request to the lower court to submit to the Supreme court record of each case -permission granted by higher court to allow a losing party to bring cases before ruling -four of the court's nine judges must agree to accept the case before

1. Responsibility for all government cases 2. No review from higher authority 3. Screen cases before choosing the ones that are important to the court 4. Writes curiae, legal argument when the government is or isn't in the case 5. Shapes argument used before the court

written statement by a party in a court case with details to its argument

a closed meeting of the justices of the Supreme Court to discuss and vote on the case before them

a vote of the Supreme court in a particular case that indicates which party the justices side with and by what margin

explains the legal basis for the decision, guide lower court decisions

a court opinion that results when a majority of the justices are in agreement

a separate opinion written by one of the Supreme court justices who vote with the majority on decision but disagree with its reasoning

1. Supreme court 2. State Supreme court, US court of appeals, Special Federal Court 3. Lower State, US District Courts

-federal courts where trials are held and lawsuits began -94, at least one in every state with several judges -two sides present their case to a jury for verdict -Also called State Trial Courts

-have the jurisdiction to review decision of lower courts. When a party loses the case, they can file for an appeal with a appellate court to have their decision reviewed -13 appellate courts: 11 of them have jurisdiction over a circuit comprised of a district court, 1 has jurisdiction over appeals in Washington D.C., and the last has jurisdiction over patents in international trade. -offer the last hope of reversal for many appellants because very few cases make it to the Supreme Court

hears appeals of military courts-martial

-have trial courts on the bottom, appellate courts on top -each state decides for itself the structure and methods of appointing judges

-political ideology (gives the president more influence) -their acceptability to others -qualifications, ethics, and partisanship -looks for a clean slate

An unwritten tradition whereby the Senate will not confirm nominations for lower court positions that are opposed by a senator of the president's own party from the state in which the nominee is to serve

-most have judicial experience -although most are white males, the number of females and minorities are increasing (mostly with democratic president)

-creates the Supreme Court -prohibits a federal court from issuing a decision except in response to a case presented to it -limits judges to issues that arise from actual legal disputes

1. Constitution 2. Legislative Statues 3. Legal precedents

legislative law

A legal system based on custom and court rulings

1. Political Point of View 2. They all have an agenda to promote if given the opportunity 3. Support or disagree with policy (ie Bush v. Gore)

-the judiciary cannot routinely ignore the expectations of the general public -doesn't normally respond to their opinions

-interest groups petition the White House and Congress to appoint certain judges -submit amicus curiae briefs to make their opinion heard -file lawsuits to advance their policy goals

-Congress can rewrite legislation -President is in charge of enforcing court decisions -appointment has become contentious as a result of partisanship

violate a statue enacted to protect health, safety, morals, and welfare

monetary, person-to-person

a method of interpreting the Constitution that emphasizes the meaning of its work in its original setting, the framers are the only reliable indicators of the laws

a doctrine that holds judges should generally defer to precedent and decisions made by legislators, traditional law making, elected officials

a doctrine that holds judges should actively interpret the Constitution, statues, and precedents in light of fundamental principles, should intervene when officials fail to act in accord with these prinipcals

A common law doctrine under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions

Requirement that a case can only be heard by the Supreme Court if four justices vote to hear the case

Literally, a "friend of the court" brief, filed by an individual or organization to present arguments in addition to those presented by the immediate parties to a case

In 1789 Congress passed this Act which created the federal-court system. The act managed to quiet popular apprehensions by establishing in each state a federal district court that operated according to local procedures.

This is when the Justices interpret the U.S. Constitution (or the law in question) by considering the actual and literal meaning of the way the law was originally written.

This is when the Justices interpret the U.S. Constitution (or the law in question) based upon the "spirit of the law" as it can be applied to the reality of specific social situations or modern times.

Judiciary branch isn't too powerful because it doesn't have the power of the purse or sword; can't tax, enforce laws, or bring the nation to war

-Rights belonging to all citizens -Can also be defined as limitations on the power of the government -Guaranteed by the Constitution, federal laws, and court decisions

-Prisoner's right to a court review of his/her case to determine if there is sufficient cause to keep him/her in jail -Construction (Article I, Section 9) guarantees this right, except in a time of rebellion or invasion when it may be suspended

-A law making an action illegal retroactively -Criminalizes acts that were legal when committed -State and federal governments prohibited from making such last by the Constitution (Article I, Section 9)

-Act of the legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of trial -State and federal governments prohibited from making such laws by the Constitution (Article I, Section 9)

-First Amendment prohibits government from recognizing an official religion or promoting one religion over another -Referred to as separation of church and state

-Supreme Court ruled that a prayer intended to be recited every school day in New York State public schools violated the Establishment Clause and was unconstitutional -Court say prayer in public schools crossed line separating church and state

-First Amendment prohibits government from interfering with a person's right to practice a religion -Protection limited when it conflicts with another right or a compelling state interest

Supreme Court case that established the "Lemon Test," which details requirements for legislation concerning religion

-Basic right guaranteed by the First Amendment -Speech has been interpreted to include all types of communication of ideas and opinions, including films, books, flyers, websites, art, as well as "pure speech"

Court has upheld various laws that limit the exercise of free speech including: libel and slander laws, obscenity laws, and laws against incitement of violence

-Supreme Court developed the Miller Test regarding obscenity -A work is not protected by the First Amendment if it is patently offensive as judged by local community standards and is without any serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value

-Using actions and symbols to convey an idea rather than words (burning a flag, wearing an armband, etc.) -Supreme Court has ruled that symbolic speech is protected by the First Amendment

Supreme Court ruled that high school students wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War was symbolic speech and could not be banned or punished by the school administration

-Supreme Court ruled that burning the U.S. flag was a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment -In anger over the Court's decision, Congress enacted a federal flag-discretion law, which the Court declared constitutional in 1990

-Supreme Court upheld conviction of Schenck, who had sent out a flyer urging World War I draftees to protest the draft -Court held speech was not protected when it constituted a "clear and present danger" to the country in wartime

-First Amendment did not originally apply to state governments, which were not required to recognize the freedoms it embodied -Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 provided legal basis under which First Amendment was later applied to states

-Contained in the Fourteenth Amendment (& in the 5th) -Prohibits states from depriving citizens of "life, liberty, or property without due process of law" -The basis for extension of Bill of Rights to state governments

-Court declared First Amendment rights applied to state governments -Since then most of the rights of the Bill of Rights have been "incorporated" into the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and applied to state governments

-Application of the rights guaranteed in the federal Constitution's Bill of Rights to state governments -Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides legal structure under which incorporation has taken place

-Basic right guaranteed by the First Amendment -Closely related to freedom of speech -Freedom of press includes all mass media used in communicating news and ideas, not just printing presses

-Blocking publication or censoring a story before it is published -Supreme Court has generally rejected prior restraint, thus prohibiting government from blocking publication of news stories

-First Amendment guarantees "right of the people peacefully to assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievances" -Grants citizens the right to express their views through petitions, picketing, demonstrations, parades, and marches

-Government cannot block peaceful protests but it can enforce restrictions to protect the rights and safety of others -Thus, permits to protest that impose time and place limits are generally required and protests that turn violent are usually broken up by police

-Fifth Amendment states a person cannot be deprived of property without due process of law -Fourteenth Amendment extends this protection to state governments

-Generally accepted to mean that government must act in a fair manner according to established rules -Due process of law includes both substantive due process and procedural due process

-The power of the government to take private property for public use (for example, building a highway) -Constitutional requirements regarding eminent domain: government must follow due process of law and must provide just compensation

-Second Amendment links right to bear arms with the need for a citizen's militia -Second Amendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"

-No "right to privacy" is mentioned in the Constitution or Bill of Rights -However, the Supreme Court has determined, based on the First, Third, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendment, that such a right exists

-States the "enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people" -Constitution recognizes that there may be other rights not actually listed in the Constitution

-established "right to privacy" from 4th amend. -Supreme Court voided state laws that outlawed all abortions, saying decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy is a private matter during first trimester -In subsequent trimesters, the state has increasing power to regulate or prohibit abortion

-The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments list rights that apply to persons accused of a crime -The Fourteenth Amendment extends those protections to apply to state government

-Fourth Amendment provides protection -Search warrant required and can only be obtained by showing probable cause -Warrant must be specific as to place to be searched and what to be seized

Supreme Court ruled that evidence obtained in an illegal search was not admissible in court and must be excluded from trial

-Evidence obtained illegally cannot be used against a person in a trial -Court has relaxed exclusionary rule since Mapp v. Ohio -For example, if it can be shown that the evidence found in an illegal search would have been found anyway, it is admissible

Fifth Amendment allows the accused the right to remain silent and not answer question in court of from police

Supreme Court ruled that suspects in police custody must be informed of their rights (the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney)

-Fifth Amendment states that a person, if found innocent, cannot be tried again for the same crime -However, being tried for the same offense in state and federal courts does not constitute double jeopardy (Bartkus v. Illinois, 1959)

Sixth Amendment grants the right for the accused to hire an attorney to defend the accused

-Supreme Court ruled that those who cannot afford an attorney in criminal cases must have one provided by the state government -Overturned Betts v. Brady (1942) that held this was only required in capital (death penalty) cases

Right to an attorney, right to a speedy and public trial, right to be told charges against you, right to confront (and cross-examine) witnesses, and right to call witnesses in your favor

-Guaranteed in criminal cases by Article III of the Constitution and Sixth Amendment -Guaranteed in civil cases by Seventeenth Amendment

-Eighth Amendment protects convicted persons from "cruel and unusual punishment -Most recent cases involving this protection have focused on the constitutionality of death penalty

-Contained in Fourteenth Amendment -Declares that no state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws" -Protects minorities from discrimination by state governments

when there is an immediate threat to public safety or the risk that evidence will be destroyed, officers may search, arrest, or question suspects without obtaining a warrant or following other usual rules of criminal procedure

exception to the exclusionary rule that allows the use of illegally obtained evidence at trial if the court determines that the evidence would eventually have been found by legal means

Compelling Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade violates the free exercise clause

Supreme Court case protecting the freedom of the press by allowing the New York Times to publish the "Pentagon Papers" despite the Justice Department's order to restrict it

The Court ruled in favor of school district censorship of student newspapers as long as censorship is related to legitimate concerns.