Government Chapter 12 Study Guide – Flashcards

An order from the Supreme Court to a lower court to send up the records on a case for review

A brief, unsigned statement of a Supreme Court decision

A written statement setting forth the legal arguments, relevant facts, and precedents supporting one side of a case

Latin for "friends of the court"; a written brief from an individual or group claiming to have information useful to a court's consideration of a case

A Supreme Court decision expressing the views of the majority of justices

The opinion expressed by a minority of justices in a Supreme Court case

Unanimous, Majority, Descent, Conquering

All agree

Most agree but not all

Don't agree, disagree

Voted with majority, but don't agree with the reasons

1. Under original (trial) jurisdiction (disputes between the states); 2. Under appellate jurisdiction from federal courts; 3. Under appellate jurisdiction from the states if the other avenues of appeal have been exhausted and the case involves a preserved federal question.

The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and actions of local, state, or national governments unconstitutional

Refuse to spend

A Latin term meaning "let the decision stand"; the principle that once the Court rules on a case, its decision serves as a precedent on which to base other decisions serves as a precedent on which to base other decisions

A model on which to base later decisions or actions

A ruling on a law or action that has not been challenged

1) The Supreme Court has no way of enforcing their rulings, the president and the congress can just ignore their rulings. 2) The size of the Supreme Court is not set by the constitution, it is set by congress. If the Supreme Court makes a bad ruling, congress can just increase the number of judges and fill the seats with people who would overturn the court's decision. 3) If the Supreme Court rules something unconstitutional, Congress and the States can pass a constitutional amendment to counter the Court's ruling. 4) The Supreme Court is a federal court. All other federal courts in the United States were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. Congress could, at any time, repeal the Act and make the Supreme Court have to deal with every single case that makes its way to federal court.

Interpreting the meaning of laws, overruling or reversing its previous decisions

Coalition that promotes a common interest

The deciding vote

1. The existing legal precedents 2. The argumentation of the two sides 3. The judge's' reading of the Constitution

The "separate but equal" doctrine was abruptly overturned when a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that segregating children by race in public schools was "inherently unequal" and violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Brown provided a major catalyst for the civil rights movement (1955-68), which won social, not just political and civil, racial equality before the law. After four decades, Justice Harlan's dissent became the law of the land. Following Brown, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled racial segregation in public settings to be unconstitutional.