Name_____________________________________________Date_______________________________Period___________
Chapter 9 Vocabulary Chart
Word
1. Dual Court
System
2. Exclusive
Jurisdiction
Context Clue
In our Dual Court
System, our state
courts get power from
state laws and federal
courts get power from
laws passed by
Congress.
Our federal courts have
exclusive jurisdiction,
but most cases involve
state laws, which are
heard in state courts.
3. Concurrent
jurisdiction
When both state and
federal laws have been
broken, the courts
have concurrent
jurisdiction.
4. Original
Jurisdiction
Generally, only district
courts have original
jurisdiction, since that
is where trials are
heard and cases begin.
5. Appellate
Jurisdiction
The circuit courts have
appellate jurisdiction
since they can review
cases from lower
courts.
6. Opinion
When the appeals
court makes a ruling,
one judge writes an
opinion for the court.
7. Precedent
The court used a
precedent from a
similar, previous case
to make the ruling in
their current case.
Definition (predict)
Actual Definition
Illustration
Word
8. Litigants
Context Clue
The litigants came to
court to have the
judges hear their civil
case.
9. Judicial
Review
The Supreme Court has
the power of judicial
review.
10. Constitutional
Supreme Court justices
check to make sure
laws are constitutional.
11. Docket
Next up on the
Supreme Court’s
docket is Stewart vs.
Florida.
12. Brief
The lawyer presented
his brief to the justices,
in hopes they would
agree with his side.
13. Nullify
The law was
unconstitutional, so it
was nullified by the
Supreme Court.
14. Tenure
Federal judges have
tenure, so they can be
free from public or
political pressures
when hearing a case.
15. Subpoena
The person received a
subpoena to appear in
court in February.
Definition (predict)
Actual Definition
Illustration