Ch. 4 Vocabulary

Jurisdiction: the legal authority or power of a court to hear, pronounce on, and decide a case.
1. Personal Jurisdiction: involves the authority of the court over the person.
2. Subject Matter Jurisdiction: involves the authority conferred on a court to hear a particular type of case.
3. Geographical Jurisdiction: the authority of courts to hear cases that arise within specified boundaries, such as a city, county, state, or country.

• Venue: the geographic location of the court according to Dr. Ball

4. Hierarchical Jurisdiction: involves the division of responsibilities and functions among the various courts.

• General Jurisdiction: means a court has the authority to hear a variety of cases, that it is not limited to hearing only only a particular type of case.
• Original Jurisdiction: means the power of the court to hear the case initially.
• Appellate Jurisdiction: the power of the court to review a decision of a lower court.

Article III Courts: the federal courts were established by Congress pursuant to its authority to create "inferior" or lower courts under Article III in the Constitution.
Diversity of Citizenship: the situation where the opposing parties are from different states.
En Banc: if there are conflicting decisions involving the same legal issue between two panels, the entire circuit may sit "as a group" and rehear the case.
Writ of Certiorari: an order to the lower courts to send the record of the case up to the Supreme Court.
Rule of Four: if four or more justices vote to accept a case, it is placed on the Court's docket.
Trial de Novo: is an entirely new trial not just a standard appeal that takes place in the lower court.
Felonies: crimes for which the possible punishment includes a sentence of imprisonment for at least one year.
Complaint: an accusation on a formal document that may be filed out by an officer or a private citizen accusing a specified person or persons of committing a specified act or acts.
Probable Cause: a legal concept referring to the amount of proof a police officer must have to search or arrest someone.
Booking: an administrative procedure, and it involves making an entry in the police blotter at the station indicating the suspect's name, arrest time, offense, and the taking of fingerprints and photographs.
Initial Appearance: the first court appearance that takes place in a municipal or justice of the peace court.
Preliminary Hearing: also called the preliminary examination. the magistrate determines if there is probable cause to believe that an offense was committed and if it was the defendant who committed the crime. it is a critical stage of the prosecution so a lawyer may be present.
Arraignment: a formal hearing before a felony court where defendants are again informed of the charges against them and advised of their rights.
Standing Mute: the defendant is refusing to plead his case and the court enters a not guilty plea.
Nolo Contendere: a no contest plea means the defendant accepts the punishment of the court but does not admit he committed the crime.
Alford Plea: the defendant enters a guilty plea but denies having committed the crime.
Venire: "to cause" or "make come", the legal term for summoning jurors.
Voir Dire: "to speak the truth", the process of questioning the jurors to determine if they have bias, prejudice, impartiality about the case.
Jury Consultants: experts hired by attorneys to help them determine what type of person is more likely to favor their side.
Challenge for cause: a valid reason for wanting to dismiss an individual is shown to the court's satisfaction.
Peremptory Challenge: there is no reason for a potential jurist to be dismissed. these are usually limited to a certain number.
Motion: a request made to the court asking it for something, such as a granting a continuance, the supression of evidence, or the dismissal of the case.
Habeas Corpus: "you have the body", an indirect appeal that challenges the authority of the court to incarcerate the defendant.
Partisan: aligned with a particular party. some states have partisan election of judges.
Retention: judge stands for election after having been selected by a non-partisan commission and then by the govenor of the state.