Judicial Branch Vocabulary

One of the parties involved in a lawsuit

• Docket

• Litigant

• Jurisdiction

• Subpeona

A statement written by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion

• Docket

• Precedent

• Dissenting Opinion

• Nullify

The authority of a court to hear a case appealed from a lower court

• Appellate Jurisdiction

• Dual Court System

• Writ of Certiorari

• Judicial Review

A ruling that is used as the basis for a judicial decision in a later, similar case

• Subpoena

• Appellate Jurisdiction

• Dissenting Opinion

• Precedent

An order that requires a person to appear in court

• Subpoena

• Docket

• Writ of Certiorari

• Litigant

An order a higher court issues to a lower court to obtain records in a particular case

• Docket

• Subpoena

• Writ of Certiorari

• Precedent

A court's calendar, showing the schedule of cases it is to hear

• Docket

• Jurisdiction

• Dual Court System

• Litigant

National

• Municipality

• County

• Federal

• State

A court's authority to hear and decide cases

• Jurisdiction

• Docket

• Precedent

• Subpoena

The power of the Supreme Court to say whether any government action goes against the Constitution

• Writ of Certiorari

• Dissenting Opinion

• Nullify

• Judicial Review