Judicial Branch Vocabulary

A court’s authority to hear and decide cases

• Original jurisdiction

• Jurisdiction

• Appellate jurisdiction

• Exclusive jurisdiction

authority of only federal courts to hear and decide cases

• Exclusive jurisdiction

• Precedent

• Appeals courts

• Appellate jurisdiction

authority for both state and federal courts to hear and decide cases

• Jurisdiction

• Appellate jurisdiction

• Original jurisdiction

• Concurrent jurisdiction

federal courts where trials are held and lawsuits are begun

• District Courts

• Appeals courts

• Circuit

• Opinion

the authority to hear cases for the first time

• Opinion

• Precedent

• Original jurisdiction

• Remand

a court that reviews decisions made in lower district courts

• Appeals courts

• District Courts

• Concurrent jurisdiction

• Dissenting opinion

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

• Appellate jurisdiction

• Judicial Review

• Docket

• Brief

the area of jurisdiction of a federal court of appeals

• Precedent

• Exclusive jurisdiction

• Brief

• Circuit

to send a case back to a lower court to be tried again

• Opinion

• Remand

• Precedent

• Majority Opinion

a detailed explanation of the legal thinking behind a court’s decision in a case

• Majority Opinion

• Concurring opinion

• Opinion

• Stare decisis