Judicial Branch Vocab

A sum of money used as a security deposit to ensure that an accused person returns for his or her trial

• bail

• jury

• defendant

• pardon

The legally authorized killing of someone as punishment for a crime

• dissenting opinion

• majority opinion

• capital punishment (death penalty)

• criminal case

A case involving a noncriminal matter such as a contract dispute or a claim of patent infringement

• criminal case

• grand jury

• jury trial

• civil case

freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair legal treatment

• civil liberties

• civil rights

• criminal case

• majority opinion

personal rights, including protection from discrimination, guaranteed and protected by the U.S. Constitution and federal laws enacted by Congress

• civil liberties

• indictment

• civil rights

• arraignment

An opinion that agrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling but differs on the reasoning.

• dissenting opinion

• concurring opinion

• majority opinion

• personal opinion

a case in which a defendant is tried for committing a crime as defined by the law

• civil case

• defendant

• jury trial

• criminal case

an individual or group being sued or charged with a crime

• plaintiff

• defendant

• judge

• jury

an opinion that disagrees with the majority in a Supreme Court ruling

• concurring opinion

• majority opinion

• dissenting opinion

• personal opinion

a group of citizens that decides whether there is sufficient evidence to accuse someone of a crime

• plaintiff

• grand jury

• defendant

• city council