POLS 207 Exam 2 Ch. 9
Terms
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- Case
- a court matter involving two disputing parties
- Defendant
- the accused party in court
- Plaintiff
- the accusing party in court
- Prosecutor
- the attorney acting on behalf of the government in a criminal case
- Statutory Law
- laws passed by legislators
- Common Law
- legal traditions developed through court cases going back to England
- Civil Cases
- disputes between individuals or organizations that do NOT involve law breaking
- Liability
- legal responsibility for damages caused by a civil wrongdoing
- Contingency Fees
- a plaintiff pays nothing in attorney fees unless the attorney wins an award
- Deep Pockets
- a party to a lawsuit with an abundance of financial resources
- Pain and Suffering Awards
- added compensation for the victim of a crime, beyond actual costs for medical care and lost wages
- Punitive Damage Awards
- multiples of the actual damages found; designed to deter and punish persons or firms found to be at fault
- Joint and Several Liability
- legal responsibility for full damages regardless of the degree of contribution to harm
- Tort
- a legal harm caused by civil wrongdoing
- Loser Pays Law
- requirement that the losing party in a civil suit pay the legal fees of the winning party
- Judicial Federalism
- state courts' authority to interpret their own state's constitutional guarantees beyond those in the US Constitution
- Forum, Venue, Court Shopping
- common strategy of lawyers; it involves the search for a court that will be most favorably disposed to one's argument