POLS140 Test 3
Terms
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- judicial review
- The power of a court to declare acts of governmental bodies contrary to the constitution null and void.
- writs of mandamus
- A court order directing a government official to perform a nondiscretionary act.
- in forma pauperis
- Literally, "in the manner of a pauper," Requesting permission of the court for a poor person to seek judicial relief without having to pay the usual court fees.
- original itention
- The doctrine that holds that judges should interpret the constituion in accordance with the intent of the Framers.
- interpretivism
- The doctrine that judges should decide new constitutional issues in light of the underlying constitutional principles, as well as the literal meaning of the written provisions.
- noninterpretivism
- The doctrine that the Constitution should be interpreted accoriding to evolving standards of decency and justice and not frozen in time or meaning.
- separation of powers
- The constitutional arrangement whereby legislative, executive, and judicial powers are exercised by three separate and distinct branches of governnment.
- legislative veto
- Action by one or both houses of congress that nullifies an executive proposal.
- delegation
- In administrative law, the theory that allows a legislative body to delegate its lawmaking power to administrative agencies.
- executive privilege
- The doctrine that permits the president to withold information sought by Congress or the courts.
- subpoena duces tecum
- An order from a court directing a person to appear before teh court with specified documents that the court deems relevant in a matter pending before the court.
- Line Item Veto Act
- Act allowing the president to veto sepcific appropriations contained in a bill without affecting the remaining sections.
- due proceess of law
- A term used in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to refer to the process that is due before government may deprive a person of life, liberty, or property.
- procedural due process of law
- A theory of due process that stresses "by-the-book" adherence to predetermined rules of behavior that government must observe.
- substantive due process of law
- A theory of due process that emphasizes judging the content of a law by a subjective standard of fundamental fairness.
- incorporation
- The theory that the Bill of Rights has been incorporated or absorbed into the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, thereby making it applicable to the states.
- total incorporation
- The doctrine that all of the federal Bill of Rights should be absorbed into the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and made applicable to the states.
- selective incorporation
- The doctrine that only those parts of the Bill of Rights deemed "fundamental" are incorporated into the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
- suspect classifications
- Classification of persons, such as by race, to which the Supreme Court applies strict judicial scrutiny and for which government must offer compelling reasons to justify its use.
- prior restraint
- The censoring of material by the government before it is published rather than penalizing the publihser after publication
- Delegatus non potest delegare
- Literally, "a delegate cannot delegate." A person who has been empowered by another to do something may not redelegate that power to another.
- ultra vires
- Literally, "beyond the powers of." In administrative law, the doctirne that an administrative agency has exercised powers beyond those delegated to it by a legislative body.
- rulemaking
- THe power of an administrative agency to promulgate rules and regulations concerning matters that fall within its jurisdictions. Rules promulgated by administrative agencies have the force of law.
- rule enforcement
- The power of an administrative agency to enforce rules promulgated by the agency under its rule-making authority.
- adjudication
- The resolution or settlement of a dispute between two parties by a third party.
- exhaustion of administrative remedies doctrine
- In administrative law, the doctirne that requires persons aggrieved to avail themseleves of all administrrative remedies before seeking judicial relief.
- primary jurisdiction doctrine
- In administrative law, the doctrine that requires litigatns to take a dispute to the administrative agency with primary responsibility for handling the dispute before seeking judicial relief.
- substantial evidence rule
- Rule that says a finding of fact by an administrative agency is to be final if there is substantial evidence to support the agency's conclusion.
- malum in se
- Literally, "wrong in itself." In criminal law, something that is made illegal because it is inherently wrong.
- malum prohibitum
- In criminal law, something, such as gambling, amde illegal because government has deemed it undesireable, thereby prohibiting it.
- actus reus
- The "guilty act"; the forbidden act or omissio that is an element of a crime.
- crimes of omission
- criminally liable because of failure to act.
- crimes of commission
- criminally liable because of actions made.
- mens rea
- Literally, "the guilty mind." The wrongful purpose that is an element of a crime.
- specific intent
- The requisite intent that must be proved as an element of some crimes such as killing another "with malice aforethought."
- general intent
- In criminal law, a general showing that the prohibited act was performed voluntarily, whether or not the person meant to do it.
- scienter
- An element of a crime that requires knowledge or awareness that a particular act is illegal.
- causation
- To bring about an event or to make it happen.
- direct causation
- The causing or bringing about of an effect without the interference of an intervening variable or factor.
- proximate cause
- The theory that the injury sustained by the plaintiff and the defendat's action were so closely connected that the defendat's act caused the injury and there were no intervening causes.
- culpability
- In law, a person who is blameworthy or responsibile in whole or in part for the commission of a crime or injury.
- preponderance-of-evidence
- In civil law, the standard of proof required to prevail at trial. To win, a plaintiff must show that the greater weight, or .......... supports his or her version of the facts.
- beyond a reasonable doubt
- The burden of proof in criminal cases. .......... esentiall means that all possible alternative explanations for what happened have been considered and rejected except one-the one that concludes that the accused commmitted the crime for which he is charged.
- contraband
- Something the governemtn has forbidden to be in a person's posession, such as illegal drugs, explosives, or obscene materials.
- fruits of crime
- Include stolen goods or money.
- instrumentalities of the crime
- Tools or weapons used in the commission of a crime.
- The exclusionary rule
- A judicially created rule that holds that evidence obtained through violations of the constitutional rights of the criminal defendant must be excluded fromt he trial.
- suspended sentence
- Punishment for a crime in which either the determination of guilt or the sentence is held in abeyance for good behavior and probable completion of certain court-imposed obligatiosn.
- probation
- Punishment for a crime that allows the offender to remain in the community without incarceration but subject to certain court-established conditions.