| Judicial Precedent |
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| The doctrine of stare decisis (which means "stand by what has been decided") is the legal principle underlying judicial precedent. When a court lays down a principle of law as applying to a particular set of facts, the court will apply that principle to all future cases where the facts are substantially similar. Under stare decisis, a judicial decision made in one case is binding on all later cases with similar facts. More... |
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| A Court's Authority to Resolve Disputes |
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| The framers of the United States Constitution separated the functions of government among three separate branches of government--legislative (the Congress), executive (the President), and the judiciary (the courts). The goal was to provide a system of checks and balances among the three branches so that no one branch could become too strong. Each branch of government has certain powers, and these powers are limited by another branch. More... |
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| Appeal Bonds |
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| In the federal courts and most state courts, the defendant has a right to appeal the judgment. In most jurisdictions, it is necessary to give a bond when appealing a case. More... |
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| Legal Ethics and Legal Malpractice |
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| After successfully completing law school, a law school graduate is required to pass a state bar examination before he or she will be admitted to the practice of law in the state. After passing the bar examination, an attorney takes an oath of office. Once admitted to the bar of a state, an attorney's conduct is regulated by rules of professional conduct. More... |
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| Independence of the Judiciary |
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| An independent judiciary is a fundamental principle of our democracy. The founding fathers assured the independence of federal judges by giving them tenure for life. The United States Constitution also prevents the reduction of a federal judge's salary while he/she is in office. The founding fathers also specified that federal judges could only be impeached and removed from office for committing treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
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