Vocabulary Terms 6

  1. Mayor Council—Type of city government with an all elected leadership---Council passes city ordinances while the mayor carries out those laws.
  2. Council Manager—Type of city government with an elected council who makes law and a hired official who carries out those policies.
  3. Zoning Boards—Local group of officials who make determinations about what types of buildings and the uses of buildings that are allowed in certain areas.
  4. Property Taxes—Most important local tax source---based on a person’s belongings and is a very stable form of taxes.
  5. Civil Law—Laws that are based on agreements and conflicts between individuals.
  6. Habeas Corpus—Right of Americans to be released if they are not formally charged with a crime after being detained by police.
  7. Bills of Attainder—Type of law that would punish a person without a trial----these types of laws are illegal according to the constitution.
  8. Ex Post Facto Laws—Type of law that might try to punish someone for an act in past that is now considered illegal---these laws are also illegal under our Constitution.
  9. Negligence—Term explaining the idea that an accident was caused by the careless actions of another person.
  10. Injunction—Court order to stop an action.
  11. Penal Code—Legal term for the laws (statutes) passed by our government.
  12. Larceny—Legal term for taking the property of another person.
  13. Fraud—Legal term for taking someone’s property or money through false statements or trickery.
  14. Embezzlement—Legal term for how a person steals from their employer.
  15. Rehabilitation—Idea that punishments are used in order to help someone be a better citizen.
  16. Mandatory Sentencing—Laws that require that judges impose certain sentences in certain situations.
  17. Preliminary Hearing—Initial court appearance when a person is told the initial charges and their bail is set.
  18. Indictment—Formal process of a grand jury finding that enough evidence exists to take a defendant to court.
  19. Arraignment—Court hearing when a defendant issues their plea of guilty or not-guilty.
  20. Plea Bargaining—Process where a defendant agrees to plead guilty in order to receive a lighter punishment.

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  1. Prosecution—Legal term for the people who represent the government in a criminal case.
  2. Cross Examination—Term that refers to the questioning of a witness by the attorney on the opposing side with the intent of discrediting that witnesses testimony.
  3. Juveniles—People who are not yet of age to be considered an adult.
  4. Scarcity—Idea that there is not enough of a product for everyone to have and this fact causes goods to have a price that determines who is willing to pay for that product.
  5. Price—Value assigned to a product according to the forces of supply and demand for that product.
  6. Law of Supply—Economic idea that suppliers will supply more of a product as the price for that product increases.
  7. Law of Demand—Economic idea that buyers will demand more of a product as price decreases.
  8. Market Price—Point where the supply curve and the demand curve intersect, creating the value of a product.
  9. Shortages—Situation when demand is greater than the supply of a product---price will usually increase.
  10. Surplus—Situation when supply is greater than demand---price will usually decrease.
  11. Diminishing Utility—Idea that a person’s demand for a product will reach a maximum no matter the price.
  12. Diminishing Return—Idea that a supplier will reach a point when increased production will not increase profits.
  13. Productivity—Economic term for the amount of work produced in a given amount of time.—Increased productivity causes prices to decrease and fights inflation.
  14. Comparative Advantage—Term describing the situation when one nation produces a product better or cheaper than other nations.
  15. Division of Labor—Idea of dividing labor into individual tasks in order to increase productivity.
  16. Economies of Scale—Economic idea that a larger business can operate at a more efficient rate because of its bulk. Same concept applies when buying items in large quantities.
  17. Opportunity Cost—Economic idea that a person loses the chance to do something when you make a choice.
  18. Trade Off—Economic idea that you deliberately make a decision and do so knowing the other options would be lost.
  19. Factors of Production—Land, Labor, Resources, Management
  20. Capital—Money used to start or run a business.