1. SCOTUS: Supreme Court of the United States

2. The Supreme Court
9 justices – 1 Chief Justice, 8 Associate Justices
Most cases come from the federal courts (appellate courts)

3. According to many, the proper role of a judge should be only to interpret the law and ascertain its meaning; NOT make the law

4. Obtaining Space on the Supreme Court’s Docket
Federal Courts
State Courts
Requests for
S.C. Review
Approx. 8,000
Cases
Appeals
Discussed In
Conference
Appeals
Denied (99%
Of Cases)
Obtains
FOUR
Votes
Places on
Docket
(fewer
Than 100
cases)

5. Supreme Court Decision Making Process
Cases on Docket
Briefs submitted on both
sides
Oral Arguments (30
Minutes each side)
Conference case discussed
Votes taken; opinion
Writing assigned
Opinions drafted;
Circulated for comment
Decision announced

6. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court controls its own case load – accepting only the cases that it considers “ripe” for determination and worthy of its attention.
Those persons asking the Supreme Court to review a decision file an application for “writ of certiorari” – i.e., a request that the Supreme Court to issue an order directing the case file be sent to the Supreme Court

7. Class – Action Suits
Most of the cases heard by the Supreme Court are brought by someone to help him or her and all others who are similarly situation.
Brown v. Board of Education.
New concerns not met by Congress
Many benefit
Special interest groups may take these cases, since they are not necessarily lucrative to lawyers.
Brown v. the Board of Education

8. Do you have STANDING?
You must have a real case, not a hypothetical situation.
The litigant must demonstrate real, personal harm.
Hollingsworth v Perry. Does Hollingsworth have standing????

10. Courts and Politics Judicial Selection Accepting Cases Rejecting Cases
Deciding Cases

11. Appointing Supreme Court Justices
Presidents appoint Supreme Court Justices and federal judges US Senate confirms the appointment Presidents are strongly influenced by judicial ideology in choosing justices—justices are a President’s legacy Justices appointed to life tenure, so a chance for president’s legacy to extend beyond his time in office.

12. Senatorial Courtesy: tradition in which President consults with senators within a state in which an appointment is to be made.
Litmus Test – Presidents try to get the Justice Department to find judges that fit in line with the President’s political ideology. Some presidents may have judicial “litmus test” on some major issue i.e. abortion.
Selecting Judges
Are you a liberal?

13. Who Gets To Judge Characteristics: Other Factors:
Generally white males
Lawyers with judicial and often political experience
Other Factors:
Generally of the same party and ideology as the appointing president

14. Judge Selection Party background has some influence
Ideology does NOT always determine behavior (President Eisenhower was VERY DISAPPOINTED with his nomination of Warren as was Bush ‘41 and Souter nomination)
Souter
Warren

15. Judicial Ideology is based on Personal Socialization

16. Their legal training is a part of professional socialization
To Left: Harvard Law School

17. Former Justice Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall grew up living in the South and experienced first hand discrimination and segregation. How do you think he ruled on civil rights issues?

18. Former Justice Harry Blackman (1970-1994) wrote the opinion for
Roe v Wade
Prior to being appointed to the High Court, Blackman was the in-house counsel for Mayo Foundation and Mayo Clinic. Did his work with Mayo Clinic influence his opinion?

19. Did the Party play a role in the outcome of the case?
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
GEORGE W. BUSH, et al., PETITIONERS v. ALBERT GORE, Jr., et al. (2000)

20. Sonia Sotomayer (top right), 55, became the first Hispanic justice and the third woman in the court’s 220 year old history.
Does Sotomayer and Kagan’s backgrounds, experiences and gender play into their political ideology?
Elena Kagan (right) was also appointed by Obama and confirmed by the Senate; 2010

21. The Courts As Policy Makers
Accepting Cases
Use the “rule of four” to choose cases
Issues a writ of certiorari to call up the case
Supreme Court accepts few cases each year

22. Cue Theory
Realistically, there are lots of cases that come to the court and are not read or studied – it would be impossible to read/study all of them
Justices (and their clerks) look for specific characteristics or cues

23. The judges make their decisions based on one-hour Oral Arguments and written arguments called Briefs
After Oral Arguments the justices meet in secret session to discuss in depth and vote on the cases they have heard.
Opinions - The majority of the justices of the Supreme Court write the Opinion of the Court (the majority opinion); there may also be concurring opinions and dissenting opinions; all may have an influence on subsequent rulings.
Per curiam opinion (brief opinion of the Court).
Concurring opinion - an opinion that agrees with the majority who should win, but for a different reason
Dissenting opinion - an opinion disagreeing with the Opinion of the Court on who should win.

24. Making Decisions
To provide guidance for later cases, a court publishes its decision and reasoning in an “opinion” that explains relevant facts, reasoning, and analysis of prior cases – identifying those that are precedent and distinguishing those that are not

25. Amicus Curiae--is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it.
The decision on whether to admit the information lies at the discretion of the court. The phrase amicus curiae is Latin and literally means "friend of the court".
The more Amicus Curiae briefs filed, the more apt the Court will hear the case

26. Stare Decisis--“let the decision stand” the principle of precedent.
Problems with Stare Decisis:
**New problems arise
Abortion, gay marriage
**Sometimes the court changes its mind.
Segregation
**Public opinion and pressure.

27. How did they decide that?
Decisions are “binding” on the lower courts in the line of appeal.
Supreme Court decisions are binding on all state and federal courts

28. A court/judge that exercises judicial restraint will Defer to the legislative and executive branches rather than asserting their own view

29. A Court/Judge is a Judicial Activist when they:
stray from precedent,
make policy with their rulings
make a decision contrary to the wishes of the other branches or people

30. Who Is Deciding Your Liberty
Justice
Date of Birth
Appointed By
Sworn In
Antonin Scalia
3/11/1936
Ronald Reagan
9/26/1986
Anthony Kennedy
7/23/1936
2/18/1988
Clarence Thomas
6/23/1948
George H. W. Bush
10/23/1991
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
3/15/1933
Bill Clinton
8/19/1993
Stephen Breyer
8/15/1938
8/3/1994
John G. Roberts
1/27/1955
George W. Bush
9/29/2005
Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
4/1/1950
1/31/2006
Sonia Sotomayor
6/25/2954
Barack Obama
8/8/2009
Elena Kagan
4/28/1960
8/7/2010

31. Nominated by the president and confirmed by 51% or more of the Senate!
The Judiciary
Stephen G. Breyer
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr
Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan
Breyer
Thomas
Alito
Ginsburg
Chapter 16
Unit III
Scalia
Stevens
Roberts
Kennedy
Clarence Thomas
Antonin Scalia
Chief Justice John Roberts
Anthony
Kennedy
Ruth Bader Ginsburg

32. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.
Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006
Conservative
From upstate New York; educated at Harvard

33. Justice Antonin Scalia
Appointed by President Reagan in 1986; longest standing justice
Conservative; colorful orator
From New Jersey; educated by Georgetown and Harvard

34. Justice Anthony Kennedy
Appointed by President Reagan in 1988
Conservative but history of voting along moderate lines (swing vote)
From California; educated by Stanford and Harvard

35. Justice Clarence Thomas
Appointed by President George H. Bush in 1991
Conservative; strict constructionist; support states’ rights
From Georgia; educated by Holy Cross College and Yale

36. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Appointed by President Clinton in 1993
Liberal
From New York; educated by Cornell, Harvard, and Columbia

37. Justice Stephen Breyer
Appointed by President Clinton in 1994
Liberal
From California; educated by Stanford, Oxford, and Harvard

38. Justice Samuel Alito Jr.
Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006
Conservative
From New Jersey; educated by Yale and Princeton

39. Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Appointed by President Obama in 2009
Moderate/Liberal
Raised in the Bronx; educated by Princeton and Yale Law School

40. Justice Elena Kagan
Appointed by President Obama in 2010; youngest member at age 52
Moderate/Liberal
Educated at Princeton, Oxford and Harvard Law School

41. The Courts & Democracy Courts are not very democratic.
Not elected
Difficult to remove judges and justices
The courts may reflect popular majorities
The courts may defy majority public opinion and legislative intentions.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Groups are likely to use the courts when other methods fail