Chapter 11: What Do You Think? 1. What is the highest court of the land? 2. What do you know about this court? 3. What are the duties of the Judicial Branch? 4. Do you think this is an important branch of government? Why/why not? 5. What does “justice” mean to you? 6. What would happen to law if the court system did not exist?

Chapter 11 And 12 The Supreme Court

Chapter 11 Section 1 Power of the Federal Courts

The Constitution provides for ONE Supreme Court of The United States as part of a court system that would balance the powers of the other two branches

The U. S. Judiciary system consists of federal and state courts. All 50 states have their own court system based on their own state constitution. The Federal system consists of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts established by Congress. I. Jurisdiction of the Courts

A. Federal Court System The authority to hear certain cases is called the jurisdiction of the court. State courts have power over state laws and federal courts have power over federal laws. Sometimes jurisdictions overlap. XjEDfPcnu04

Federal courts also have jurisdiction over cases involving: 1) Ambassadors 2) Two or more state governments 3) The U.S. government or one of its offices 4) Citizens who are of different states 5) Citizens with land grants in different states

When BOTH state and federal courts have jurisdiction Ex. Citizens of different states involving $75,000 or more B. Concurrent Jurisdiction

The court where a case is originally tried (trial court) has original jurisdiction If a case is lost it can go to appellate jurisdiction (a court who hears cases after it has already been heard once) If the appeal is denied, the person may take their case to the Supreme Court C. Original and Appellate Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court has developed into the most powerful court in the world It has both original and appellate jurisdiction II. Developing Supreme Court Power

A. Early Precedents Courts may not look for cases to try Cases must be brought to them by litigants (people engaged in a lawsuit)

B. Marbury v. Madison This case secured for the Court, the power of judicial review (power to review acts of Congress) bH57MnJIjkc

Chapter 11 Section 2 Lower Federal Courts

I. Federal District Courts Created by the Judiciary Act of district courts Each state has at least one court (CA-4) 550+ judges 80% of the federal caseload Most heard by 1 judge Civil Rights Act & Voting Rights Act cases have a 3 judge panel District courts have original jurisdiction They may hear civil and criminal cases

Created by Congress in 1891 to relieve burden off of Supreme Court 13 Court of Appeals (1 with national jurisdiction) 179 circuit judges in addition to 1 Supreme Court Justice assigned to each court Usually sit as a panel of three but may sit en banc-- all judges for that circuit participating II. Court of Appeals

Courts of Appeal only have appellate jurisdiction They handle about 55,000 cases a year There are 12 Judicial Circuits Ours is located in San Francisco (9 th9 th circuit)

III. Selection of Federal Judges Article II section 2: president appoints all federal judges with Senate approval Presidents favor judges who belong to their party(81-95%) Senatorial Courtesy—prior approval from the states senators

Chapter 11 Section 3 The Supreme Court

I. Jurisdiction Has both original and appellate jurisdiction Art III, section 2: two cases that may be heard on original jurisdiction: 1. Those in which two states are involved 2. Those affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls (representatives of foreign governments)

II. Appointing Justices Appointed by the president and approved by the Senate 25% do not get Senate approval Presidents usually choose from their party The president takes advice from the attorney general and Justice Department

A. The Role of the American Bar Association The ABA’s role is to evaluate the professional qualifications of all Article III judicial positions

B. The Justices 9 Justices 1 Chief Justice and 8 Associate Congress sets the number Term is for life Chief makes $217,000 Associates $208,000

C. Duties/Roles Of Justices Not subject to public opinion Duty to the Constitution- 1 st Can interpret ONLY, not change the Constitution Look at precedent- previous decisions Stare Decisis- “let the decision stand” Why???? The Supreme Court is the Final SAY!

The Roberts Court, 2015 Top row: Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel A. Alito, and Elena Kagan. Bottom row: Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

D. Court Justice History 1 st Black Justice- Thurgood Marshall (1967 by Lyndon Johnson) 1 st Women- Sandra Day O’Connor ( by Reagan) 1 st Court NYC

Analyzing The Supreme Court Foldable 1 st Tab (Jurisdiction) Summarize the jurisdiction of the Court 2 nd Tab (Justices) Explain the composition of the Court Duties of the justices Historical background of justices who have served. 3 rd Tab (Appointing Justices) Outline the process of appointing justices. (Include groups that influence the decision.)

Chapter 12 Section 1 Supreme Court and Decisions

I. How cases reach the Court 8,000-9,000 cases a year are appealed to the Supreme Court only a few hundred are accepted-- four of the nine justices must agree that a case should be put on the court docket (rule of four) they hear arguments for fewer than a hundred cases a year (less than 1%)

II. In front of the Court Once the court decides to hear a case Submit a brief- written statement setting forth legal argument Each side only gets 30 minutes- must be prepared to answer questions

III. The Court Decides Opinions Majority-winning opinion Concurring- agree with winning opinion, but for a different reason Dissenting- losing view of the minority 1/3 of cases are unanimous On a rare occasion, a dissenting opinion may years later become the majority

IV. Final Say The court may take weeks or months to decide Once the decision is made- that is it! The only other thing to do is get Congress to change the law through legislation- way harder to do