Chapter 14: The Courts
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 2 National Judicial Supremacy Constitution established “one Supreme Court” but left it to Congress to structure the federal judiciary
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 3 National Judicial Supremacy Judicial Review of the Other Branches – Established in Marbury v. Madison (1803) –Judicial review: the power to declare congressional (and presidential) acts invalid because they violate the Constitution
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 4 National Judicial Supremacy Judicial Review of State Government –Supremacy clause of Constitution (Article VI) can nullify state law –Supreme Court imposes uniformity on national law
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 5 National Judicial Supremacy The Exercise of Judicial Review –Components of judicial review The power of the courts to declare national, state, and local law invalid if they violate the Constitution The supremacy of national laws or treaties when they conflict with state and local laws The role of the Supreme Court as the final authority on the meaning of the Constitution –Hamilton anticipated the power of judicial review and discussed it in Federalist No. 78
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 6 Organization of Courts Some Court Fundamentals –Criminal case: a court case involving a crime, or violation of public order –Civil case: a court case that involves a private dispute arising from such matters as accidents, contractual obligations, and divorce
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 7 Organization of Courts Some Court Fundamentals –Most cases never go to trial Plea bargain: a defendant’s admission of guilt in exchange for a less severe punishment Settle: parties to litigation resolve a dispute between themselves –Adjudication: a court judgment resolving the parties’ claims and enforced by government –Opinion: explanation justifying a judge’s ruling
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 8 Organization of Courts Some Court Fundamentals –Judges make policy Common (or judge-made) law: legal precedents derived from previous judicial decisions Statutory construction: application of statutes enacted by legislatures
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 9 Organization of Courts Some Court Fundamentals –Federal court organization U.S. district court: a court within the lowest tier of the three- tiered federal court system; a court where litigation begins U.S. court of appeals: a court within the second tier of the three-tiered federal court system, to which the decisions of the district courts ad federal agencies may be appealed for review The Supreme Court
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 10 Organization of Courts The U.S. District Courts –94 federal district courts, 650 full-time district judges, 352,000 new criminal and civil cases (2004) –Each state has at least one district; no district straddles more than one state
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 11 Organization of Courts The U.S. District Courts –Sources of litigation Federal criminal cases, as defined by national law Civil cases brought by individuals, groups or the government, alleging violation of national law Civil cases brought against the national government Civil cases between citizens of different states when the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 12 Organization of Courts The U.S. Court of Appeals –13 U.S. courts of appeals, 167 full-time judgeships, 63,000 new cases (2004) –Circuit: geographical area covered by the appeals court; 12 circuits in the U.S.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 13 Organization of Courts The U.S. Court of Appeals –Appellate Court Proceedings Public, but lack drama Based strictly on rulings made and procedures followed in trial court Usually convene in panels of 3 judges Receive briefs (written arguments)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 14 Organization of Courts The U.S. Court of Appeals –Precedents and Making Decisions Precedent: a judicial ruling that serves as the basis for the ruling in a subsequent case At the appellate level, precedent requires that judges’ opinions be written Stare decisis: literally, “let the decision stand”; decision making according to precedent
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 15 The Federal and State Court Systems,
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 16 The Supreme Court The Supreme Court’s task: providing equal justice under law while making justice the guardian of liberty
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 17 The Supreme Court Access to the Court –Sources of Supreme Court cases Original jurisdiction: the authority of a court to hear a case before any other court does Appellate jurisdiction: is the authority of a court to hear cases that have been tried, decided, or reexamined in other courts
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 18 The Supreme Court Access to the Court –Appellate litigation must satisfy two conditions Case must have reached the end of the line in the state court system Case must raise a federal question: an issue covered by the U.S. Constitution, national laws or U.S. treaties
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 19 The Supreme Court Access to the Court –Court exercises nearly complete control over its docket Docket: a court’s agenda Court selects fewer than 100 cases from 8,000 or more requests filed each year –Petitions for certiorari: litigant seeking review asks Court “to become informed” of the lower court proceedings –The Rule of Four: an unwritten rule that requires at least four justices to agree that a case warrants consideration before it is reviewed by the Supreme Court
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 20 Access to and Decision Making in the U.S. Supreme Court
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 21 The Supreme Court The Solicitor General –Solicitor general: the third highest ranking official of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the one who represents the national government before the Supreme Court
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 22 The Supreme Court The Solicitor General –Duties Determining whether the government should appeal lower- court decisions Reviewing and modifying the briefs filed in government appeals Deciding whether government should file an amicus curiae brief: a brief filed (with the permission of the court) by an individual or group that is not a party to a legal action but has an interest in it
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 23 The Supreme Court The Solicitor General –Roles Advocates for the president’s policy preferences Defend the institutional interests of the national government –Has an impressive record of wins in the Supreme Court
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 24 The Supreme Court Decision Making –Attorneys submit briefs; oral arguments may be heard –Wednesday and Friday conferences: chief justice presents cases and his vote, others discuss and vote (votes are tentative)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 25 The Supreme Court Decision Making –Judicial Restraint and Judicial Activism Judicial restraint: a judicial philosophy whereby judges adhere closely to statutes and precedents in reaching their decision Judicial activism: a judicial philosophy whereby judges interpret existing laws and precedents loosely and interject their own values in court decisions Judicial activism may be liberal or conservative
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 26 The Supreme Court Decision Making –Judgment and Argument Judgment: the judicial decision in a court case Argument: the heart of a judicial opinion; its logical content separated from facts, rhetoric and procedure –Opinions may be unanimous –There may be concurrence: the agreement of a judge with the court’s majority decision, for a reason other than the majority reason –A justice may dissent: the disagreement of a judge with a majority decision
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 27 The Supreme Court Decision Making –The Opinion Chief justice or most senior justice in the majority writes or assigns the majority opinion Opinion writing is the justices’ most critical function Opinion drafts are circulated and rewritten to accommodate colleagues
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 28 The Supreme Court The Chief Justice –Important functions Forms docket Directs Court’s conferences Can be a social leader Can embody intellectual leadership Can provide policy leadership –Can control discussion of issues, though rarely used
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 29 Judicial Recruitment No formal requirements for appointment to the federal courts State judges –Governors appoint judges in more than half the states –Other states select judges by election –Contested elections for judgeships are unusual
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 30 Judicial Recruitment The Appointment of Federal Judges –Federal judges hold their commission for life –A president’s judicial appointments are a kind of political legacy
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 31 Judicial Recruitment The Appointment of Federal Judges –The “Advice and Consent” of the Senate Senatorial courtesy: a norm under which a nomination must be acceptable to the home state senator from the president’s party Senate Judiciary Committee conducts hearing for each judicial nominee Growing proportion of nominees below the Supreme Court unconfirmed
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 32 Judicial Recruitment The Appointment of Federal Judges –The American Bar Association Has been involved in screening candidates for the federal bench Now evaluates professional qualifications after nominee has been announced
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 33 Judicial Recruitment Recent Presidents and the Federal Judiciary –Presidents since Jimmy Carter have tended to make increasingly diverse appointments to the federal courts –Political ideology, not demographics, at the heart of judicial appointments
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 34 Judicial Recruitment Appointment to the Supreme Court –Supreme Court nominations attract intense public scrutiny –Most important factor in rejection of nominee is partisan politics –Most successful Supreme Court nominees have prior federal or state court experience
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 35 Diversity on the Federal Courts
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 36 The Consequences of Judicial Decisions Most cases never reach court Supreme Court Rulings: Implementation and Impact –Implementation of judicial decisions relies on others to translate policy into action –Implementation depends on how judgment was crafted –Brown: “all deliberate speed” allowed foot-dragging in implementation –Decisions have impact beyond immediate parties in a dispute (e.g., Roe v. Wade)
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 37 Judicial Recruitment Public Opinion and the Supreme Court –Ideologically balanced Supreme Court seldom departs from majority sentiments –Supreme Court reflects public opinion at least as often as other elected institutions Court has shown deference to national laws and policies Court moves closer to public opinion during periods of crisis Rulings that reflect public view are subject to fewer changes –Court seldom influences public opinion
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.14 | 38 The Courts and Models of Democracy Class action supports the idea of a pluralist judicial system –Class action: a procedure by which similarly situation litigants may be heard in a single lawsuit –Makes it possible for people with small individual claims and limited resources to aggregate and make a lawsuit viable State courts exercise substantial influence over the policies that affect citizens daily