JUDICIAL BRANCH

TYPES OF LAWS There are 2 basic types of law Criminal law Civil law

Any behavior that is illegal is a crime. If convicted, a person can go to jail. The group of laws that refer to disputes between people are known as civil disputes. A person who loses a civil court will usually pay a fine.

In 1992 Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old woman from Albuquerque, New Mexico, bought a cup of coffee from a drive through McDonalds and as she removed the lid spilled the entire cup of coffee on her lap. She was wearing cotton sweatpants; they absorbed the coffee and held it against her skin, scalding her thighs, buttocks, and groin. Hospitalized for eight days while she underwent skin grafting, followed by two years of medical treatment she sued the fast food giant claiming it was too hot and more likely to cause serious injury than coffee served at any other establishment. She won an astonishing $2.5million.

THERE ARE 4 SOURCES OF LAW Constitutional law Common law (precedent) Statutory law (legislatures) Administrative law (executive agencies)

Which type of law comes from the precedent of judges’ previous decisions?

COMMON LAW

Which type of law comes from the Constitution and previous interpretations of the Constitution?

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Which type of law comes from regulatory agencies in the executive branch?

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

Which type of law comes from legislatures?

STATUTORY LAW

LEVELS OF FEDERAL COURTS: District Court (trial) Court of Appeals (appeal) Supreme Court (highest appeals court)

TRIAL (DISTRICT) COURTS Lowest level of federal courts. Have original jurisdiction.

APPEALS The process by which a person asks a higher court to review the result of the trial “I did not get a fair trial!” “The law was not applied correctly!” Go to the court of appeals Level above the district courts Can review district court decisions Appellate Jurisdiction

CAN YOU APPEAL A DECISION SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU ARE NOT GUILTY?

NO!

YOU CAN ONLY APPEAL… “I did not get a _____ trial!” “The _______ was not applied correctly!” fair law

SUPREME COURT Highest court in the land Has the power to review decisions made by all lower courts Reviews appeals Has both original and appellate jurisdiction Can also Remand - can return a case to a lower court for a new trial.

DISTRICT COURT 2 How many district courts? 94

US DISTRICT COURTS Each state has at least one U.S. District Court. Florida has three. These are the only federal trial courts, which can have juries. These courts resolve disputes over federal law. They can also resolve disputes based on state law when these are between citizens from different states.

THERE ARE _____ JUDICIAL CIRCUITS, AND COURT OF APPEALS. 13

US COURT OF APPEALS Each Circuit Court covers several U.S. District Courts. For example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit covers the U.S. District Courts for Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. The Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reviews decisions from all the U.S. District Courts in those three states.

A PANEL OF AT LEAST ____ JUDGES MAKES THE DECISION IN THE COURT OF APPEALS. 3

Supreme Court A DECISION IN THE COURT OF APPEALS CAN BE APPEALED TO THE ________ _____

1 THERE IS ___ SUPREME COURT.

THERE ARE ___ JUSTICES ON THE SUPREME COURT. 9

U.S. SUPREME COURT US Constitution created our country’s first national court the US Supreme Court Article III Number of justices on Supreme Court has increased over time, currently there are 8 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice (John G. Roberts)

Chief Justice presides over the Court and acts as its spokesperson Chief Justice swears the President into office and presides over any Presidential impeachment trial (in the Senate)

Supreme Court Justices are nominated by the President and confirmed by a majority vote in the Senate. All federal judges are appointed for life, maintain “good behavior” (do not commit “high crimes” or other misconduct, for which Congress can impeach them) or until they resign. This is called a “life tenure.” Life tenure helps federal judges to act independently of popular or political pressures. No Supreme Court Justice has ever been removed from office

JURISDICTION US Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in all cases involving foreign representatives (ambassadors, consuls, and other diplomats) or states (such as Florida) as parties. In all other cases, the supreme Court exercises appellate jurisdiction. It reviews appeals from other decisions by lower courts, rather than trying the case itself.

CHOOSING CASES At first, the Supreme Court reviewed all appeals sent to it. Now, parties must first appeal to a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals or to a state appellate court. Parties in both federal court and state court can later appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, so long as the case involves some aspect of federal law (such as rights under the U.S. Constitution).

Each year, the U.S. Supreme Court receives thousands of requests for review— called petitions for a writ of certiorari. Only about a hundred of these are usually granted. At least 4 justices must agree to hear a case for a writ of certiorari to be given.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? In a typical case, the Justices read briefs from both sides of the case. Then they hear oral arguments by the attorneys from both sides (usually limited to about an hour per side), where the Justices ask questions. The Justices then discuss the case among themselves and reach their decision. One Justice from the winning side writes a majority opinion, which is published. Justices who disagree with the majority opinion may write their own separate, dissenting opinions. These explain the reasoning behind their decisions.

JUDICIAL REVIEW In the case of Marbury v Madison in 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall established the power of judicial review. This decision established the power of the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts to declare that a law or executive order is unconstitutional. Federal courts can only declare laws unconstitutional if they are brought before them in actual court cases.