The Judicial Branch Chapter 8

Section 1 The Federal Courts

Equal Justice for All Federal courts make up the THIRD BRANCH of the U.S. government. The United States Supreme Court is the TOP FEDERAL court Idea of equal justice: Right to a public TRIAL and a LAWYER INNOCENT until proven guilty Right to ask for a REVIEW of case

Federal Courts Article III of the Constitution: The Judiciary Act Established a national SUPREME COURT Gave Congress power to establish lower FEDERAL COURTS The Judiciary Act Passed in 1789 Established federal district courts and CIRCUIT COURTS of appeals

System of Federal Appeals Courts Established by Congress in 1891 and set up THREE levels in the federal court system Three levels of federal court system The DISTRICT courts The APPEALS courts The SUPREME Court

Jurisdiction Defined as A COURT’S AUTHORITY TO HEAR AND DECIDE CASES OF THE FEDERAL COURTS The Constitution gives federal courts jurisdiction over EIGHT kinds of cases The Constitution FEDERAL laws DISPUTES between states Citizens from DIFFERENT states The federal GOVERNMENT FOREIGN governments and treaties ADMIRALTY and MARITIME laws U.S. DIPLOMATS

Jurisdiction For most of these eight areas, federal courts have EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION (only THEY may hear and decide such cases) CONCURRENT JURISDICTION (state and federal courts share jurisdiction and EITHER may hear the case) Crimes that violate both STATE and FEDERAL law Disputes concerning at least $50,000

“Where I Live” Presentation What I like about being American! Do other countries have this? What I DON’T like about being American! What I can do to change what I don’t like 10 items, pick 5 Research Presentation will be 6 minutes long, 3 for each partner You will turn in all notes and written pieces including the lists you start with today Spelling and Grammar will count Bonus points for presenting it as a poem or a rap

How Federal Courts Are Organized Section 2 How Federal Courts Are Organized

The Lower Federal Courts The LOWER federal courts are the DISTRICT courts and the APPEALS courts. U.S. District Courts the federal courts where TRIALS are held and LAWSUITS are begun 94 in all, and all states have at LEAST ONE ORIGINAL JURISDICTION (the authority to hear the case for the first time) Determine the FACTS of a case WITNESSES testify and JURIES reach verdicts the only federal courts that involve WITNESSES and JURIES

U.S. Court of Appeals REVIEW DECISIONS of district courts Appellate jurisdiction 12 in all with each covering a particular geographic area called a CIRCUIT A 13th appeals court, the COURT OF APPEALS for the Federal Circuit, has NATIONWIDE JURISDICTION These courts DO NOT hold trials A panel of judges REVIEWS the case records and LISTENS to arguments from lawyers on both sides

U.S. Court of Appeals UPHOLD, REVERSE, or REMAND (send it back to the lower court to be tried again) a case Decision by MAJORITY VOTE Rulings concern only protection of RIGHTS and FAIR trial Do NOT decide GUILT or innocence or who should win a suit One appellate judge WRITES AN OPINION that explains the legal thinking behind the court’s DECISION in the case OPINION for the court sets PRECEDENT (model for other judges to follow in making their own decisions on similar cases) Most appeals court decisions are FINAL A few cases are appealed to the Supreme Court

Federal Judges Federal judges are the chief DECISION MAKERS in the JUDICIAL branch. More than 650 DISTRICT COURT judges, with each district court having AT LEAST 2 judges SIX TO 28 judges in each appeals court NINE Supreme Court JUSTICES

Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution Federal judges APPOINTED by the PRESIDENT with CONSENT of the SENATE They usually appoint judges who SHARE their views Because judges serve for LIFE, presidents view their appointments as an OPPORTUNITY to affect the country after they LEAVE office No particular QUALIFICATIONS for federal judges

Senatorial Courtesy President submits NAME to state’s Senators for consideration If EITHER senator objects, the president withdraws the name and nominates SOMEONE ELSE Applies only to DISTRICT and other TRIAL COURTS

Appointed for Life Once appointed, a judge can be removed only through IMPEACHMENT

Section 3 The Supreme Court

Jurisdiction and Powers The Supreme Court decides whether laws are allowable under the U.S. Constitution. Original jurisdiction Cases involving diplomats from foreign countries Disputes between states Other cases Hears appeal cases from lower courts The Court chooses the cases it hears In cases the Court refuses to hear, the decision of the lower court stands

Jurisdiction and Powers Eight associate justices led by a chief justice Duty of justices is to hear and rule on cases After deciding a case, the justices issue a written explanation, called the Court’s opinion

Selection of Justices Appointed by president Senate approval Rejection of nominees

Background of Justices Supreme Court justices are always lawyers A successful law career, political support, and agreement with the president’s ideas are factors in who gets appointed Usually they are judges in lower courts Other public positions Thurgood Marshall was first African American justice in 1967 Sandra Day O’Connor was first female justice in 1981

Powers of the Court The legislative and executive branches of government must follow the Supreme Court’s rulings The Court’s main job is to decide whether laws and government actions are constitutional, or allowed by the Constitution It does this through judicial review (the power to say whether any law or government action goes against the Constitution)

Powers are Not Found in The Constitution The Constitution does not give the Supreme Court the power of judicial review The Court claimed the power when it decided the case Marbury v. Madison

Marbury v. Madison As President John Adams was leaving office, he signed an order making William Marbury a justice of the peace The incoming president, Thomas Jefferson, refused to carry out the order Marbury took his case to the Supreme Court In the Court’s opinion, Chief Justice John Marshall set forth three principles of judicial review The Constitution is the supreme law of the land If a law conflicts with the Constitution, the Constitution rules The judicial branch has a duty to uphold the Constitution Thus, it must be able to determine when a law conflicts with the Constitution and nullify that law The power of judicial review serves as a check on the actions of the executive and legislative branches

Limits on the Supreme Court Dependent on the executive branch and officials to enforce rulings (Worcester v. Georgia) Congress can get around a Court ruling by passing a new law, changing a law ruled unconstitutional, or amending the Constitution

Worcester v. Georgia This case illustrated that the Court must depend on the executive branch to carry out its decisions In this case, President Jackson refused to enforce the Court’s decision, and because most citizens agreed with him, no public pressure forced him to uphold the decision

Limits on the Supreme Court Hear and make rules only on the cases that come to it The Court cannot decide that a law is unconstitutional unless the law has been challenged in a lower court and the case comes to it on appeal Accepts only cases that involve a federal question It usually stays out of political questions, but this is not always the case (Bush v. Gore)

The Supreme Court at Work Section 4 The Supreme Court at Work

Court Procedures Supreme Court justices meet each year for a nine-month term (October until June or July). Each month, the justices spend two weeks listening to oral arguments on cases and two weeks writing opinions and studying new cases Special sessions Of the more than 7,000 applications each year, the Court agrees to hear fewer than 200 Supreme Court justices will place an accepted case on the court's docket, or calendar, if four out of the nine justices agree to do so.

Accepting a Case Significant constitutional question Freedom of speech Equal protection of the laws Fair trial Deal with real people and events Address legal rather than political issues

5 Steps of a Supreme Court Case Supreme Court cases go through a series of steps Written arguments Oral arguments Conference Opinion writing Announcement

Written arguments Oral arguments Conference The lawyers first prepare a written brief that explains their side of the case The justices study the briefs Oral arguments Each side gets 30 minutes to present its case orally Then the justices ask tough questions Conference On Fridays, the justices meet privately to discuss the case A majority vote decides the case

Opinion writing Announcement After the Court reaches a decision, one justice writes a majority opinion (presents the views of the majority of justices) The opinion states the facts, announces the ruling, and explains the Court’s reasoning in reaching the decision The Court may also write a unanimous opinion when all the justices vote the same way A justice who votes with the majority, but for different reasons, may write a concurring opinion One or more justices who disagree with the majority may write dissenting opinions Announcement Printed copies of the opinion go to news reporters A copy is posted on the Court’s Web site

Reasons for Decisions There are many factors that influence Supreme Court decisions. Law as the foundation Different views of the law Personal beliefs

Law as the Foundation They rely heavily on precedents, following the principle of stare decisis (“let the decision stand”) By following precedents, courts make the law predictable and consistent Adapting to changing times The justices can overrule outdated precedents When social conditions change, the Court may make new interpretations of the law Example of segregation with Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education The social conditions of the time influenced their decisions. In the earlier Plessy case, segregation was common, and the Court upheld it. By the time of the later Brown case, society’s views on segregation were beginning to change. The Court’s decision in the case to strike down segregation reflected the changing social climate.

Different Views of the Law and Personal Beliefs Like all human beings, justices see the world based on their own life experiences Their personal views and relationships influence their decisions