Judicial Branch

What is the Judicial Branch? The third branch of government is the Judicial branch. The Judiciary is made up of courts – Supreme Court, Circuit Court, the magistrate (local) and municipal (city) courts. The job of the Judicial branch is to interpret the laws.

Jurisdiction The right of a court to hear a case.   Types of Jurisdiction: Original – right to hear a case for the first time. Jurisdictional levels: Federal State Local Appellate – right to hear a case on appeal; law has been applied unfairly or incorrectly Exclusive – assigned by Constitution; only federal courts can hear; includes cases involving national laws, the federal government or other governments (State or Foreign) Concurrent – cases that can be decided in state or federal courts

The American Legal System Sources of Law Constitution of the United States Statutory laws – (statutes) laws that are written by state legislatures and other lawmaking bodies Common Law – origin of stare decisis; past rulings that are used to make decisions

Branches of Law (Criminal and Civil) Public Law – concerns the relationship between the government and citizens Criminal Law Constitutional Law Administrative Law – rules and regs of the gov. agencies International Law – rules that guide relations w/other countries   2. Private Law – deals with disputes between individuals, businesses or other organizations Contracts Property Torts (wrongful act that injures a person or someone’s property) Domestic Relations

Federal District Courts federal trial courts; currently 94 courts at least one per state plus D.C. and Puerto Rico 2 judges per court have original jurisdiction hear 80% of federal cases(about 300,000/yr.)

Court of Appeals set in 12 districts or circuits; usually 3 judge panels hear appeals from district courts set up to lessen workload of Supreme Court have appellate jurisdiction does not always mean a trial about 400,000 cases/yr.

Supreme Court court of last resort most appeals come from the Court of Appeals currently 8 associate justices and chief justice judicial review-declare act unconstitutional about 6,000 cases apply/yr., only about 100 get full decision

Other Federal Courts Territorial Courts U.S. Tax Court set up like federal district courts in U.S. territories   D.C. Court handles all cases for the nation’s capital Court of International Trade civil cases (involve money or property) foreign business dealings covered here U.S. Claims Court public officials can be sued here Government can be sued in some cases approved by Congress U.S. Tax Court disputes between taxpayers and the IRS   Court of Military Appeals trials of service persons (court martials) Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit nationwide jurisdiction civil cases mostly patents, trademarks, copyrights

Process to the Supreme Court Federal Indictment Federal Grand Jury Hearing True Bill of Indictment Trial in Federal District Court Verdict by Trial (Petit) Jury Appeal to Courts of Appeals (Circuit Courts) 3 panel court decides to uphold or overturn the verdict Appeal to United States Supreme Court

To Hear a case before Supreme Court Submit Appeal - In most cases lawyers write an appeal for the court to issue a writ of certiorari. (forces lower courts to send documents from the case to be reviewed) Appeal Granted - (Rule of Four) 4 of 9 justices agree to put case on docket (schedule). Submit Brief - Merit Briefs are written legal arguments by lawyers to support one side of a case. *Amicus Curaie Briefs – friend of the court (interest groups file) Oral Arguments - the lawyers have the opportunity to give their arguments and ask questions about the case. It is almost always limited to 7 sittings at 30 minutes for each side. (2 weeks long) Conference - justices discuss and vote on cases. (Wednesday morning and on Friday) Write Opinions – after voting on the case, each justice may write their opinions. The Decision is Final

Making Decisions: Judicial Restraint – the Court limits itself to matters of law and justice as they are brought before them. Judicial Activism – the Court does not refrain from making policy with its decisions. Write Opinions – majority – decision of the court concurring – agrees with the decision but wants to explain why dissenting – disagrees and wants to explain why Precedents – decisions of the Court become the standard or rule for future cases.

Supreme Court Justices President appoints; Senate approves Their term is for Life Impeached like any other office Currently they make around $192,600 Pay cannot be lessened during their term

Selection Process President consults advisors; Attorney General presents list of candidates FBI does background check; ABA ranks candidates Interest groups try to influence Senate vote Senate Judiciary Committee rejects or confirms