The Judicial Branch Chapter 7

Bell Ringer Page 217 – Real Life Civics What do these Supreme Court rulings show about the kinds of cases the Court hears? Do you think any rulings by the Supreme Court have affected your life? The SC hears cases concerning issues that affect all Americans & actions of the government Integrating schools, students’ rights,

Role of the Federal Courts Two Types of Cases: Civil & Criminal Criminal Case: Crime committed Witnesses Called Verdict of guilty or Innocent Civil Case: Two private parties Private Party & Gov’t Two parts of Gov’t

Origin of the Federal Courts Supreme Court: Article III of the Constitution Judiciary Act of 1789: District Courts & Circuit Courts 94 District Courts: Trial Courts 13 Circuit Courts: Appeals Courts Supreme Court: Final Appeal

Court System Dual Court System: Exist along with 50 State Courts Presumed innocent until proven guilty Right to ask for an appeal Federal Courts hear cases involving the Constitution Some Federal Laws: kidnapping, tax evasion, counterfeiting (Crimes) Also they hear Civil Cases involving Rights.

“You Do Together” Chart Skill – Page 219 How do federal and state courts differ? (Contrasting) What are some advantages of a dual court system? (Inferring)

Answers Federal Courts get power from Constitution, judges are appointed for life, hear appeals from state courts. State Courts involve state law & judges are elected or appointed for set terms State courts can handle local level. Federal Courts can handle interstate disputes and appeals

Essential Question What is the role of the Federal Court System? Make sure everyone is treated equally under the law

Bell Ringer Page 224 In which circuit are Alabama, Georgia, and Florida? Why do the circuits vary in the size of the geographical area they cover? 11th Circuit The areas have different population sizes & number of cases

94District Courts Lowest level of the Federal System Every State has at least one Only Federal Courts with witnesses & Juries Original Jurisdiction: authority to hear the case for the first time

Circuit Court of Appeals Appellate Jurisdiction: authority to review the fairness of a case appealed from a lower court. 12 U.S. Courts of Appeal over a geographic area (Circuit) 13th Court hears special cases involving patent law or international trade or cases against the U.S.

Collaborative Practice: “You Do Together” Page 225 1.Which are the only courts in the federal system that can have jury trials? 2.What can be done by a person who does not agree with a decision of the Supreme Court? Only district courts have jury trials Nothing – there are no higher appeals past the Supreme Court

Essential Question How are the federal courts organized? Lowest -> Highest

Bell Ringer Page 231 Sandra Day O’Connor What did Justice O’Connor mean when she said, “the power of my arguments, not my gender” made her a force on the Court? Whether she was a man or woman made no difference – it was her legal reasoning that made the difference

Federal Judges Judges are the final authority in federal courts. At least 650 serve District Courts 6- 28 for each Appeals Court 9 on the Supreme Court ( Justice) President appoints all Federal Judges with Senate approval Judges serve for life (die, retire, removed)

Supreme Court of the United States Main job : to decide whether laws are allowed by the U.S. Constitution. Original Jurisdiction: Disputes between State Diplomats from foreign countries All other cases are appealed from lower courts

Supreme Court Supreme Court decisions are binding on lower courts It hears a small % of cases it receives When it refuses a case – the decision of the lower court stands Nine Justices ( one is the Chief Justice) No legal requirement The Justices interpret the Constitution

Judicial Review: Review any law to see whether it goes against the Constitution The Court can nullify or cancel a law States have argued with the Supreme Court’s power to Check a State law and the will of the people in that State The Court only rules on laws that are challenged by Federal cases and have been brought to them on appeal

YOU DO !! Marbury v. Madison Page 235 Why is Marbury v. Madison a Landmark Case? Why did the Supreme Court refuse to allow the appointment of the last judges? The court claimed the power to decide whether a law was constitutional or not The part of the act that created those appointments was unconstitutional – the appointments could not be enforced

Essential Question What is the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court? Original jurisdiction in two types of cases: 1. Cases involving disputes between states 2. Cases involving diplomats from other countries ALL Other cases have been appealed from lower courts

Bell Ringer, October 26, 2017 Page 237 For each year shown – calculate the % of appeals to the SC that resulted in opinions How has the trend of the requests changed through the years? 1965: 2.9%, 1975: 2.9%, 1985: 2.8%, 1995: .99%, 2000: .97%, 2004: .98%, 2006: .75%, 2008: .95% Requests went up early on, then went up and down

Court Procedures Most cases come on appeal from lower court Choose cases of Constitutional question Choose cases where appellate courts have reached different decisions 4 Justices must agree to take the case for it to be put on the docket: calendar of cases They hear about 75-80 cases each term out of 10,000

How Rulings are Made Court study briefs from lawyers on both sides Lawyers give oral arguments before justices and answer questions Justices have a meeting – each give their opinion on the case A majority vote decides the case

Factors Influencing Decision Precedent Social Conditions Justice’s View of Court’s Role in Society Justice’s Bias Writing Opinions Majority Opinion Concurring Opinion Dissenting Opinion Unanimous Opinion These opinions are filed forever – and used for review by lower courts and later by succeeding Supreme Court Justices

Essential Question What kinds of cases does the Supreme Court hear? Most come on appeal from a lower court Key Constitutional questions that involve the entire country Two opposing sides

Chapter 7 Review – The Judicial Branch Two kinds of Cases in the Judicial Branch: Criminal & Civil Article III of the Constitution created the: The Judicial Branch If two States were in a dispute – what kind of court would they go to? The Supreme Court

District Courts can hold both Civil & _________________________ cases. Criminal What kind of Federal Court can reverse a District Court’s decision? A Circuit Court – Appellate Court What is Precedent? previous opinions in similar cases We have 13 _________________________ Courts in the United States. Circuit (Appellate)

Which Federal Judges are appointed by the President & approved by the Senate? All Federal Judges When can the Supreme Court rule that a law is unconstitutional? When it hears a case What keeps Federal Judges from being influenced by politics? Being selected for life, rather than being selected by the vote Concurring Jurisdiction: The right for both Federal & State courts to try a case

Judicial Review: Power of the Supreme Court to say whether any federal, state, or local law goes against the Constitution Brief: A written document explaining the position of one side or the other in a case Dissenting Opinion: A statement written by a Justice who disagrees with the majority opinion Unanimous Opinion: A Supreme Court ruling on a case where all the Justices agree on the ruling

What is the goal of the Federal Court System? To treat everyone equally Every Criminal defendant has the right to remain _____________ and the right to ___________ Silent; Counsel (lawyer) How many Supreme Court justices are there? 8 Justices & 1 Chief Justice (9 altogether)

At what federal level are most cases heard and decided upon? District Courts At what federal level are jury trials allowed?