The Federal Court System CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM Adversarial Plaintiff brings a charge Defendant is being charged Passive (the court can’t initiate a charge) Must be an actual dispute not hypothetical Jurisdiction (authority to hear a case) Original – court in which case is 1st heard Appellate – on appeal Exclusive – Can only be heard in a specific court Concurrent – Can be heard in federal OR state court

Complex Dual Court System Every state has its own system 97% of criminal cases are heard in state and local courts Federal Judiciary spans the entire country

THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM Constitution Creates the Supreme Court Congress creates the rest THE JUDICIARY ACT OF 1789 Set SC at 6 members (expanded to 9 in 1869) Established 3 tier system

Courts District 94 Districts – 700 Judges – 300,000 Cases 80% of caseload 98% plea deals Court of Appeals Review district court decisions Rule on decisions of fed regulatory commissions No trial or testimony Supreme Court Reviews Court of Appeals and State Supreme Courts Final arbiter of Constitution & establishes precedence Marbury v Madison – Judicial review of federal statutes

Selection of Judges Appointed by President Confirmed by Senate Senatorial Courtesy – opposition by Senator prevents confirmation in his state Supreme Court – impressive credentials president’s ideology/policies 2 Black, 3 female, 1 hispanic (Sotomeyer is 1st hispanic) Confirmation FBI Background check ABA Check Interest groups protest, use media, editorials, email Senators Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings and recommends to full Senate

HOW THE SUPREME COURT WORKS Selecting Cases Original Jurisdiction (2-3 cases a year) 2 or more states US and a state US and foreign diplomats Writs of Certiorari (send us the record) Appellate court review Controls its own caseload (9,000 petitions/yr) Rule of 4 If 4 justices want to hear it, they grant cert (Law clerks prescreen the cases) Solicitor General influences the court and handles appeals for gov. The Supreme Court agrees to hear very few lower court appeals. Be sure that you can identify a writ of certiorari and the Rule of Four and explain their role in the case selection process

FILING BRIEFS Each party files a brief (detailed argument citing facts, legal principles, and precedents) Interested parties (interest groups, etc) file amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs to lobby the court (Examples: affirmative action and abortion)

Listening to Oral Arguments Open to the public Attorneys get 30 minutes to present (judges ask questions) Discussion and voting Closed meeting Chief Justice presides (currently Roberts) Writing Formal Opinions Majority opinions – become the law Concurring – supports decisions but for different legal reasons Minority or dissenting - disagrees, no legal standing

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS Precedent Stari decisis – let the decision stand Vast majority of decisions are based on prior precedents Help make more uniform and predictable *can overturn - Brown overturned Plessy

JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY Judicial restraint Use precedent and Framers’ intent to decide cases Defer to elected institutions Judicial activism Federal courts must correct injustices when other branches of government or the states refuse to do so EX: Brown promoted social justice

Public Opinion The Constitution insulated Supreme Court justices from direct political pressures - life terms - salaries can’t be reduced - Cert to set aganda - public has little access to procedings Sensitivity to opinion Appointment process Congress can amend the constitution Congress can change courts appellate jurisdiction Change the number of justices on the court Impeachment Judicial restraint and judicial activism are well-known philosophies that appear on most AP U.S. Government and Politics exams. Do not overlook the ways in which the Supreme Court is insulated from public opinion and the factors that restrain the Court from straying too far from public opinion