The American Justice System In Its Simplest Form

The American Court Structure The U.S. has a dual court system. dual court One system of state and local courts and another system of federal courts.

What do Courts Do?

The Adversarial System Courts settle civil disputes between private parties, a private party and the government, or the United States and a state or local government. Each side presents its position. The court applies the law and decides in favor of one or the other.

Prosecuting the accused Courts also hold criminal trials for people accused of crimes. Witnesses present evidence and a jury or a judge delivers a verdict of guilt or innocence.

Rights of the Accused All accused people have the right to a public trial and a lawyer. If they cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint and pay for one. (Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963) Accused people are considered innocent until proven guilty. They may ask for a review of their case by a higher court if they think the court has made a mistake. This review is called an appeal. px?Id= px?Id=1494

The American Legal System The goal of the legal system is equal justice under the law. This goal is difficult to achieve. Why is the goal of equal justice under the law difficult to achieve?

Structure of the Courts

The American Court Structure The court’s jurisdiction is set by law and limited by territory and type of case. jurisdiction The authority of a court to hear and decide cases.

The US Federal Court System

The Federal Courts The authority for the federal court system is in the Constitution. The system includes: The Supreme Court The federal courts of appeals The federal district courts

United States District Courts Trials in federal district court are usually heard by a judge. General trial courts Federal criminal cases involve:  Bank robbery  Counterfeiting  Mail fraud  Kidnapping  Civil rights abuses

Circuit Courts of Appeals A party that loses a case in district court may appeal to a federal circuit court of appeals, or in some cases, directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Circuit Courts of Appeals Circuit courts of appeals review a case for errors of law, not of fact. Normally, three judges sit as a panel to hear cases. Jury trials are not allowed. Texas is in the 5 th Circuit along with Louisiana and Mississippi

The Supreme Court Justices The main job of the nation's top court is to decide whether laws are allowable under the Constitution. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction only in cases involving foreign diplomats or a state. All other cases come to the Court on appeal. The Court chooses the cases it hears through the writ of Certiorari. The Court chooses the cases it hears. In cases the Court refuses to hear, the decision of the lower court stands.

The United States Supreme Court Court of last resort in all questions of federal law and U.S. Constitution. The court may hear cases:  Appealed from federal courts of appeal.  Appealed directly from federal district courts.  Appealed from the high court of a state, if claims under federal law or the Constitution are involved.

The United States Supreme Court The U.S. Supreme Court is composed of: A chief justice Eight associate justices Each member of the court is appointed for life by the president and affirmed by the Senate.

The United States Supreme Court In order for a case to be heard by the Supreme Court, at least four justices must vote to hear the case.

The United States Supreme Court When the court decides a case, it can: Affirm the decision of the lower court and “ let it stand. ” Modify the decision of the lower court, without totally reversing it. continued…

The United States Supreme Court Reverse the decision of the lower court, requiring no further court action. Reverse the decision of the lower court and remand the case to the court of original jurisdiction, for either retrial or resentencing.

Powers of the Court 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. The legislative and executive branches must follow Supreme Court rulings. Because the Court is removed from politics and the influences of special-interest groups, the parties involved in a case are likely to get a fair hearing.

Powers of the USSC

Marbury v. Madison 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. 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.

The Power of Judicial Review In the Court's opinion, Chief Justice John Marshall set forth three principles of judicial review: (1) The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. (2) If a law conflicts with the Constitution, the Constitution rules. (3) 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. Through its rulings, the Supreme Court interprets the meaning of laws, helping the police and other courts apply them.

Limits on the Courts' Power The Court depends on the executive branch and state and local officials to enforce its decisions. Usually they do. Congress can get around a Court ruling by passing a new law, changing a law ruled unconstitutional, or amending the Constitution. The president's power to appoint justices and Congress's power to approve appointments and to impeach and remove justices serve to check the power of the Court. 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. The Court accepts only cases that involve a federal question. It usually stays out of political questions. It never considers guilt or innocence.

Supreme Court Justices

Today ’ s Court……

Antonin Scalia Associate Justice Appointed by Ronald Reagan. Took his seat on the High Court on 9/26/86. (longest current serving) Graduate of Georgetown and Harvard Law. Born 3/11/36. RIGHT leaning….

Anthony Kennedy Associate Justice Appointed by Ronald Reagan. Took his seat on the High Court on 2/18/88. Graduated from Stanford and Harvard Law. Born 7/23/36. Moderate….

Clarence Thomas Associate Justice Appointed by George HW Bush. Took his seat on the High Court on 10/23/91. Graduate of Holy Cross and Yale Law Born 6/23/48. RIGHT leaning….

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Associate Justice Appointed by William Clinton. Took her seat on the High Court on 8/10/93. Graduate of Cornell and Columbia Law. Born 3/15/33. LEFT leaning….

Stephen Breyer Associate Justice. Appointed by William Clinton. Took his seat on the High Court on 8/3/94 Graduate of Stanford and Harvard Law. Born 8/15/38. LEFT leaning….

John Roberts Chief Justice Appointed by George W. Bush. Took his seat on High Court on 9/25/05. Graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law Born 1/27/55 Right leaning….

Samuel Alito Associate Justice. Appointed By George W. Bush. Took his seat on the High Court on 1/31/06. Graduate of Princeton and Yale Law. Born 4/1/50. Right leaning….

Sona Sotomayor Associate Justice. Appointed by Barack Obama. Took her seat on the High Court on 8/8/2009. Graduate of Princeton and Yale Law. Born 6/25/54 Left leaning….

Elena Kagan Associate Justice Appointed by Barack Obama. Took her seat on the High Court on 8/7/10. Graduate of Princeton, Oxford, and Harvard Law School Born 9/17/39. Left leaning….

The State Courts The state courts have general power to decide nearly every type of case. There are generally four levels of state courts: Trial courts of limited jurisdiction Trial courts of general jurisdiction Intermediate appellate courts State courts of last resort