Powers of the Judicial Branch Unit 4 Lesson 2

Warm-up Use each of the following words in a sentence: a) Interpret b) Precede

Objective  After class today, you should be able to explain the powers of the judicial branch.

Precedent: a standard to be followed in the future. When the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, they are changing what the Constitution means. They do this to clarify the meaning of different parts of the Constitution. When the Supreme Court issues a decision that changes the interpretation, it is called a precedent. In similar cases that come up in the future, the precedent from the Supreme Court determines how that case will be handled.

For example, in the case Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986), the Supreme Court said that school administrators can punish a student for giving a speech at an assembly that has graphic content. This set a precedent limiting student speech. Two years later when they considered the case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988), they based their decision on the precedent set by the Fraser decision. In the Hazelwood decision, the Court said that if the Principal typically reviews the school newspaper prior to publication, he/she could remove articles that were considered inappropriate or violated student privacy.

Which power would the court be using in each of the following examples?

Multiple Choice Practice 1. The United States Supreme Court has the power to a.interpret the Constitutionality of federal laws b.appoint its own members c.approve treaties d.vote to end a filibuster

Multiple Choice Practice 2. Which of these Maryland courts has authority most similar to the United States Supreme Court? a.Circuit Court b.District Court c.Court of Appeals d.Court of Special Appeals