Section 2 -Lower Federal Courts
Federal Judges: Just like members of Congress do the work of the legislative branch, federal judges do the work of the judicial branch. A judge is supposed to be impartial, and not favor one political party over the other.
Selection of Federal Judges 1.All federal judges are appointed by the President 2.confirmed by the Senate They serve life terms and can only be removed by the impeachment process.
Judicial Philosophy Presidents often try to appoint judges that share their own point of view on key issues.
Presidents practice Senatorial Courtesy submits the name of a candidate for judicial appointment to the senators from the candidate’s state before formally submitting it for full senate approval. If either of the Senators opposes the choice the President will w/draw the nomination.
Two types of federal courts: 1.District Courts 2.Legislative Courts
District Courts: There are 94 district courts scattered across the US with more than 550 judges presiding over them. KY has 2 district courts-East and West
Districts followed state boundary lines but as states grew, congress divided states into more than one district. The Federal District courts were created as trial courts for both civil and criminal cases.
Two types of Juries in criminal cases: a grand jury- (16-23 people) hears charges against a person accused of a crime If there is sufficient evidence to bring the person to trial they issue an indictment (formal accusation charging a person with a crime)
petit jury or trial jury (6-12people) - which weighs the evidence presented in a trial.
Each district has a US attorney to represent the US in all civil suits brought against the govt and to prosecute people charged with federal crimes. A US Marshall carries out such duties as making arrests, securing jurors, and keeping order in the courtroom.
Federal Court of Appeals Congress created the US court of appeals to ease the appeals workload of the Supreme Court.
Federal Appellate 13 US court of appeals The US is divided into 12 judicial circuits (regions) with 1 appellate court in each region. The 13 th court is a special appeals court with national jurisdiction.
Legislative Courts: Help Congress exercise its power The US claims court- claims against the US for money damages US Tax Court-cases relating to federal taxes. The Court of Military Appeals- Armed forces highest appeals court Territorial Courts-Virgin Islands, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico Courts of DC-handles cases in DC-b/c it is a federal district The US Court of Veteran’s Appeals
Section 3- Overview of the Supreme Court
Article III Created the Supreme Court The main purpose is to serve as the final court of appeals for both the state and federal court systems. IT is the court of last resort in all questions of federal law. It’s the highest court in our federal court system.
The court is not required to hear all cases presented before it and carefully chooses the cases it will hear.
Supreme Court Jurisdiction: Original Jurisdiction: – Under original it hears 2 types of cases: cases involving representatives of foreign govt and cases disputes between states-this is a very small work load maybe 5 cases per year Appellate Jurisdiction- most of the cases the Supreme Court hears is on appeal.
Justices: 9 Justices: 8 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice The Constitution sets no qualifications for the Justices.
Congress sets the salary of the justices and may not reduce it (2011)-Chief Justice -$223,500, Associate Justices- $213,900 Congress may remove justices by impeachment for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. Main job is to hear and rule on cases.
Want to work for the Court? Law clerks chosen by the justices help them research cases, summarize key issues in a case, and assist in writing drafts on justices opinions.
Appointing Justices Justices are appointed by the president and must be approved by the Senate. Political considerations often play a major part in presidential appointments to the court with members of the president’s own party being named if their prospects of winning senate approval are good.
The American Bar Association- has played a role in the selection of justices by rating nominee’s qualifications. Interest groups such as organized labor, civil rights groups, and the National Organization for Women attempt to influence Senators voting on nominated justices. Sitting SC justices may have considerable influence on the selection of new justices.
Current Supreme Court: