1. American Government and Organization
PS1301
Friday, 5 December

2. Video Weighing the Patriot Act: Background
Weighing the Patriot Act: Discussion
The Newshour with Jim Lehrer [PBS]
August 19, 2003

3. The Courts—The Third Branch
Powerful, but not Democratic
Supreme Court has nine unelected judges appointed for life and are independent from one another
Responsive?
Accountable?

4. Power of the Supreme Court
Originally intended to interpret the constitution
Principal of Judicial Review
Allows the SC to declare the acts of president and Congress unconstitutional
Role of the Court in Civil Rights and Bush v. Gore

5. Limitations on power
Courts are reactive (can only hear cases brought before them)
Lack of enforcement
Limited by the ability of Congress and the president to write new laws (or constitutional amendments)
Public opinion

6. The Structure of the Federal Judiciary
Only the Supreme Court is explicitly mentioned in the Constitution (Article III).
Nature of the judiciary beyond the Supreme Court deferred to Congress.
Judiciary Act of created the federal judiciary.
The federal judiciary is organized as a three-layered pyramid.

8. District Courts Base: 94 district courts staffed by 632 justices.
Every state has at least one district court; the three largest states have four.
These trial courts deal with three types of cases: criminal, civil, and public law.
Criminal: instigated by indictments initiated by the local U.S. attorney
Civil: both the plaintiff bringing the suit and the defendant are private parties contesting an alleged violation of civil law
Public Law: in which a private party typically charges a government agency with acting illegally or failing to carry out its statutory responsibilities.

9. Courts of Appeals
Above the district courts are thirteen courts of appeals, administered by 179 judges, who generally sit in three-judge panels.
Eleven separate geographic regions (circuits) cover the fifty states.
A twelfth circuit is assigned to the District of Columbia.
A thirteenth, called the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has a nationwide jurisdiction and deals mostly with federal policies.

10. The Supreme Court The Supreme Court is the court of final appeal.
Under its appellate jurisdiction, the Court may hear cases appealed from the lower courts or directly from the highest state courts when an important constitutional question is in dispute.
Decision on which cases to accept is based on the Rule of Four.

11. Supreme Court’s Case Load
In a few rare situations the SC has original jurisdiction (meaning it is the first to hear the case). Example: disputes between states
Another unusual route is certification, when an appeals court requests a review to settle a question of law.
The majority of cases are appeals (via the Court of Appeals).

12. Deciding Cases English Common law
Principal of stare decisis (precedent)
Judicial restraint vs. judicial activism

13. Reasoning Majority opinions Concurring opinions Dissenting opinions
The Court majority sends a signal to lower courts, lawyers, potential litigants and others how they are likely to treat similar cases in the future.
Concurring opinions
Agrees with decision but not reasoning
Dissenting opinions
Explains why they disagreed with the ruling. Dissents can be important as they lay the groundwork for future decisions.