1. The Federal Court System
…and Justice For All

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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?

6. The US Federal Court System

7. U.S. District Courts
District courts are the federal courts where trials are held and lawsuits are begun.
All states have at least one.
For all federal cases, district courts have original jurisdiction, the authority to hear the case for the first time.
District courts hear both civil and criminal cases.
They are the only federal courts that involve witnesses and juries.

8. U.S. Courts of Appeals
People who lose in a district court often appeal to the next highest level—a U.S. court of appeals.
Appeals courts review decisions made in lower district courts. This is appellate jurisdiction—the authority to hear a case appealed from a lower court.

9. The US Circuit Court of Appeals
Each of the 12 U.S. courts of appeals covers a particular geographic area called a circuit. A thirteenth appeals court, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has nationwide jurisdiction.
Appeals courts do not hold trials. Instead, a panel of judges reviews the case records and listens to arguments from lawyers on both sides.
The judges may decide in one of three ways: uphold (AGREE) the original decision, reverse (disagree) the decision, or remand the case—send it back to the lower court to be tried again.

10. 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.

11. The Current Supreme Court
The president appoints Supreme Court justices, with Senate approval.
The president's decision may be influenced by the Justice Department, American Bar Association, interest groups, and other Supreme Court justices.
The court has final authority on cases involving the constitution, acts of Congress, and treaties.
Eight associate justices and one chief justice make up the supreme court.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. Websites

19. The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States is often referred to as the “Court of Last Resort,” because it is the highest court in the United States; there is no court with higher authority.
Also, except for specific limited case types specifically listed in Article III of the Constitution, all cases that reach the Supreme Court have been heard and are on appeal from the decisions of lower courts across the nation.

20. Steps to the Supreme Court
Once a case works its way through the lower courts, a party may petition to have their case heard by the Supreme Court.
However, the Supreme Court of the United States has great latitude in which cases it will hear.
The Supreme Court receives thousands of requests to hear cases, which are called petitions for certiorari. Of these many requests, the Justices will agree to hear only a handful, generally less than 100, cases per term.
The Supreme Court’s term begins the first Monday of October and ends the first Monday of October the following year.
In order for a case to be heard before the Supreme Court, four of the nine Justices of the court must agree to hear the case.

21. Steps to the Supreme Court
If certiorari is granted, the time frame for the parties involved in the case is set.
The petitioner (the party that has requested the Court review the case), has 45 days to file their “brief on the merits”, which lays out their arguments to the court.
The respondents (the other party) then has 30 days to respond.
Amicus (friend of the court) brief filing deadlines are a few days after the deadline for the side that they support.
These times are set by the rules of the Court, and may only be extended with the permission of the Court.

22. Steps to the Supreme Court
The next step for the case will be oral arguments before the Supreme Court.
The case will be placed on the Court’s calendar for some time in the Fall or the Spring.
And when the day comes, one attorney for each side will stand before the Justices for their oral argument and will present their case to the Justices.
The attorneys will have only a set time (generally 30 minutes apiece) to plead their case before the Court.
However, any Justice may interrupt at any point to ask questions or debate a point with the attorney; so the attorney must think quickly on their feet, and know the law and their case inside and out.
So even though an attorney has 30 minutes to plead their side of the case, Justices’ questions and attorneys’ answers can go on for much longer.

23. Steps to the Supreme Court
After oral arguments, the Court will deliberate on the matter, and will release a written opinion at some point before the term in which the case was argued ends.
Opinions are generally released on Thursdays, but it is not known when the opinion for a specific case will be released.
Once the opinion is released, it will represent the law of the land, and creates precedence that will shape future laws and court decisions that are binding throughout the United States of America.

24. The Supreme Court 1st Amendment Cases
By law, the Court opens the first Monday in October of each year. The session usually ends in June.
2012 Calendar
Morse v. Frederick
Bond v. Floyd
Engle v. Vitale

25. Impact
The Supreme Court decisions involving the rights identified in the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution can have a profound effect on one’s personal freedoms (or liberties).
The Court’s decision may strengthen, weaken, or somehow alter our right of free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, etc.
Individual rights may be weakened for the benefit of the majority, or majority rights are weakened for the benefit of the minority.

26. Supreme Court Justice for the Day
Use the following websites to find a Supreme Court case decided on First Amendment grounds.
The case must relate to speech, expression, religion, assembly, petition, and press.
Legal Information Institute’s Supreme Court Collection (
Oyez (
Supreme Court of the United States (

27. Supreme Court Justice for the Day
Once you choose a Supreme Court Case, check in with me for approval
Once your case is approved, find the decision using one of the above sites.
Read and summarize the majority and minority opinions.
After the case has been read, decide whether to side with the majority or minority opinion.

28. Then draft an opinion encompassing the following elements:
Identify the First Amendment right in question.
Summarize the facts or history of the case, the key issue(s) involved, and the decision of the Court, including a summary of the majority and minority opinions.
Identify and defend you vote by writing an opinion supporting you decision. In addition, state whether you opinion will strengthen or weaken the First Amendment right in question.

29. The opinion should be typed-written, double spaced, and not exceed 750 words. In addition, you will present a summary of your opinion during the next class period if time permits.