1. The Judicial Branch

2. The Constitution and the National Judiciary
Article III of the Constitution establishes:
a Supreme Court in which the judicial power of the United States is vested
life tenure or 'good behaviour' for judges
judges receive compensation that cannot be diminished during their service
such inferior courts as Congress may choose to establish
the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
The intent of Article III was to remedy the failings of the Articles of Confederation which left judicial matters to the states.

3. Judicial Review
Judicial review is the power of a court to decide if a law or other legal issue disregards the Constitution, and overturn it.
This power is not mentioned in the Constitution.
Judicial review was established by the Marshall Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803).
Marbury's long-term effect has been to allow the Court to have the final say in what the Constitution means.

4. The American Legal System
The American legal system is a dual system:
state courts--actually 50 different 'systems'
federal courts
Both systems have three tiers:
Trial courts (a.k.a. District Courts): litigation begins and courts hear the facts of the case at hand (original jurisdiction)
One judge, witnesses, presentation of evidence, jury or judge decides the case
Appellate courts (a.k.a. Circuit Courts): decide questions of law, not fact; reviews decisions of lower courts (appellate jurisdiction)
Several judges (3-9), no witnesses (lawyers argue), no evidence presented
Court of Final Appeals: Supreme Courts

6. What “circuit” is Michigan in?

8. Who are Federal Judges? Typically federal judges have:
held previous political office such as prosecutor or state court judge
political experience such as running a campaign
prior judicial experience
traditionally been mostly white males
been lawyers

9. Federal Selection Process
President
Dept. of
Justice
Senators
ABA
Interest Groups
Senate
Jud. Comm.
Senate

10. The U.S. Supreme Court Highest court in the land
9 Justices (all but 5 have been white men)
Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas: African American; Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg & Sonya Sotomayor: women
Chief Justice: John Roberts
Selects about 100 of the over 7000 cases that are submitted to it each year: chooses cases that involve signification Constitutional questions and are important to the entire country

11. 2 Types of Jurisdiction for the Supreme Court
Original Jurisdiction – the Supreme Court hears the case directly, without the case going through an intermediate stage.
The Supreme Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear disputes between different states -- meaning that no other federal court can hear such a dispute.
"Original jurisdiction" cases are rare, with the Court hearing one or two cases each term
Appellate Jurisdiction - A party seeking to appeal a decision of a circuit court can file a petition to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.
"Certiorari" is a Latin word meaning "to inform", in the sense that the petition informs the Court of the request for review.
The Supreme Court gets thousands of petitions for certiorari, but only issues a writ in a fraction of cases. The Court will only issue a writ if four of the nine Justices vote to do so.

12. Supreme Court Decisions
Majority vote required to determine outcome of case
Write opinions
Majority opinion: states courts decision
Dissenting opinion: states reasons why judge(s) disagreed with majority opinion
Concurring opinion: states reasons why a judge agrees with the decision but for a different reason
Courts do not have the power to implement their decisions. The executive branch must enforce the Court’s decisions.

14. How Supreme Court Decisions are Made
Case on the Docket
Approx 95
Briefs and Amicus
Briefs submitted
Oral Argument
Justices Conference
Cases discussed
Votes taken
Opinion Assigned
Opinions Drafted
and Circulated
Opinions Announced

15. How the Justices Vote Legal Factors Judicial Philosophy Precedent
Judicial Restraint - advocates minimalist roles for judges
Judicial Activism - feels that judges should use the law to promote justice, equality, and personal liberty.
Precedent
Prior judicial decisions serve as a rule for settling later cases of a similar nature.
Precedents can change over time
Ex. Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Brown vs. Bd. of Ed.

16. How the Justices Vote Extra-Legal Factors Behavioral Characteristics
The personal experiences of the justices affect how they vote. Early poverty, job experience, friends and relatives all affect how decisions are made.
Ideology
Ideological beliefs influence justices' voting patterns.
The Attitudinal Model
A justice's attitudes affect voting behavior.
Public Opinion
Justices watch TV, read newspapers, and go to the store like everyone else. They are not insulated from public opinion and are probably swayed by it some of the time.

17. Important Civil and Criminal Law Terminology
Criminal Law – Laws that regulate public conduct and set out duties owed to society
Criminal Case: Court determines whether person accused of breaking law is guilty or innocent
Prosecution (government) vs. defendant
Standard of Proof: Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (must not have any doubt that defendant committed crime)

18. Civil Law – Laws that regulate relationship between individuals/groups of individuals
Civil Case: Court settles a disagreement over issues such as contracts, divorce, accidents
Plaintiff (individual bringing complaint) vs. defendant
Standard of Proof: Preponderance of evidence (more likely than not the plaintiff’s version of case is true)

19. Which type of case has a higher standard of proof? Why?