1. Chapter 8 Notes: Judicial Branch

2. Section 1: The Federal Court System
Article III- est. a national Supreme Court & gave Congress power to est. lower federal courts.
-Congress created 2 kinds of lower courts
-1789 passed the *Judiciary Act- est. federal districts.
*Circuit court of appeals.
*1891 congress est. federal appeals court.

3. The fed court system has 3 levels:
-District courts at the bottom.
-Appeals courts in the middle.
-Supreme courts at the top.

4. -Each state has its own laws and courts.
*Jurisdiction- a court authority to hear and decide cases.
-Fed courts have jurisdiction over 8 kinds of cases.
*Exclusive jurisdiction- cases in which only fed court can hear, states courts have jurisdiction over all other matters.
*Concurrent jurisdiction-cases in which state and fed courts share jurisdiction.

5. Section 2: How Federal Courts are Organized
US District Courts
-Most federal cases are handled in the 94 US District courts.
*District Courts- are federal courts where trials are held and lawsuits are begun.
-All federal cases must begin in a district court, b/c district courts have *original jurisdiction- the authority to hear cases for the first time.
-District courts are the only federal courts in which witnesses testify and juries hear cases and reach verdicts.

6. -US Courts of Appeals- also referred to as federal appeals courts, circuit courts of appeals, or appellate courts.
*Appeals Court- reviews decisions made in lower district courts. Referred to as *Appellate Jurisdiction- the authority of a court to hear a case appealed from a lower court.
-There are 12 US courts of appeals.
-Each covers a particular geographic are called a *circuit.
-A 13th appeals court- the *Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has nationwide jurisdiction to hear special cases.

7. -Appeals courts do not hold trials.
-They may decide an appeal in one of three ways:
1. Uphold the original decision.
2. Reverse the Decision.
3. *Remand the case- sending the case back to the lower court to be tried again.

8. -A panel of at least 3 judges reviews the record and listens to lawyers for each side.
-Make decision by majority vote, for most cases, the decision of the appeals court in final, but lawyer can appeal to the Supreme Court.
-When the appeals court makes a decision, one judge writes an opinion for the court.
*Opinion- offers a detailed explanation of the legal thinking behind the decision.
-The opinion sets a precedent for all courts and agencies within the district.
*Precedent- gives guidance to other judges by offering a model upon which to base their own decisions on similar cases.

9. Federal Judges
-More than 550 who preside over the district courts.
-Each appeals court has 6 to 27 judges.
-Supreme Court has 9.
-When naming judges, the Pres. usually follows a practice called *senatorial courtesy- where the Pres. first gives the names to the Senators of the judges home state before he asks all of Congress to approve them.