1. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

2. The Nature of the Judicial System Criminal Law The government charges an individual with violating specific laws. Civil Law Involves a dispute between two parties (one of whom may be the government itself) over a wide range of matters. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

3. The Nature of the Judicial System Participants in the Judicial System Litigants – Plaintiff (bring charges) and defendant. Standing to sue – Plaintiffs have a serious interest in a case, which depends on whether they have sustained or are likely to sustain a direct and substantial injury. LO 16.1 To Learning Objectives

4. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Nature of the Judicial System Participants in the Judicial System (cont.) Class action suits – Lawsuits in which a small number of people sue on behalf of all people in similar circumstances. Justiciable disputes – Issues capable of being settled as a matter of law. To Learning Objectives LO 16.1

5. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Nature of the Judicial System Participants in the Judicial System (cont.) Attorneys – About a million attorneys are practicing in the United States today. Access to lawyers has become more equal, but that does not mean that quality of representation is equal. To Learning Objectives LO 16.1

6. The Structure of the Federal Judicial System Constitutional Courts Article III courts created by Judiciary Act of 1789. Legislative Courts Article I courts created by Congress for special purposes. Judges have fixed terms and lack protections against removal or salary reductions. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

7. LO 16.2 To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

8. The Structure of the Federal Judicial System District Courts The 91 federal courts of original jurisdiction. They are the only federal courts in which trials are held and in which juries may be impaneled. 678 judges preside over cases alone, rare cases require a 3 judge court, and each court has between 2 and 28 judges. To Learning Objectives LO 16.2

9. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Structure of the Federal Judicial System District Courts (cont.) Jurisdiction – Federal crimes; federal civil suits; civil suits between citizens of different states over $75,000; bankruptcy proceedings; review actions of some federal administrative agencies; admiralty and maritime law cases; and supervision of the naturalization of aliens. To Learning Objectives LO 16.2

10. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Structure of the Federal Judicial System District Courts (cont.) Decisions – More than 338,000 cases commenced in 2008. Most cases are routine, and few result in policy innovations. Usually judges do not publish their decisions. The loser in a case only has to request an appeal to get one. To Learning Objectives LO 16.2

11. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Structure of the Federal Judicial System Courts of Appeal Appellate courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts, except in rare cases, and also hear appeals to orders of many federal regulatory agencies. About 75 percent of 61,000 cases filed in courts of appeal yearly come from district courts. To Learning Objectives LO 16.2

12. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Structure of the Federal Judicial System Courts of Appeal (cont.) United States is divided into 12 judicial circuits, including one for the District of Columbia. Each circuit serves at least two states and has between 6 and 28 permanent circuit judges (178 in all), depending on the amount of judicial work in the circuit. To Learning Objectives LO 16.2

13. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 16.2

14. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Structure of the Federal Judicial System Courts of Appeal (cont.) Correct errors of procedure and law made in original cases. Hold no trials and hear no testimony. Decisions – Set precedent for all the courts and agencies within their jurisdictions. To Learning Objectives LO 16.2

15. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Structure of the Federal Judicial System The Supreme Court Top of judicial system and has 9 justices to make decisions. Supreme Court ensures uniformity in interpreting national laws, resolves conflicts among states, and maintains national supremacy in law. Has both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction. To Learning Objectives LO 16.2

16. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Structure of the Federal Judicial System The Supreme Court (cont.) Original Jurisdiction – Cases involving foreign diplomats and cases involving a state. Appellate Jurisdiction – Cases from U.S. Courts of Appeal, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Legislative Courts, and State Courts of Last Resort. To Learning Objectives LO 16.2

17. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 16.2

18. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Politics of Judicial Selection The Supreme Court Through 2010, there have been 153 nominations to the Supreme Court, 112 people have served on the Court, and 29 failed to secure Senate confirmation. Presidents have failed 20% of the time to appoint the nominees of their choice to the Court. To Learning Objectives LO 16.3

19. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Politics of Judicial Selection The Supreme Court Nominations are likely to run into trouble if president (1) party is in the Senate minority, (2) makes a nomination at the end of their terms, (3) views are more distant from the norm in the Senate, and (4) nominee faces competence or ethics questions. To Learning Objectives LO 16.3

20. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Backgrounds of Judges and Justices Backgrounds of Federal Justices (cont.) All justices have been lawyers. All but 6 (Marshall, O’Connor, Thomas, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan) have been white males. Most age 50s and 60s when they took office, from upper-middle or upper class, and Protestants. LO 16.4 To Learning Objectives

21. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 16.4

22. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 16.4

23. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Backgrounds of Judges and Justices Backgrounds of Federal Justices (cont.) Ideology influences judicial selection – 13 nominees shared the president’s ideology, but were not from president’s party. Presidents want to appoint to the federal bench people who share their views because they want policies they agree with. To Learning Objectives LO 16.4

24. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 16.5

25. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Courts as Policymakers Accepting Cases (cont.) Solicitor General – 3 rd ranking Justice Department office and in charge of the court appeals made by the federal government. Decide what cases to appeal, review and modify the briefs, represent federal government before the Supreme Court, and submit amicus curiae briefs. To Learning Objectives LO 16.5

26. To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 16.5

27. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Courts as Policymakers Making Decisions (cont.) Opinion – Statement of legal reasoning behind a decision. Majority opinion – 5 justices. Dissenting opinions – Justices opposed to majority decision. Concurring opinions – Support a majority decision but stress a different constitutional or legal basis for the judgment. To Learning Objectives LO 16.5

28. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Courts as Policymakers Making Decisions (cont.) Stare Decisis – Phrase meaning “let the decision stand.” Most cases in appellate courts are settled on stare decisis. Precedent – How similar cases have been decided in the past. Lower courts are expected to follow the precedents of higher courts in their decision making. To Learning Objectives LO 16.5

29. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Courts as Policymakers Implementing Court Decisions Judicial implementation – How and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy. Courts rely on other government units to enforce decisions. Judicial implementation involves the interpreting, implementing, and consumer populations. To Learning Objectives LO 16.5

30. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Courts and Public Policy: An Historical Review John Marshall and the Growth of Judicial Review The “Nine Old Men” The Warren Court The Burger Court The Rehnquist and Roberts Courts To Learning Objectives LO 16.6

31. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Courts and Public Policy: An Historical Review John Marshall and the Growth of Judicial Review Marbury v. Madison (1803) – The 1 st use of judicial review. Judicial review – Power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress and President are in accord with the Constitution. To Learning Objectives LO 16.6

32. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Courts and Public Policy: An Historical Review The “Nine Old Men” Schechter Poultry Corporation v. United States (1935) – National Industrial Recovery Act was declared unconstitutional because it regulated purely local business that did not affect interstate commerce. To Learning Objectives LO 16.6

33. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Courts and Public Policy: An Historical Review The Warren Court Brown v. Board of Education – In this 1954 case, the Court held that laws requiring segregation of the public schools were unconstitutional. To Learning Objectives LO 16.6

34. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Courts and Public Policy: An Historical Review The Burger Court Roe v. Wade (1973) – Decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional. U.S. v. Nixon (1974) – Ordered Nixon to turn his White House tapes over to the courts. To Learning Objectives LO 16.6

35. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman The Courts and Public Policy: An Historical Review Rehnquist and Roberts Courts Bush v. Gore (2000) – Decided the 2000 presidential election. McDonald v. Chicago (2010) – The Court extended 2 nd Amendment’s limits on restricting right to bear arms to state and local gun control laws. To Learning Objectives LO 16.6

36. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Understanding the Courts The Courts and Democracy Courts are not very democratic because judges are not elected and are difficult to remove. The courts often reflect popular majorities and preferences. Groups are likely to use the courts when other methods fail, which promotes pluralism. LO 16.7 To Learning Objectives

37. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman LO 16.7