1. JUDICIAL BRANCH ARTICLE III

2. LEADERSHIP- SUPREME COURT The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. It is the only court actually created in Article III. Chief Justice— The head of the Supreme Court. Associate Justices — The eight other Justices that review cases and make decisions. *Appointed by the President when a position opens. (Approved by Congress) * Serve life terms until they die or resign.

3. THE SUPREME COURT The Supreme Court rules on cases that have already been decided that are appealed. Appellate courts review decisions made in trial courts.

4. MAKING THEIR DECISION The court has three options when making their decision: AFFIRM : uphold the original decision from the lower court REVERSE:: change the original decision REMAND: send it back to the lower court to start over

5. THEIR OPINIONS Majority Opinion—The opinion of most of the Justices after reviewing a case. This determines who wins the case. Dissenting Opinion—The opinion of the Justices that did not agree with the majority opinion. Concurring Opinion—A Justice who agrees with the majority opinion on who should win the case, but they have different reasons for their decision.

6. THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM The Supreme Court is part of the larger federal court system. Criminal and civil cases that deal with federal laws are held in federal courts. Organization of the Federal Court System The Supreme Court (1) Judges/No Jury U.S. Court of Appeals (12) Judges/No Jury U.S. District Courts (94) Judges and Jury

7. TYPES OF JURISDICUTION Original Jurisdiction—The court’s authority to hear and decide cases. Article III of the Constitution gives the federal courts original jurisdiction over eight kinds of cases, below are the examples we see most often. 1.a case between the U.S. and a state 2.a case between two or more state 3.a case brought by a state against a citizen of another state 4.a case involving an ambassador or foreign minister or consul 5.a case between citizens of different states 6.a case between a citizen and a state

8. Exclusive Jurisdiction—Only certain courts have the authority to hear certain types of cases. For the case examples, the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Concurrent Jurisdiction—The state and federal courts share jurisdiction and the case can be held in either a state court or a federal court. Appellate Jurisdiction—The authority for a court to hear a case that has been decided by another court and review that decision. In other words, we appeal the original decision.