Unit 17: The Judicial Branch

Judicial Branch The Main purpose is to interpret laws and administer justice Found in Article III Consists of a system of federal courts Members of the Judicial Branch are picked by the President and approved by the Senate Each Federal judge holds office for life They can only be removed by impeachment There are no expressed qualifications for a federal judge in the constitution

Judicial Branch continued The power of this branch is extended to all cases arising under the Constitution, laws, and treaties -And some other special cases Every person accused of a wrong doing has the right to a fair trial before a competent judge and a jury of one’s peers There are 3 major type of federal courts

The Supreme Court Judges on the Supreme Court are called Justices Their job is to decide whether state and federal laws are constitutional What does constitutional mean? This power is not given by the Constitution Tradition has given the court this power It hears a case of appeal from lower courts, providing a federal matter

Supreme Court Continued There are 9 Justices There is on that serves as Chief Justice The number of Justices is set by Congress Court Justices receive as salary of: $213,900 The Chief Justice receives: $223,500 6 Justices make up a quorum, the majority The Court meets in their own building in D.C.

Current Justices Chief Justice: John G. Roberts – W. Bush Antonia Scalia – Reagan Anthony M. Kennedy – Reagan Clarence Thomas – G. W. Bush Ruth Ginsburg – Clinton Stephen Breyer – Clinton Samuel A. Alito Jr. – W. Bush Sonya Sotomayor – Obama Elana Kagen – Obama

Court of Appeals U.S. has 13 Courts of Appeals Each has 3 or more judges Main job is to heard cases of appeal from lower courts This court was created in 1891 to ease the burden of the Supreme Court of cases appealed from the district courts

District Courts About 94 District Courts Each court has 1-24 judges Ordinary trial courts in the federal system Almost all cases heard in the federal system start here There are a number of other courts for special cases

Judicial Review Name given to the process by which courts interpret the meaning of the Constitution As the Conditions change new interpretations can be placed on the Constitution Everything is not written out in detail in the Constitution Historians agree the writers intended the Courts to have the power of Judicial Review, even though it is not explicitly stated