The Judicial Branch Chapter 8

The Federal Court System Section 1

Equal Justice for All Third Branch of the Government – Settle private disputes – Decide on the guilt of innocence of people accused of crimes Goal is to treat everyone the same – Right to a public trial – Right to lawyer Gideon v. Wainwright – but we’ll get to that!

The Federal Court System Created in Article III of the Constitution Three levels 1.District Courts 2.Appeals Courts 3.Supreme Court Exists alongside 50 state court systems

Cases Heard in Federal Courts Cases Involving the Constitution Violations of Federal Law Controversies Between States Disputes Between Parties from Different States Suits Involving the Federal Government Cases Involving Foreign Governments and Treaties Cases Based on Admiralty and Maritime Law Cases Involving U.S. Diplomats

Relation to State Courts Exclusive Jurisdiction – Federal Courts have it for all of the situations on the previous slide – State courts have it for everything else Concurrent Jurisdiction – A crime breaks both a state and federal law – Citizens of different states involving more than $50,000

How Federal Courts Are Organized Section 2 Supreme Court Appeals Courts District Courts

U.S. District Courts 94 of them All have original jurisdiction Only federal courts where witnesses testify and juries hear cases and reach verdicts

U.S. Courts of Appeals Where people who lose their cases in district court appeal the verdict Main job: review the decisions of the lower court 12 of them in the US, plus the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals Making a Decision – No trial – just listen to arguments from lawyers and review court documents – Do not decide guilt or innocence – only whether the defendant’s rights were protected, and if he or she got a fair trial – Usually, its decision is final However, can sometimes be taken to the Supreme Court Announcing a Decision – Opinion – Precedent

Federal Judges President appoints judges Senatorial courtesy – Senate gets to approve or disapprove Appointed for life – Can only be removed through impeachment – Founders wanted the judges to be able to make their decisions, free of political pressure Jobs are safe, even if they make unpopular decisions

Other Court Workers Magistrate Judges US Attorneys and Deputies US Marshals

The United States Supreme Court Section 3

The Supreme Court Justices Original Jurisdiction in 2 Situations – Trials with Foreign Diplomats – Cases in which a State is Involved All other cases are appeals from lower courts – Carefully chooses its cases 8 associate justices and 1 chief justice – Congress sets the number and can change it Affects the country as much as Congress or president

The Supreme Court Justices Back Row: Sotomayor, Breyer, Alito and Kagan Front Row: Thomas, Scalia, Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg

Selection of Justices President appoints, with the consent of the Senate Justice Sotomayor at her Senate appointment hearing

Background of Justices Always lawyers Successful careers: – Practicing or teaching law – Judges in lower courts Usually need to agree with president politically 1967 – first African-American Justice – Thurgood Marshall 1981 – first female justice – Sandra Day O’Connor

Judicial Review Deciding what laws or actions by the government are constitutional If a law or action is unconstitutional, the court has the power to nullify (cancel) it “We are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the Supreme Court says it is.” -Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes

Marbury v. Madison Case that established judicial review – see p.121 Chief Justice John Marshall set out three principles of judicial review: 1.Constitution is the supreme law of the land 2.In a conflict between the Constitution and any other law, the Constitution wins 3.Since the judicial system has to uphold the Constitution, it must have the power to decide when a law conflicts with the Constitution

Marbury v. Madison Made the judicial branch equal in power to the other two branches Judicial review is a crucial part of the system of checks and balances

Limits on the Court’s Powers Depends on the executive branch to enforce its decisions Congress can pass new laws and new amendments changing the court’s powers President appoints judges and justices Congress has to approve judges and justices Can only deal with the cases that come to it

Deciding Cases at the Supreme Court Section 4

How Cases Reach the Courts Only 2 types of cases start in the Supreme Court The rest are appeals from lower courts

Acceptance Each year, the Supreme Court receives more than 7,000 cases, but hear only about 100 Justices (or their clerks) go through the submitted cases and decide which ones should be heard If 4 out of 9 justices decide to hear a case, it goes on the docket Generally, cases are legal (not political) and affect the entire country

Steps in Decision Making Written Arguments Oral Arguments Conference Opinion Writing – Majority Opinion – Dissenting Opinion – Concurring Opinion Announcement

Reasons for Court Decisions The Law – Precedent Social Conditions Legal Views Personal Beliefs

Landmark Supreme Court Cases Marbury v. Madison (1803) McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Reed v. Reed (1971) Roe v. Wade (1973) Bush v. Gore (2000)

Landmark Supreme Court Cases Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) Near v. Minnesota (1931) DeJonge v. Oregon (1937) Engle v. Vitale (1962) United States v. Eichman (1990) Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Stolen Valor Act This act (which makes it a crime to falsely claim a military award) is currently before the Supreme Court, to see if it is constitutional. Opponents claim it violates the First Amendment right to free speech – remember, it’s only slander and libel if a lie is harmful to someone’s reputation. Others think that making lying illegal (about anything!) is a very slippery slope… What do you think?

“Gideon’s Trumpet”