© 2015 Cengage Learning Chapter 8 Courts and the Quests for Justice Chapter 8 Courts and the Quests for Justice © 2015 Cengage Learning

Learning Objective 1 Define and contrast the four functions of the courts. AP Photo/The Press of Atlantic City, Dale Gerhard

© 2015 Cengage Learning Functions of the Courts: The Due Process Function Protect individuals from unfair advantages that the government enjoys in legal battles The Crime Control Function Punishment and retribution The Rehabilitation Function Treatment The Bureaucratic Function Speed and efficiency - ? Amendment? Functions of the Court

© 2015 Cengage Learning Learning Objective 2 Define jurisdiction and contrast geographic and subject-matter jurisdiction. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

© 2015 Cengage Learning Jurisdiction: – Geographic jurisdiction Federal versus State State versus State – International jurisdiction – Subject-matter jurisdiction Courts of general jurisdiction-have no restrictions on the subject matter they may address. Courts of limited jurisdiction-handle only misdemeanors and civil matters under a certain amount. American Judicial System

© 2015 Cengage Learning Learning Objective 3 Explain the difference between trial and appellate courts. Photo by Adam Wisneski/Tulsa World

© 2015 Cengage Learning Trial Courts: – Have original jurisdiction – Are concerned with questions of fact Appellate Courts: hear appeals of one party in the trial court. The appellate court only makes decisions based on whether the verdict should be reversed or remanded. – Courts of review – Concerned with questions of law – Opinions American Judicial System

© 2015 Cengage Learning Dual Court System © Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2015 Cengage Learning Learning Objective 4 Outline the several levels of a typical state court system. © Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2015 Cengage Learning The state court system includes: – Lower courts, or courts of limited jurisdiction – Magistrate courts - One of the earliest courts of limited jurisdiction was the justice court presided by the justice of the peace. The equivalent of the justice of the peace is the magistrate. – Specialty courts- Problem-solving courts Courts which have jurisdiction over very narrowly defined areas of criminal justice – Problem-solving courts include: Drug courts, Gun courts and Juvenile courts. – Trial courts of general jurisdiction-May be called county courts, district courts, superior courts, or circuit courts. – Appellate courts-Appeals Court – The state’s highest courts- Supreme Court State Court Systems

© 2015 Cengage Learning Learning Objective 5 Outline the federal court system. © Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

© 2015 Cengage Learning Three-tiered model: – U.S. District Court Trial courts of limited jurisdiction – U.S. Court of Appeals Intermediate courts of appeals – United States Supreme Court Court of last resort Federal Court System

© 2015 Cengage Learning Learning Objective 6 Explain briefly how a case is brought to the Supreme Court.

© 2015 Cengage Learning Federal Court System Judicial Review-The power of the a court to review the actions of the executive and legislative branches and declare actions unconstitutional. Statutory Interpretation-As the final interpreter of the Constitution, the Supreme Court must also determine the meaning of certain statutory provisions. Writ of certiorari -A writ of certiorari orders a lower court to deliver its record in a case so that the higher court may review it. The U.S. Supreme Court uses certiorari to pick most of the cases that it hears. Rule of four-The rule of four is a Supreme Court of the United States practice that permits four of the nine justices to grant a writ of certiorari. This is done specifically to prevent a majority of the Court from controlling the Court's docket. The court’s decision is based on the written records, written arguments, and occasionally oral arguments.

© 2015 Cengage Learning The United States Supreme Court normally does not hear any evidence. Oral arguments Justices decide each case in conference, and then the senior justice on the majority side writes the opinion. – Concurring opinions – Dissenting opinions Federal Court System

© 2015 Cengage Learning Learning Objective 7 Explain the difference between the selection of judges at the state level and at the federal level. David Young-Wolff/Stone/Getty Images

© 2015 Cengage Learning Selection of Judges: – Based on two key factors 1.Independence 2.Accountability – Federal court judges Appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate Judges in the Court System

© 2015 Cengage Learning Selection of Judges – State court judges Appointment Election – Partisan elections-Partisan election used to choose judges through elections in which a judicial candidate is openly supported by a political party (patronage) – Nonpartisan elections-used to choose judges without requiring a candidate to affiliate him or herself with a political party. – Merit selection (The Missouri Plan)-Merit selection first used by Missouri in 1940, referred to as the Missouri Plan – The goal is to eliminate partisan politics! – Diversity on the bench Judges in the Court System

© 2015 Cengage Learning Judges in the Court System

© 2015 Cengage Learning Learning Objective 8 Describe one alternative, practiced in other countries, to the American method of choosing judges. New Jersey Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen

© 2015 Cengage Learning Judges in the Court System French judicial candidates must pass two exams: – Oral and written sections over a four day time period Upon successfully completing the exams, students enter a two year program at the École Nationale de la Magistrature, a judicial training academy. Students pass the academy, subject to a second exam and those who pass become judges.

© 2015 Cengage Learning Learning Objective 9 List and describe the members of the courtroom workgroup. Jaime Oppenheimer/MCT/Landov

© 2015 Cengage Learning Courtroom Work Group – Judges – Prosecutors Work for the government – Defense attorneys Work for the defendant – Bailiffs Maintain security and order in judge’s chambers and courtroom – Clerks of the court Take pleas, motions, other matters made by the judge – Court reporters Record every word in the courtroom

© 2015 Cengage Learning Discussion Question Courtroom Work Group Discuss the key players in the courtroom work group. Who is the most important person in this work group? What is your justification for your answer? Could the court function without any of these personnel? Could you see yourself in any of these positions?

© 2015 Cengage Learning Discussion Question Local Case Locate a case in your local community that has been or is in the current appeals process. What were or are the main issues within this case? What was the result of the review of this case by the court and what was the end result?

© 2015 Cengage Learning Discussion Question Supreme Court Case Discuss a recent or landmark supreme court case (examples on p. 261) What are the facts of the case? What courts did the case go through to be heard before it reached the supreme court? What was the outcome of the case?