The Judicial Branch

Basic Terminology Judicial: relating to laws and courts Trial: a legal examination in which the disputing groups meet in court and present their positions to an impartial decision maker Defendant: the person accused of the wrongdoing or crime Plaintiff: the person or designated government official accusing the defendant Evidence: facts that support their position

Jury: a group of citizens not involved in the dispute Case: a dispute that has been brought into court Criminal law cases: disputes in which the government charges an individual with committing a crime and violating a law that protects another’s safety Civil law cases: disputes among individual citizens or individual citizens and government officials over property or money

The State Court System The Ohio Judicial Center

Each state has its own court system that settles disputes involving its own state laws The state court system is organized into three levels of authority Level One: Superior or district courts Trial courts that handle cases throughout the state

Level Two State courts of appeals Separated into regions Reviews a superior or district court’s decision when requested Presided over by a panel of judges (usually three) Three options Agree with the lower court Disagree with and overrule the lower court Order a new trial in the lower court

Level Three State supreme court Reviews courts of appeals cases Also involves a panel of judges Decision is final unless the losing party is able to convince the Federal Supreme Court to take the case

Federal Courts Established by Article III of the Constitution; left the development up to Congress The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the federal district courts and the circuit courts of appeals Have jurisdiction (authority to hear cases) over such federal crimes as Mail fraud Counterfeiting Smuggling Bank robbery Illegal interstate commerce

Separated into district courts Each state has at least one district Each court has 2-28 judges, appointed to life terms by the president The US is divided into 12 judicial circuits, each with its own court of appeals Ohio belongs to the 6th judicial circuit Each circuit court has between 6 and 28 permanent judges that hear cases in panels of three

The U.S. Supreme Court The final authority for interpreting the Constitution

The U.S. SUPREME COURT Heads the Judicial Branch Reviews court cases Reviews legislative and executive decisions that raise Constitutional questions

How Cases Reach The Supreme Court The U.S. Supreme Court Certiorari (to be informed) Federal State United States Court of Appeals 12 circuits State Supreme Courts Intermediate Appellate Courts U.S. District Courts State Trial Courts

Supreme Court Justices Current justices: John Roberts (current chief justice)—2005 Anthony Kennedy—1988 Clarence Thomas—1991 Ruth Bader Ginsburg— 1993 Stephen Breyer—1994 Samuel Anthony Alito— 2006 Sonia Sotomayor—2009 Elena Kagen—2010 Nine Justices Appointed by the president to life terms The Chief Justice is in charge of the court; the other eight are associate justices

The Current Supreme Court Back row (left to right): Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan. Front row (left to right): Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The Early Supreme Court John Jay was the first Supreme Court chief justice First met in 1790 in New York City

Important Facts A writ of certiorari is a request for review based on important constitutional and legal issues raised by the court’s decision. Under the rule of four, only four justices must agree to place a case on the docket (their schedule of cases to review) The Supreme Court receives more than 7,000 requests each year, but places fewer than 100 on their docket.

In Court Begins the first Monday in October each year Lawyers for both sides file briefs, written documents that contain facts and legal issues involved in the appeal; often hundreds of pages long Present their case directly through oral arguments; only have 30 minutes The court’s decision is the majority opinion—what five or more justices thought The minority is the dissenting opinion

Checks and balances – Tree Style Step 1: Draw a picture of a tree trunk, inside title it Separation of Powers Step 2: Draw three branches and title one: Legislative, title one: Executive, and title one: Judicial Step 3: Draw leaves and write out details for each branch and checks and balances

Important court cases Roe v Wade Marbury v Madison Brown v Board of Education Dred Scott v Sandford Korematsu v United States Miranda v Arizona New Jersey v T.L.O. Texas v Johnson Tinker v Des Moines

Marbury v. Madison (1803) William Marbury was commissioned Justice of the Peace of the District of Columbia at the end of President John Adam’s term. New President Thomas Jefferson instructed his Secretary of State James Madison not to deliver the orders—keeping the opposing party from taking office.

Marbury v. Madison The Supreme Court evaluated this based on the foundation of checks and balances. This established the concept of judicial review.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) Dred Scott was a slave owned by Army Major John Emerson Scott travelled with Emerson to various states, including several free states Upon the death of Emerson, Scott sued for his freedom Emerson’s widow Eliza’s brother John Sandford was in charge of the will

Dred Scott v. Sandford The Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott He was not a citizen and therefore could not sue They also determined Scott was not a free man Obviously this is a black mark for the Supreme Court.

Korematsu v. United States (1944) Fred Korematsu was a Japanese American citizen that was ordered into an internment camp through President Roosevelt’s executive order after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Korematsu attempted to avoid being interned.

Korematsu v. United States Korematsu argued he was being discriminated against based on his race. The government argued they needed to protect the country The Supreme Court agreed that the need to protect the country was greater than protecting an individual’s rights.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) The parents of Linda Brown wanted their daughter to attend the closest public school in Topeka, Kansas—not the black school that was farther away. They argued that this segregation violated the fourteenth amendment

Brown v. Board of Education While segregation was legal under Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Court sided with the Brown family. Linda was able to attend the school closest to her and the Civil Rights movement was strengthened.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966) Ernesto Miranda was arrested, but was not informed of his fifth and sixth amendment rights. He and his lawyer eventually sued the state of Arizona. The Court agreed and now all police must take the proper steps by issuing the Miranda Warning.

The Miranda Warning

Roe v. Wade (1973) Jane Roe was an unmarried and pregnant resident of Texas who wanted an abortion In 1970s Texas, abortions were illegal unless the mother’s life was in jeopardy Henry Wade was the Dallas County district attorney

Roe v. Wade The Supreme Court ruled in Roe’s favor They said her rights were guaranteed in the 1st, 4th, 5th, 9th, and 14th Amendments This also eliminated any state laws that prohibited first trimester abortions Norma McCorvey later came forward and admitted she was Jane Roe

New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985) Do schools have the right to search a student’s private property? What reasons do they have to have to search? This case was based on two girls that were caught smoking in the bathroom—instead of in the designated area. T.L.O. was the pseudonym for Tracy Lois Odem who denied smoking and had her purse searched.

New Jersey v. T.L.O. In addition to the cigarettes, the assistant vice principal also found drugs and other items that showed T.L.O. was dealing marijuana. The Court sided with the school, although they agreed a “reasonable suspicion” was needed to perform a search.

Texas v. Johnson (1989) Gregory Johnson doused an American flag with kerosene and set it on fire during a political protest and demonstration in Texas. Is this protected under the first amendment?

Texas v. Johnson Johnson (on the right) offended a lot of people by burning this symbol of America. The Supreme Court sided with Johnson and said this symbolic speech was protected

Tinker v. Des Moines Defined the Constitutional rights of students in U.S. public schools Students John F. Tinker, Mary Beth Tinker, and Christopher Eckhardt worn black armbands to school, protesting the Vietnam War Before wearing the arm bands, the school found out and created a policy stating anyone wearing an armband would be removed immediately All three wore armbands and were suspended from school

Tinker v. Des Moines 7-2 majority opinion stating that First Amendment rights apply in schools, unless constitutionally sound reasons were given to limit the First Amendment Your First Amendment right is protected in school as long as it does not cause a disruption