Courts, Judges, and the Law Chapter 15 Essential Question: How is the U.S. judicial system organized to ensure justice?

Goal: resolve conflicts justly King Solomon and the disputed baby 2 kinds of conflicts Civil – person A does something wrong against person B (think law suit) Criminal – person A does something wrong against “the state” (we the people) Remember the “social contract”?

Burden of proof Def. = who must prove a wrong-doing Civil – burden lies on the plaintiff Plaintiff has the complaint Defendant is accused of wrongdoing Requires only a “preponderance of evidence” (more likely than not) Often involves damages or a money amount Criminal - burden lies with the state (the gov’t has the complaint against the accused) Requires “beyond a reasonable doubt” (?)

Procedure (criminal court) Opening statements Witnesses Direct examination – lawyers call witnesses for their side Cross examination – lawyers try to undercut the other side Closing arguments Jury/judge deliberation Announce the verdict Sentencing

Dual court system Dual = (1) federal courts and (2) state courts Which one? Fed courts have jurisdiction over fed laws, states over state laws. Original jurisdiction – authority to start (originate) a case Appellate jurisdiction – authority to hear an appeal Geography – courts hear cases in their area, state, etc. Type of case – some courts hear “specialty” cases (like bankruptcy)

Federal judiciary Federal judges decide the cases (no jury) President appoints fed judges, Senate must confirm They serve for life, pay can’t be cut U.S. district courts – there are 12 districts, 94 courts (see map) U.S. appeals courts – there are 13 courts accept a small % of appeals have panel of 3 judges look for errors U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court Selection – same as fed judges 9 justices on the court; they “vote” to decide a case S.C. chooses its cases (get 1,000s of appeals, accepts 100 to 150) Few cases start here (little original jurisdiction) Mostly appeals cases (lots of appellate jurisdiction) A writ of certiorari is issued – it orders a lower case be sent up to S.C.

S. C. Procedure Legal briefs – lawyers write reports for their side Oral arguments – argue their cases 30 minutes per side No witnesses, just lawyers Justices can interrupt, question them Conference – justices meet in secret to talk about the case Decision – either uphold or overrule lower court decision Majority opinion – report from the winning side Dissenting opinion – report from the losing side Concurring opinion – report from winning side, but for other reasons All decisions serve as examples for the future (common law)