-CNN Student News -Lecture #2 -12 Angry Men The Judicial Branch -CNN Student News -Lecture #2 -12 Angry Men

The Role of the Judicial Branch To interpret and define law This involves hearing individual cases and deciding how the law should apply Remember federalism – there are federal courts for federal law, and state courts for state laws!

Where Do the Courts’ Jurisdiction Come From? Article III of the Constitution creates “one supreme court, and such inferior courts” that Congress creates Thus, Congress creates the system underneath Supreme Court

Participants in the Judicial System Plaintiff: the party bringing the charges Defendant: the party being accused or charged Jury: 12 people who decide the outcome of the trial

Federal Court Jurisdiction What is Jurisdiction? The authority of the courts to hear certain cases Types of Federal Jurisdiction 1.) Original Jurisdiction: authority to hear a case for the first time 2.) Appellate Jurisdiction: courts that hear reviews or appeals of decisions from the lower courts Federal Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court have appellate jurisdiction

3 Major Steps in the Federal System Courts Judges 1 Supreme Court 9 12 Court of Appeals 3 91 1 District Court

Introduction to the Judicial Branch U.S. Court System Today U.S. has a dual system of courts: Federal Courts – handle criminal and civil cases involving federal law or any constitutional issue State Courts – handle criminal and civil cases involving state law

Creation of a National Judiciary

Criminal vs Civil Law Criminal Law – a defendant is tried for committing some action that Congress has declared by law to be a federal crime Civil Law – noncriminal matter – dispute over terms of contract or plaintiff seeks damages (money)

More Vocab Due Process – the principle that guides our court system (fair treatment) Habeaus corpus – right to challenge incarceration by demanding the govt show the evidence against them Jury Duty & Bear Witness – citizen participation

Appointment of Judges President nominates someone to become a judge Senate majority vote confirms Remember – Senatorial Courtesy!

WHY LIFE? - To Protect them from political influence - To Limit Presidential Power - To Limit Congressional Power

Background of Supreme Court Judges Almost all federal judges have Had legal training Held positions in government Served as lawyers for leading law firms Served as federal district attorney Served as law school professors Few African-Americans, Hispanics, or Women President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed first African American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall President Ronald Reagan appointed the first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor

Supreme Court The “Court of Last Resort” – highest court in the country Has power of judicial review

Judicial Review Judicial Review – the power to declare acts of government unconstitutional, thus eliminating them All comes from the case of Marbury v. Madison

Decision in Marbury v. Madison Therefore, Judiciary Act of 1789, and Marbury’s lawsuit are… First time Supreme Court struck down an act of government as unconstitutional Unconstitutional!!

How a Case Reaches Supreme Court Court will issue a writ of certiorari (acceptance of a case) if 4 of the 9 justices wish to hear it Called the “Rule of 4” Or, court will issue a certificate if a lower court says they don’t know how to decide on it

Trial Process at Supreme Court Justices will write opinions on the case, and each justice chooses which opinion to sign his/her name to Majority Opinion – final decision on the case, signed by at least 5 justices Becomes precedent for how future similar cases should be decided

Trial Process at Supreme Court Dissenting Opinion – written or signed by any justice who disagrees with the majority It’s important because it can become the logic for a future group of justices to overturn this decision

Trial Process at Supreme Court Concurring Opinion – written by a justice who votes with the majority, but disagrees with their reasoning as to why If a justice has a conflict of interest in a case, he/she may recuse himself (stay off of the case)

Activism vs Restraint Judicial Activism – philosophy that the supreme court should play an active role in shaping national policies Social and Political issues Obergefell v. Hodges Roe v Wade Brown v Board of Education

Activism vs Restraint Judicial Restraint – Philosophy proposing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect what the framers intended and what its words literally say Plessy v Ferguson Gibbons v Ogden

Supreme Courts Through History Warren Court (1953-1969) Led by Chief Justice Earl Warren Often said to be the “most liberal court ever” Important cases decided Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) – Miranda v. Arizona (1966) –

Supreme Courts Through History Burger Court (1969-1986) Led by Chief Justice Warren Burger Returned the Supreme Court to a more conservative ideology Appointed by Richard Nixon Important cases decided: Roe v. Wade (1973) – declared abortions legal with special time constraints U.S. v. Nixon (1974) – ruled that President Nixon’s private recordings were not protected under presidential privilege and ordered them be turned over to the house investigators

Supreme Courts Through History Rehnquist Court (1986-2005) Led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist Conservative court that continued to limit, but not reverse, decisions of earlier more liberal courts in the areas of defendant’s rights, abortion, and affirmative action Important cases decided Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) Roper v. Simmons (2004) –declared that the death penalty was unconstitutional for anyone under the age of 18

Current Supreme Court Justices Chief Justice John Roberts Appointed: Bush, 2005 Age: 62 (50) Conservative

Current Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy Appointed: Reagan, 1988 Age: 80 (51) Swing Vote (Usually Conservative)

Current Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas Appointed: Bush, 1991 Age: 68 (43) Strong Conservative

Current Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg Appointed: Clinton, 1993 Age: 84 (64) Strong Liberal

Current Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer Appointed: Clinton, 1994 Age: 78 (55) Liberal

Current Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito Appointed: Bush, 2006 Age: 67 (55) Conservative

Current Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor Appointed: Obama, 2009 Age: 62 (55) Strong Liberal

Current Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan Appointed: Obama, 2010 Age: 56 (50) Liberal

Current Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch Appointed: Trump, 2017 Age: 49 Strong Conservative