Chapter 12 The Courts

The founders view of the courts Article III of the Constitution created one Supreme Court and gave courts independence by providing judges with lifetime terms (assuming “good behavior”). Many details of the Supreme Court as well as what system of lower federal courts would be established were left up to Congress.

The founders view of the courts Congress addressed these issues in the Judiciary Act of 1789: the law in which Congress laid out the organization of the federal judiciary. The law also created the Department of Justice and established the lower federal courts.

Court fundamentals: common law and precedent Forty-nine of the 50 states and the federal courts operate under a system of Common law: Law based on the precedent of previous court rulings rather than on legislation. Precedent is based on the doctrine of stare decisis: let the decision stand. Precedent refers to: a legal norm established in a previously decided case or set of cases that is then applied to future cases dealing with the same legal question.

Common law and precedent Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. that does not follow the system of common law. In Louisiana, the tradition of civil code is practiced – based on detailed codification of law that is applied to each case. Louisiana’s use of civil code shows the influence of the state’s French heritage in its adoption of a modern version of Napoleonic code.

Jurisdiction: original and appellate Jurisdiction applies to whether the court hears a case as a trial court or if a court hears a case on appeal from a lower court: Original jurisdiction – court’s authority to hear a case as a trial court to determine the facts of a case. Appellate jurisdiction –court’s ability to review/revise the decision of a lower court.

Appellate jurisdiction Courts with appellate jurisdiction do not review facts of a case to determine innocence or guilt. instead, they review legal procedures to assure that laws were applied properly.

Structure of the court and federalism The court system in the United States operated on two parallel tracks: 1. The state and local courts 2. The federal courts State and local courts are different from and operate independently of federal courts. However, the losing party in a case before a state supreme court may appeal their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The federal court structure There are three levels of courts in the federal court system: 1. Lowest level: District courts 2. Intermediate level: Courts of Appeal 3. Highest level: U.S. Supreme Court http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/court-role-and-structure

Structure of the Court: district courts District courts: Lower-level trial courts of the federal judicial system that handle most U.S. federal cases. There are 94 federal district courts No district cuts across state lines; Each state has at least one. CA, TX, NY, FL each have four.

Federal district courts District courts hear cases in 3 categories: Cases that involve the federal government as a party Cases that present a federal question based on a claim of the U.S. Constitution, a treaty with another nation, or a federal statute Cases that involve civil suits in which citizens are from different states and the amount of money at issue is more than $75,000.

Structure of the courts: appeals courts Losing party in federal District Court can appeal to appropriate Court of Appeal Appeals courts are the intermediate level of the federal court system.

Federal Courts of Appeals There are 13 Courts of Appeals that include: 12 numbered Courts of Appeals; 12th is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; A thirteenth is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit which deals with patents and contract claims against the U.S. Government.

Courts of Appeals Courts of Appeals have no original jurisdiction. Hear only appeals from district courts in civil and criminal cases and appeals from an administrative agencies. (latter only 10% of cases) Once a Court of Appeals has made its decision, litigants no longer have a right to appeal. (litigant: one who is a party to a lawsuit)

Courts of Appeals Litigant may submit a petition to U.S. Supreme Court (known as a writ of certiorari) but Supreme Court grants few of these. Thus, Appeals Courts are courts of last resort for almost all federal cases.

The Supreme Court: Judicial Review A landmark case in 1803 established judicial review, a critical doctrine in American jurisprudence not found in the Constitution nor envisioned by the framers. The facts of that case: Wm. Marbury was appointed to be a justice of the peace in the final hours of the administration of President John Adams. Adams’ Secretary of State, failed to deliver the commission of Marbury and other Adams’ appointees.

The Supreme Court: Judicial Review James Madison, Secretary of State for incoming President Thomas Jefferson, refused Marbury’s request to deliver his commission. Marbury and other appointees filed a writ of mandamus – a legal motion asking Supreme Court to force Madison to deliver the commissions

The Supreme Court: Judicial Review Chief Justice John Marshall concluded in his opinion that though Marbury and the others were entitled to their commissions, the Supreme Court lacked the power to issue writs of mandamus and that parts of the Judiciary Act of 1789 (Section 13) which gave the Court original jurisdiction to issue these writs were unconstitutional. Opinion of the Court in Marbury v. Madison established doctrine of judicial review: The Supreme Court’s power to strike down a law or executive branch action that it finds unconstitutional.

Judicial Review in Practice With its decision in Marbury v. Madison the Court asserted its power to review the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress, the Supreme Court became an equal partner in the balance of power among the three branches of government. It would be more than 50 years before the Supreme Court would use judicial review to strike down a law passed by Congress: Dred Scott v. Sandford in which the court ruled that parts of the Missouri Compromise were unconstitutional.

Judicial Review in Practice The National Supremacy clause requires that national law takes precedence over state constitutions and state laws. The national supremacy clause along with the Judiciary Act of 1789 and the doctrine of judicial review make clear that the Supreme Court has the authority to rule on state laws as well as federal laws.

Judicial Review in Practice the Supreme Court has struck down more than 170 acts of Congress and about 1400 state laws. The court has ruled on state laws in many areas including civil liberties, desegregation and civil rights, abortion, privacy, redistricting, labor laws, employment and discrimination and business and environmental legislation. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/28/us/supreme-court-texas-abortion.html?_r=0

The U.S. Supreme Court http://www.supremecourt.gov/ The U.S. Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. The U.S. Supreme Court reviews cases from U.S. Courts of Appeals and from state supreme courts Acts as a final interpreter of the U.S. Constitution Ensures uniformity in the interpretation of national laws and the Constitution. Resolves conflicts between lower courts, between the states, or between a state law and a federal law.

U.S. Supreme Court Decisions of the lower courts are binding only within their geographic boundaries Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court are binding nationally and set precedents – Thus, the U.S. Supreme Court maintains the supremacy of national laws in the federal system. The Supreme Court receives about 8,000 petitions per year requesting that cases be heard by them – but hears only about 75-80 cases per year.

Federal judges All federal judges (district courts, appeals courts, Supreme Court) are appointed by the President “with the advise and consent” of the Senate The Senate must confirm (approve) the nominees with a two-thirds majority vote.

Federal judges: the role of the Senate A tradition called senatorial courtesy has been the norm for appointing judges to the district courts. With this practice, the President consults with his party’s senators from the relevant state in choosing a nominee. If there are no senators of his party, the President would consult House members or high-ranking state party members.

Access to the Supreme Court: writ of certiorari The route to the Supreme Court through a writ of certiorari (Latin: to be informed) is the most common way for a case to reach the Supreme Court. 95% of cases reach the court through this route. Four of the nine justices (Rule of Four) must agree to hear a case that has reached them through an appeal from the losing party in a lower court’s ruling.

Access: writ of certiorari A litigant who lost in lower court can file a petition (the writ of certiorari) explaining why the Court should hear his/her case. The Court sifts through some 8,000 of these petitions in order to determine which 85 it will hear.

Amicus curiae “friend of the court” briefs Interest groups often submit amicus curiae briefs (Latin for “friend of the court” ) to the Supreme Court when a case is of interest to them. these briefs provide the court with relevant information about a case which the interest group hopes will help the Court reach a decision. 85% of cases before the Court have at least one amicus brief. The federal government also files amicus briefs on important issues such as school prayers, busing, abortion, redistricting of legislative districts, gender discrimination and affirmative action.