Judicial Branch Rohan Moorjani, Andrea Peralta, Calvin Loebrich, Kevin Coffee, Sienna Gavino

What are the tiers and courts of the Federal Justice System? Trial Courts Court hears a case for the first time Appellate Courts Court that reviews the case to make sure everyone was following procedure Supreme Courts Court that makes a final decision District Courts There is at least one for each judicial district in a state Court of Appeals They “filter out” cases for the Supreme Court This court only hears appeals from their own Judicial Circuit Supreme Court Appellate Cases A question of if the Constitutional or National law was broken Have Original Jurisdiction if: More than 2 States are involved There are Government Leaders involved The Federal Government is a Party

What are some important court cases? Santa Fe v. Doe: School had a student led prayer before football game. Group of parents (Doe) decided to sue the school (Santa Fe) for violating the student’s first amendment rights. Santa Fe defended themselves by saying that the students were not forced to participate. Doe ended up winning 6-3. Boy Scouts of America v. Dale: Dale, a Boy Scouts Scout Leader, was fired for being gay. He sued the Boy Scouts of America for discrimination based on sexual orientation. The BSA stated that they are a private organization and have the right to. The BSA won 5-4. Bond v. United States: Steven Bond was on a passenger bus when they passed through Texas for an immigration checkpoint and the immigration officer manipulated and searched Bond’s bag. The officer found a brick of methamphetamine. Bond said the officer had manipulated the bag in a way which violated his expectation of privacy. He won the case 7-2.

What are some important court cases 2 Lockyer vs Andrade Convicted of petty theft 25 to life sentence 3rd felony means life in prison They argued it was unfair due to how non severe each of his felonies were. Lockyer won 5-4 (In favor of the 3 strike law) Morse vs Frederick “bong hits for Jesus” School forbids drug advertising School supervised event Do school officials have power at events not on campus? Ruled 5-4 in favor of Morse (Principal)

What is the process for a Supreme Court Case? file a petition a rule of 4 justices needed to grant writ if certiorari in deciding the case, each side gets a 30 minute oral argument justices meet to discuss each case on Wednesdays and Fridays the rulings can be: unanimous- everyone votes the same way majority- 5 or more vote the same way

EQ:Before the actual trial, what rights are the accused entitled to? -A crime is a wrongful act that is committed with conscious intention and is prohibited by the law. -Misdemeanors are less serious than felonies. -The detectives, police, etc must have a search warrant to seize a person’s personal belongings. -Otherwise, citizens have the right to privacy as declared by the Fourth Amendment.( there are some exceptions such as sobriety checkpoints) -As an accused person is arrested they must be read their Miranda rights in order to preserve the admissibility of their statements against them during trial.

During the Trial EQ: How do trials work? Pretrial Initial appearance potential for bail, money to guarantee he/she will return for their trial Preliminary hearing. Will there be a trial? Trial Right to a speedy trial acquit suspect, taken into custody, or hung jury Death penalty and federal cases have unanimous jury Sentencing Indeterminate sentencing - variable review board decides parol determinate - fixed amount, no parole Concurrent v.s. consecutive