American Government and Organization PS1301 Friday, 5 December

Video Weighing the Patriot Act: Background Weighing the Patriot Act: Discussion The Newshour with Jim Lehrer [PBS] August 19, 2003

The Courts—The Third Branch Powerful, but not Democratic Supreme Court has nine unelected judges appointed for life and are independent from one another Responsive? Accountable?

Power of the Supreme Court Originally intended to interpret the constitution Principal of Judicial Review Allows the SC to declare the acts of president and Congress unconstitutional Role of the Court in Civil Rights and Bush v. Gore

Limitations on power Courts are reactive (can only hear cases brought before them) Lack of enforcement Limited by the ability of Congress and the president to write new laws (or constitutional amendments) Public opinion

The Structure of the Federal Judiciary Only the Supreme Court is explicitly mentioned in the Constitution (Article III). Nature of the judiciary beyond the Supreme Court deferred to Congress. Judiciary Act of 1789 - created the federal judiciary. The federal judiciary is organized as a three-layered pyramid.

District Courts Base: 94 district courts staffed by 632 justices. Every state has at least one district court; the three largest states have four. These trial courts deal with three types of cases: criminal, civil, and public law. Criminal: instigated by indictments initiated by the local U.S. attorney Civil: both the plaintiff bringing the suit and the defendant are private parties contesting an alleged violation of civil law Public Law: in which a private party typically charges a government agency with acting illegally or failing to carry out its statutory responsibilities.

Courts of Appeals Above the district courts are thirteen courts of appeals, administered by 179 judges, who generally sit in three-judge panels. Eleven separate geographic regions (circuits) cover the fifty states. A twelfth circuit is assigned to the District of Columbia. A thirteenth, called the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has a nationwide jurisdiction and deals mostly with federal policies.

The Supreme Court The Supreme Court is the court of final appeal. Under its appellate jurisdiction, the Court may hear cases appealed from the lower courts or directly from the highest state courts when an important constitutional question is in dispute. Decision on which cases to accept is based on the Rule of Four.

Supreme Court’s Case Load In a few rare situations the SC has original jurisdiction (meaning it is the first to hear the case). Example: disputes between states Another unusual route is certification, when an appeals court requests a review to settle a question of law. The majority of cases are appeals (via the Court of Appeals).

Deciding Cases English Common law Principal of stare decisis (precedent) Judicial restraint vs. judicial activism

Reasoning Majority opinions Concurring opinions Dissenting opinions The Court majority sends a signal to lower courts, lawyers, potential litigants and others how they are likely to treat similar cases in the future. Concurring opinions Agrees with decision but not reasoning Dissenting opinions Explains why they disagreed with the ruling. Dissents can be important as they lay the groundwork for future decisions.