THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM Chapter 18

The Judicial System  Two types of cases:  Criminal Law: Government charges an individual with violating one or more specific laws.  Civil Law: Disputes between two parties and the relationship between them. Lawsuits

The Judicial System  Dual Court System  Federal courts – hear federal crimes Supreme Court Inferior Courts – any federal court below the Supreme Court  State courts – hear all other crimes  Most cases are tried and resolved in state courts (97%), not federal courts (3%).

The Judicial System  Jurisdiction  The authority of a court to try and decide a case Determined by the case’s subject  Original jurisdiction Court in which a case is first heard  Appellate jurisdiction Court that hears a case on an appeal from a lower court Can uphold, overrule, or modify the ruling

The Judicial System  Participants in Federal Court  Plaintiff The party bringing the charge  Defendant The party being charged  Judge Nominated by the President, confirmed by Senate  Jury The 12 people who decide the outcome of a case  Attorneys Public Defenders – lawyers assigned to defend the poor

Supreme Court  Supreme Court  9 Justices: 1 Chief Justice, 8 Associate Justices Serve “during good behavior” John Roberts – Current Chief Justice  Decide which cases it will hear Usually involving issues of freedom in Constitution  Few original, mostly appellate  About 100 cases a year

Supreme Court  Two ways a case can reach the Supreme Court  Writ of Certiorari (“Cert”)  Order by the Supreme Court for a lower court to send the record of a given case for its review  “to be more certain”  Certificate  Lower court is not clear how it should rule, so it asks the Supreme Court to decide

Supreme Court  Making decisions  Oral arguments may be made for each side 30 min each  Justices discuss the case & make a decision  Majority opinion – written to announce the Court’s decision and explain the reasoning  Dissenting opinion – written by one who does not agree with the majority  Concurring opinion – written by a member of the majority who wants to stress a point left out of the majority opinion  Decision is announced weeks/months later

Supreme Court  2 Ways to rule on a case:  Uphold the Precedent  (Precedent: How similar cases were decided in the past)  Overturn the precedent  Rule differently than previous decisions