Supreme Court
District Courts ◦ Original Jurisdiction: courts that determine the facts about a case- the trial court. ◦ Federal crimes ◦ Civil suits under federal law / across state lines ◦ Supervising bankruptcy / naturalization ◦ Reviews some federal agencies ◦ Admiralty and maritime law cases
Courts of Appeal ◦ Appellate Jurisdiction: reviews the legal issues in cases brought from lower courts. ◦ Hold no trials and hear no testimony. ◦ 12 circuit courts ◦ U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit- specialized cases ◦ Focus on errors of procedure & law
The Supreme Court ◦ President relies on attorney general and DOJ to screen candidates. ◦ 1 out of 5 nominees will not make it. ◦ Presidents with minority party support in the Senate will have more trouble. ◦ Chief Justice’s position can be a sitting justice, or a new member.
Accepting Cases Use the “rule of four” to choose cases. Issues a writ of certiorari to call up the case. Very few cases are actually accepted each year
What is ‘Rule of 4” mean? The rule of four is a Supreme Court practice that permits four of the nine justices to grant a writ of certiorari. It is a custom that has been observed since the Court was given discretion over which appeals to hear. It is not in the Constitution.
What is a writ of certiorari? A writ of certiorari is an order a higher court issues in order to review the decision and proceedings in a lower court and determine whether there were any irregularities. Certiorari is the common method for cases to be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court
The "rule of five." means the decisions in a Supreme Court case result from this desire to get a majority of five votes.
Making Decisions Oral arguments may be made in a case. Justices discuss the case. One justice will write an opinion on the case
Making Decisions Opinion: Statement of legal reasoning behind a judicial decision. ◦ Stare decisis: basically to let the previous decision stand unchanged. ◦ Precedents: How similar past cases were decided. ◦ Original Intent: The idea that the Constitution should be viewed according to the original intent of the framers.
A Historical Review ◦ John Marshall and the Growth of Judicial Review ◦ The “Nine Old Men” ◦ The Warren Court ◦ The Burger Court ◦ The Rehnquist Court
What Courts Should Do: The Scope of Judicial Power ◦ Judicial restraint: judges should play a minimal policymaking role- leave the policies to the legislative branch. ◦ Judicial activism: judges should make bold policy decisions and even charting new constitutional ground.
First coined by FDR during the Depression and his New Deal Programs: Stocked with philosophical and economic conservatives, the U.S. Supreme Court proved to be the most consistent opponent to President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs.
Brown V, Board of Education, Topeka Kansas Civil Rights Mapp v Ohio Search and Seizure Gideon v. Wainright Right To Counsel Escobedo v Illinois Right To Counsel
Miranda v Arizona Rights of the Accused Engle v Vitale Separation of Church and State Tinker v Des Moines Symbolic Speech What type of court was the Warren Court?
NY Times v United States Freedom of the Press United States v. Nixon Presidential Privilege Bakke v University of California Bored of Regents Civil Rights Roe v Wade Right To Privacy
Texas v. Johnson Freedom of Speech