1. THE FEDERAL JUDICIAL BRANCH

2. JUSTICES  Presidential appointment, Senate approval  No term length limit  Can be impeached  No qualifications needed

3. US DISTRICT COURTS  Description:  94 total. Centered in Portland (four divisional offices).  Cases they hear:  Disputes between citizens of different states  Disputes between states  Treaty violations  Any crime that has crossed state lines  Cases involving federal employees  Judges – about 675

4. US COURTS OF APPEALS  Description:  Oregon is in the 9 th Circuit Court of Appeals, centered in San Francisco. (13 total – 1 is DC)  Cases they hear:  Appeals from the Federal District Courts, from here appealed cases go to the Supreme Court  Judges – about 175  About 30 judges in our circuit

6. US SUPREME COURT  Description  Highest court in the United States, decisions made are binding on all lower courts  Cases they hear  Writ of certiorari (writ of cert) – asking the court to review a lower courts’ decision  About 10,000 every year – they hear 75-80  Original Jurisdiction – very few cases  Justices – 9

8. VOCABULARY  Stare Decisis  Let the decision stand – SCOTUS decision to allow a lower court or previous courts decision to stand  Opinions  Majority – the opinion joined by a majority of the court (generally known simply as `the opinion')  Concurring – an opinion that agrees with the court's decision but is written to express a particular judge's reasoning  Dissenting – an opinion that disagrees with the court's disposition of the case

9. THE JUDICIAL BRANCH VIDEO  Video Video  22 minutes