1. Chapter 7 Section 1 (pgs. 180-183) Equal Justice under the Law
Essential Question: What are the different types of laws used in America?

2. A Nation of Laws (pgs )
Laws are society's rules to protect and promote common good
Criminal and Civil Law are the two basic types of laws
Criminal Law
Criminal Law: the body of law that regulates the conduct of individuals as members of the state
Criminal laws are design to protect society’s members
Criminal law refers to a crime
Crime: any act that breaks the law and for which a punishment has been established

3. How do laws protect freedom?
Civil Law (pg.181)
Civil Law: the body of law that governs relationships among individuals and that defines people’s legal rights
Use to settle disputes in court amongst members of society
The disputes range from personal issues, contracts, divorce proceedings, property boundaries, etc.
How do laws protect freedom?

4. Sources of Law (pgs )
American laws can originate from these various sources: Statutory Law, Common Law, Administrative Law, Military Law, Constitution Law
Statutory Law
These laws are passed by lawmaking bodies
They are called statues
Most criminal laws are statutes

5. Common Law (pg.182)
Common Law: customary law that develops from judges' decisions and is followed in situations not covered by statutory law
These laws required judges to make decisions on customs, traditions, common sense and cases that society accepted without law before
Judges often use a precedent to when validating these laws
Precedent: an earlier court decision that guides judges' decisions in later cases

6. Administrative Law (pgs.182-183)
These laws are created by government agencies and affect our daily lives
They cover many areas of daily life including health, safety, education, banking, etc.
Regulatory Commissions use administrative laws
Consumer Product Safety Commission uses administrative law to determine which toys are safe to be sold

7. Military Law (pg.183)
The military has it own laws to govern its branches
Their laws are specific to military issues like desertion, prisoner treatment, military trial process, etc.
Their law constitution is called the Uniform Code of Military Justice

8. Constitutional Law (pg.183)
Constitutional Law: law based on the U.S. Constitutional and Supreme Court decisions
This is the supreme law of America

9. The Roles of the Courts (pg.183)
Courts use laws to settle disputes between people and the government vs. people, and the government
In criminal cases, society is represented by a government attorney
In civil cases, both sides represent themselves or pay for their own attorney
Cases can be appealed to ensure the law has been applied fairly
Appeal: the right of a convicted person to ask a higher court to review his or her case

10. Chapter 7 Section 2 (pgs.185-188)
The Federal Court System
Essential Question: How is the federal court system set up?

11. U.S. Districts Courts (Pgs.185-186)
The Constitution states that Congress would be responsible for setting up the federal court system
There are 3 Levels of Federal Courts
Each level has their own jurisdiction rules
Jurisdiction: the authority to interpret and administer the law; also, the range of that authority
There are 2 types of jurisdiction:
1) original 2) appellate
Original Jurisdiction: the authority of a court to be the first court to hold trials in certain kinds of cases
Appellate Jurisdiction: the authority of some courts to review decisions made by lower courts

12. U.S. Federal Districts (pg.186)
U.S. District Courts are the lowest/ 1st level federal courts
District Courts: lower federal courts that have original jurisdiction in most cases involving federal laws
They only have original jurisdiction
They are the “local” courts in the federal system
Every state has at least 1 and can be divided into as many as 4 federal court districts
The U.S. has 94 federal district courts
District Courts are the only federal courts to have jury trials
District Courts do not hear appeals from other courts

13. U.S. District Judges (pg. 186)
Districts Courts have between 1-28 judges depending upon the amount of cases it regularly gets
All federal judges, expect in territories, are appointed for life
The president nominates/ appoints judges, the Senate must approve these appointments/ nominations
Federal judges can only be remove by impeachment from Congress
Federal judges fixed salaries can’t be lowered by the legislative or executive branch
Why are federal judges appointed for life at a fixed salary?

14. U.S. Courts of Appeals (pg.187)
District Court trails maybe appeal to the next/ 2nd level in the federal court system
U.S. Courts of Appeals is the 2nd level in the federal court system
Courts of Appeals: federal courts that review decisions appealed from districts courts
Their only power is to review U.S. Districts Courts rulings
They only have appellate jurisdiction
They don’t conduct trials
They only determine if the original trial was fair and laws were properly interpreted
Each case in a Court of Appeal is determine by a panel of at least 3 judges
Judges decisions are determined by majority vote
Judges have two decision options
Send the case back to district court for new trial or uphold the district court’s decision
Most Courts of Appeals decisions accepted, but they can be appealed to the Supreme Court
There are 12 Courts of Appeals
Also known as U.S. Judicial Circuits
Each circuit has between 6-28 judges depending upon caseload

15. The U.S. Supreme Court (pg. 188)
It is the highest court in America.
Meets in Washington D.C.
It has 9 justices.
Justices: judges of the Supreme Court
It is mainly appellate jurisdiction, but does have 3 areas of original jurisdiction.
Cases involving foreign diplomatic representatives
Cases between states
Cases between state and government
This court’s decisions are final.

16. Chapter 7 Section 3 (pgs.189-192)
The Supreme Court
Essential Question: What is the purpose of the Supreme Court?

17. The Power of Judicial Review (pgs.189-191)
Judicial Review: the power of the U.S. Supreme Court to determine if a law passed by Congress or a presidential action is in accord with the Constitution
Through this power the Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional
This power wasn’t give in the Constitution.
This power was established by Chief Justice John Marshall in the case of Marbury vs. Madison
Chief Justice Marshall declared the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional, stating that it give the Supreme Court powers that wasn’t granted in the U.S. Constitution

18. Choosing Cases (pg.190) The Supreme Court accepts approximately 140
cases of the 8,000 filed with it each year.
At least 4 of the 9 justices must approve for a case to be heard
Previous rulings stand for cases the Supreme Court refuses
The cases they accept generally deal with important constitutional or national questions
The Court can remand cases
Remand: to return an appealed case to a lower court for a new trial

19. Hearing and Deciding Cases (pgs.190-191)
Each party has 30 minutes to present their cases to the Supreme Court justices
Justices then evaluate their written and oral arguments
When the justices are ready they conduct a majority vote in a private meeting to decide the case
After vote, the justices deliver their opinion and sometimes a concurring opinion and/ or dissenting opinion
Opinion: a written state by the U.S. Supreme Court explaining its reasoning behind a decision
Concurring Opinion: a statement written by a Supreme Court justice who agrees with the majority’s decision but for different reasons
Dissenting Opinion: a statement written by a Supreme Court justice who disagrees with the majority’s decision

20. Supreme Court Justices (pg.191)
Congress determines the numbers of justices in the Supreme Court
It has been 9 judges since 1869:
a chief justice and 8 associate judges
There are no special requirements to be a justice How can the power of judicial review have an effect on the laws that are passed by Congress?

21. Checking the Court’s Power (pg.191)
The executive and legislative branch have check and balance power over the Supreme Court
The president appoints Supreme Court Justices
The Senate must approve the president’s appointments
Congress can revise laws to be constitutional that the Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional
Congress can amend the Constitution
In 1895, the Supreme Court ruled income taxing unconstitutional. In 1913, Congress amended the Constitution to make income taxing constitutional

22. Strengthening Rights (pgs.192)
The Supreme Court’s decisions have change with public opinion
1857 Scott v. Sandford to 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson to 1954 Brown v. Board of Education