1. The Judicial Branch

2. The US Court System Dual court system:
State Courts- oversee cases involving state laws
Federal Courts- oversee cases involving federal law
Federal Courts- sole jurisdiction involving:
US law
Foreign treaties
Interpretation of the Constitution

3. The Role of the Judicial Branch
To interpret and define law
This involves hearing individual cases and deciding how the law should apply

4. Where Do the Courts’ Jurisdiction Come From?
Article III of the Constitution creates “one supreme court, and such inferior courts” that Congress creates

5. Appointment of Federal Judges
The Constitution stipulates that all federal judges are appointed by the President
Supreme Court justices
Court of Appeals judges
District court judges

6. Appointment of Federal Judges
President nominates someone to become a judge
Senate majority vote confirms
Judges serve for life

7. Appointment of Federal Judges
Considerations:
Party Affiliation
Judicial Philosophy
Senatorial Courtesy
Background

8. Why Life Terms? Founding Fathers wanted an independent judiciary
Free from public or political pressure when deciding cases

9. Supreme Court Justices
Chief Justice John Roberts
Appointed: Bush, 2005
Conservative

10. Supreme Court Justices
Antonin Scalia
Appointed: Reagan, 1986
Strong Conservative
DECEASED:
NATURAL CAUSES

11. Supreme Court Justices
Anthony Kennedy
Appointed: Reagan, 1988
Swing Vote (Usually Conservative)

12. Supreme Court Justices
Clarence Thomas
Appointed: Bush, 1991
Strong Conservative

13. Supreme Court Justices
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Appointed: Clinton, 1993
Strong Liberal

14. Supreme Court Justices
Stephen Breyer
Appointed: Clinton, 1994
Liberal

15. Supreme Court Justices
Samuel Alito
Appointed: Bush, 2006
Conservative

16. Supreme Court Justices
Sonia Sotomayor
Appointed: Obama, 2009
Strong Liberal

17. Supreme Court Justices
Elena Kagan
Appointed: Obama, 2010
Liberal

18. Supreme Court Justices
Neil Gorsuch
Appointed: Trump, 2017
Conservative
Replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia

19. Organization of Federal Courts
Judges 1
Supreme Court 9 13
Appellate Court 3 94 1
District Court

20. District Court
District Court is the principal trial court in the system
First trial for the vast majority of federal cases
94 Districts divided geographically
Hears both criminal and civil cases

21. Appellate Courts
The appellate level includes 13 United States courts of appeals.
The United States is divided into 12 judicial circuits, or regions, with 1 appellate court in each circuit.
The thirteenth court is a special appeals court with national jurisdiction.

22. Supreme Court
The “Court of Last Resort” – highest court in the country

23. Limitations on the Supreme Court
Types of Cases
Types of Issues
Limited Control over Agenda
No Enforcement Power
Checks & Balances

24. Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction – the authority of a court to hear (try and decide on) a case
There are 4 Types of Jurisdiction:
Exclusive
Concurrent
Original
Appellate

25. Concurrent Jurisdiction
4 Types of Jurisdiction
Exclusive Jurisdiction
only federal court has authority to hear a case; the state court cannot
Concurrent Jurisdiction
federal OR state court could hear the case

26. Original Jurisdiction
4 Types of Jurisdiction
Original Jurisdiction
court is the first one to hear a case
Appellate Jurisdiction
court can only hear a case on appeal

27. Court Jurisdictions U.S. District Courts have original jurisdiction
The Court of Appeals has appellate jurisdiction
Supreme Court has both

28. How the Supreme Court Selects Cases
Writ of certiorari
Order from the Court to a lower court to a lower court to send up the records on a case for review
Court will issue a writ of certiorari (acceptance of a case) if 4 of the 9 justices wish to hear it
Called the “Rule of 4”

29. How the Supreme Court Selects Cases
Certificate
The court will issue a certificate if a lower court says they don’t know how to decide on it
Appeal

30. How the Supreme Court Selects Cases
Solicitor General
This person serves as a link between the executive branch and the judicial branch
Plays a key role in setting the Court’s agenda
Do most of the research for Supreme Court cases that involve the federal gov’t
Almost ½ the cases decided by the Supreme Court involve the federal gov’t

31. Steps in Deciding Cases
Submitting Briefs
Brief- written statement setting forth legal arguments, relevant facts, and precedents supporting one side of a case
Amicus curiae- “friend of the court”
Not directly involved in the case
Have an interest in the outcome

32. Steps in Deciding Cases
Oral Arguments
Each side gets 30 minutes to present their side of the case to the court
Judges normally interrupt to ask questions

33. Steps in Deciding Cases
Conference
Justices meet on Wed and Fri to discuss cases they have heard
No minutes are kept of the meetings
Chief Justice gives a brief summary for each case and they all discuss it for about 30 minutes each
At least 6 of the 9 judges must be present to make a decision

34. Steps in Deciding Cases
Writing the Opinion
There are four kinds of opinions:
Majority opinion
Dissenting opinion
Unanimous opinion
Concurring opinion

35. The Different Opinions
Majority Opinion – final decision on the case, signed by at least 5 justices
Becomes precedent for how future similar cases should be decided

36. The Different Opinions
Dissenting Opinion – written or signed by any justice who disagrees with the majority
It’s important because it can become the logic for a future group of justices to overturn this decision

37. The Different Opinions
Concurring Opinion – written by a justice who votes with the majority, but disagrees with their reasoning as to why
If a justice has a conflict of interest in a case, he/she may recuse himself (stay off of the case)

38. The Different Opinions
If a justice has a conflict of interest in a case, he/she may recuse himself
Recuse- remove themselves from hearing the case

39. Judicial Review
Judicial Review – the power to declare acts of government unconstitutional, thus eliminating them
All comes from the case of Marbury v. Madison
Established judicial review

40. Marbury v. Madison
Adams has just lost to Jefferson in the election of 1800
To preserve his legacy, Adams has Federalists in Congress create loads of new judgeships
Adams appoints Federalist party members to all the new positions

41. Marbury v. Madison Jefferson was very upset
Jefferson ordered Madison not to deliver the commissions
Marbury, who was to be a judge, sued Madison

42. Decision in Marbury v. Madison
Judiciary Act of 1789 gave Supreme Court original jurisdiction in disputes about judgeships
Article III of the Constitution gives Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction in those cases

43. Decision in Marbury v. Madison
Therefore, Judiciary Act of 1789, and Marbury’s lawsuit are…
First time Supreme Court struck down an act of gov’t as unconstitutional
Unconstitutional!!

44. Judicial Restraint
A theory of judicial interpretation that encourages judges to limit the exercise of their own power
Asserts that judges should hesitate to strike down laws unless they are obviously unconstitutional

45. Judicial Activism
Judicial rulings suspected of being based on personal or political considerations rather than on interpretation and application of the law
" Legislating from the bench"

46. Presidents and the Supreme Court
Jimmy Carter
Never appointed a justice to the SCOTUS
Richard Nixon
Appointed 4 new justices to the SCOTUS
One was a chief justice
Holds the record for the most justices appointed to the SCOTUS

47. Presidents and the Supreme Court
Ronald Reagan
Appointed 3 justices
Received an approval for an existing justice to be promoted to chief justice
Technically 4, but one was already an existing judge, so Nixon’s record held

48. Early Days as Justices
In early years, justices would be expected to go from town to town to hold court.
It was known as riding the circuit

49. Four Major Categories of Crimes
Personal Crimes
Assault
Battery
False Imprisonment
Kidnapping
Homicide
Rape/ Statutory Rape

50. Four Major Categories of Crimes
Property Crimes
Larceny (Theft)
Robbery (also considered personal crime)
Burglary
Arson
Embezzlement
False Pretenses
Receipt of Stolen Goods

51. Four Major Categories of Crimes
Inchoate Crimes (incomplete crimes/ begun but were not completed)
Attempt (any crime attempted)
Solicitation
Conspiracy

52. Four Major Categories of Crimes
Statutory Crimes- violation of a specific state or federal statute can involve property or personal offenses
Alcohol related crimes (DUI)
Selling alcohol to a minor

53. Classifications of Crimes
Felony
More serious crimes/ major offenses
Examples: murder or kidnapping
Misdemeanor
Less serious crimes/ minor offenses
Usually carries a fine and jail sentence of less than a year, if at all

54. Due Process Rights
5th Amendment and 14th Amendment guarantee a person cannot be denied life, liberty, or property without due process (trial)

55. Criminal Trial Flow Chart

56. Process of a Criminal Case
After your arrest, the U.S. attorney gathers up all the evidence against you
Evidences is presented to a grand jury
16 to 23 people who decide whether there is enough evidence to indict you

57. Process of a Criminal Case
If they vote to indict you, trial begins with a NEW jury
In this trial you will have a petit jury
6-12 people to decide if you are guilty of the crime you are being accused of committing

58. Process of a Criminal Case
If you lose your trial, you have the option to appeal to a higher court
The higher court does not have to hear your case
They will only take it if there is a significant problem with the lower court decision

59. Process of a Criminal Case
Higher courts have the option to overturn or modify lower court decisions
Normally they practice stare decisis
Latin for “let the decision stand”

60. Steps in a Civil Trial Process

61. Civil Trial Flow Chart

62. Landmark Cases Marbury v. Madison (1804)
Established precedent of judicial review
Cherokee Nation v Georgia (1831)
SCOTUS denied to hear the case on appeal as the Cherokee were viewed as wards of the state and the Supreme Court held no jurisdiction
One year later a new case would be decided

63. Landmark Cases Worcester v Georgia (1832)
Cherokee Nation were deemed sovereign by Chief Justice John Marshall, and states could not pass laws against them
Worcester was released by the state of GA
After effects of the ruling:
Andrew Jackson ignored the decision
Cherokee were forced out in what would become known as the Trail of Tears
15,000 were forced out, and over 4,000 died on the journey to Oklahoma Territory

64. Landmark Cases Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Ruled that people of African descent imported into the U.S. were not and could never be considered citizens
Would forever tie the issue of state’s rights to slavery
Pushed U.S. closer to Civil War due to outcry after the case
This case would eventually be overturned with the passing of the 14th Amendment

65. Landmark Cases Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Ruled segregation was constitutional as long as both races had equal facilities
Established the “separate but equal” doctrine
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Overturned Plessy decision on the grounds that “separate is inherently unequal”