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The Judicial Branch
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The Role of the Judicial Branch
To interpret and define law This involves hearing individual cases and deciding how the law should apply Remember federalism – there are federal courts for federal law, and state courts for state laws!
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Where Do the Courts’ Jurisdiction Come From?
Article III of the Constitution creates “one supreme court, and such inferior courts” that Congress creates Thus, Congress creates the system underneath Supreme Court
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Jurisdiction Jurisdiction – the authority of a court to hear (try and decide on) a case 4 Types of Jurisdiction: Exclusive Jurisdiction – only federal court has authority to hear, state court cannot
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Jurisdiction Concurrent Jurisdiction – federal or state court could hear Original Jurisdiction – court is the first one to hear a case Appellate Jurisdiction – court can only hear a case on appeal
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Federal Jurisdiction Cases involving the Constitution
Violations of federal law (kidnapping, counterfeiting) Controversies between the states Disputes between parties from different states
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Federal Jurisdiction Suits involving the federal government
Cases involving foreign governments and treaties Cases based on admiralty and maritime laws Cases involving United States diplomats
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Jurisdiction U.S. District Courts have original jurisdiction
The Court of Appeals has appellate jurisdiction Supreme Court has both
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Appointment of Judges President nominates someone to become a judge
Senate majority vote confirms Remember – Senatorial Courtesy! Judges serve for life
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Why Life Terms? Founding Fathers wanted an independent judiciary
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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 Have original jurisdiction (all cases start here)
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U.S. Court of Appeals Also called Federal Appeals Court, Circuit Courts, or Appellate Courts review decisions of lower courts have appellate jurisdiction-right to hear cases from lower courts
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U.S. Court of Appeals Lawyers can appeal if:
judge applied the law wrong used wrong procedures new evidence is found rights were violated
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Supreme Court “The Court of Last Resort”
Original jurisdiction in only 2 cases cases involving diplomats of foreign countries cases involving more than 1 state Chooses the case it wants to hear Final authority in all cases Made up of 8 justices and 1 Chief Justice
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The Justices President gets help from the Attorney General, Justice department, American Bar Association, and other Supreme Court justices when making a nomination Always lawyers, though there is no formal requirements in the Constitution
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Number of Judges in Each Court
District Courts-650, at least 2 in each district Court of Appeals-6 to 28 per circuit Supreme Court-8 justices and 1 chief justice for a total of 9
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Process of a Criminal Case
U.S. attorney gathers up all the evidence against you Presents it to a grand jury, 16 to 23 people who decide whether there is enough evidence to indict you If they vote to indict you, trial begins with a new jury
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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 Higher courts have the option to overturn or modify lower court decisions
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Judicial Review Judicial Review – the power to declare acts of government unconstitutional, thus eliminating them All comes from the case of Marbury v. Madison
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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
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Marbury v. Madison Jefferson was very upset
Jefferson ordered Madison not to deliver the commissions Marbury, who was to be a judge, sued Madison
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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
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Decision in Marbury v. Madison
Therefore, Judiciary Act of 1789, and Marbury’s lawsuit are… First time Supreme Court struck down an act of government as unconstitutional Unconstitutional!!
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Another Route to Supreme Court
Arizona Supreme Court Court of Appeals Arizona Court of Appeals District Court Superior Court
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How a Case Reaches Supreme Court
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” Or, court will issue a certificate if a lower court says they don’t know how to decide on it
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Trial Process at Supreme Court
Trial does not function like principal trial courts No “evidence” presented, or witnesses questioned, etc. Rather, one attorney for each side presents his arguments for 30 minutes, while being questioned by justices
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Trial Process at Supreme Court
Once arguments are over, justices will write opinions on the case, and each justice chooses which opinion to sign his/her name to Majority Opinion – final decision on the case, signed by at least 5 justices Becomes precedent for how future similar cases should be decided
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Trial Process at Supreme Court
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
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Trial Process at Supreme Court
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)
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Most Important Historical Cases
Marbury v. Madison (1804) – established precedent of judicial review McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) – allowed Congress to use implied powers under “necessary and proper clause” Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) – allowed Congress to regulate all commercial interactions under “commerce clause”
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Most Important Historical Cases
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) – people of African descent imported into the U.S. were not and could never be considered citizens (pushed U.S. closer to Civil War due to outcry after the case) Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – said segregation was constitutional as long as both races had equal facilities Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – overturned Plessy decision on the grounds that “separate is inherently unequal”
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Current Supreme Court Justices
Chief Justice John Roberts Appointed: Bush, 2005 Age: 62 Conservative
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Current Supreme Court Justices
Brett Kavanaugh Appointed: Trump, 2018 Age: 53 Conservative
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Current Supreme Court Justices
Clarence Thomas Appointed: Bush, 1991 Age: 70 Strong Conservative
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Current Supreme Court Justices
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Appointed: Clinton, 1993 Age: 85 Strong Liberal
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Current Supreme Court Justices
Stephen Breyer Appointed: Clinton, 1994 Age: 80 Liberal
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Current Supreme Court Justices
Samuel Alito Appointed: Bush, 2006 Age: 68 Conservative
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Current Supreme Court Justices
Sonia Sotomayor Appointed: Obama, 2009 Age: 64 Strong Liberal
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Current Supreme Court Justices
Elena Kagan Appointed: Obama, 2010 Age: 58 Liberal
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Current Supreme Court Justices
Neil Gorsuch Appointed: Trump, 2017 Age: 51 Conservative
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