Antares

Chen AP NSL Review Document

The Judicial Branch

THE NATURE OF THE COURT SYSTEM
The 3rd article of the constitution defines our court. There are then two types of court cases that are brought up 1. Criminal Court Cases a. Those that involve actual transgressions against written law i. Robbery ii. Assault iii. Murder 2. Civil Court Cases a. Those regarding a dispute between two parties and defines the relationship between them i. Divorce proceedings ii. Mergers of multinational corporations iii. Cases that include the government There are also different players in the court system 1. Litigants a. Lawsuits must be justiciable meaning they must be able to be resolved in a legal manner b. Litigants are the people involved in a law suit c. Plaintiffs i. The one who sues ii. First name in official title of the court case iii. Must have a standing to sue meaning they have sustained injury or are in immediate threat of sustaining injury from the defendant d. Defendant i. The person who stands accused e. Class Action Lawsuits i. Lawsuits that encompass a group of people suing on behalf of a larger population who has sustained injury from the actions of the defendant 2. Interest Groups

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a. Groups recognize the courts ability to shape policy and thus wish to have a stake in the process b. Example: Brown v. Board of Education i. Thurgood Marshall, defense attorney for the NAACP, argued for Linda Brown because the NAACP saw that this could be the case to end racial segregation. c. Actions groups can take i. File Amicus Curiae briefs

Anyone can file them Influences court decision by presenting different points of view

3. Attorneys a. Legal Services Corporation is a federal program that gives lawyers to the poor b. Local governments provide legal defense for the poor who are accused of crime

THE STRUCTURE OF THE FEDERAL COURT

The constitution only defines the Supreme Court system and thus it is up to the legislative branch to come up with the lower courts 1. Constitutional Courts a. Courts that deal with constitutional law b. Some examples i. US Supreme Court ii. US Court of Appeals iii. US Circuit courts 2. Legislative Courts a. Courts that deal with specialized law passed by the legislative branch b. No protection against removal or salary reduction c. Cannot exercise the power of judicial review i. Court of Military Appeals ii. Court of Claims d. Examples include

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iii. Court of International Trade iv. Tax Court There is also the difference between types of cases the courts take. That is, the type of jurisdiction each court gives. 1. Original Jurisdiction a. The court hears the case first usually by trial. b. Determines facts about the case and whether it is a criminal or civil case. c. 90% of all cases end in courts of original jurisdiction 2. Appellate Jurisdiction a. Hear cases that were appealed or challenged the decision of the lower court b. Only reviews legal issues. c. At a state level i. The highest appeals court is called the State Supreme Court ii. Also known as the state high court iii. From then on it goes to Supreme Court d. At a federal level i. Highest appeals court is the US Supreme Court The federal court system is organized in a hierarchal manner with the bottom one covering distinct districts in the nation. It then goes to court of appeals and ultimately the Supreme Court. 1. District Court a. Entry point of the federal court system b. Numbers i. 91 district courts in the nation ii. 680 total judges iii. Each court holds 2 to 21 judges c. Only courts that hold trials and impanel juries. i. Federal crimes ii. Civil suits under federal law iii. Diversity of Citizenship cases d. Has original jurisdiction that extends to

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Civil suits between citizens of different states The amount of question exceeds 75k

iv. Bankruptcy cases v. Limited review of federal administrative agencies vi. Admiralty and maritime cases vii. Naturalization cases e. 98% of all cases occur in state and local courts. f. A small percentage have trials because most enter guilty pleas g. Handle most civil suits. h. Staff to the district courts i. US Marshalls protect the writ of law ii. Federal Magistrates help the judges Appointed 8 year terms Issues warrants for arrest Determines the use of a grand jury Sets bail Hear motions subject to review by the judge Hears some criminal cases

iii. US Attorneys nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 2. Courts of Appeal a. Only has appellate jurisdiction i. Can review and enforce orders of federal regulatory agencies b. Divided into 12 judicial circuits c. Court cases are normally heard by 3 judges i. Exception is when it is en blanc meaning all judges must attend d. In the federal circuit i. There is a special US Court of Appeals ii. Congress established it in 1982 iii. Composed of 12 judges. iv. Hears specialized cases in patents, claims and international trade 3. The Supreme Court a. Resolves conflicts among states

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b. Ensures national law supremacy c. Ensures uniformity of national law i. 8 Justices ii. 1 Chief justice e. Has original jurisdiction in i. Cases between states ii. Cases between the US and a state iii. Cases between one state and the citizen of another state iv. Cases between one state and another country f. Only court that gets to choose which courses they want to hear in the appeals process g. Most court cases come from the federal appeals process. h. Only hears cases that involve federal law or constitutional law i. Does not deal with the innocence or guilt of a criminal. d. Composed of

POLITICS OF JUDICIAL SELECTION

Appointing judges to certain levels of court often involves certain political aspects in gaining nomination 1. Introduction a. Presidents can appoint federal judges b. Senate must confirm them c. Federal judges can be impeached and tried d. Federal also have pay protection and cannot be fired 2. The Lower Courts a. Nominations to lower courts often deal with senatorial courtesy. i. Unofficial tradition where senate does not confirm a judge if the state senator does not like him/her. ii. Presidents often check with that states senator before making appointments b. Nomination process (State District Courts) i. State senators submit a list of people to the Attorney General and the President.

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ii. If the senators are not of the same party as the president then the local party leader will make suggestions iii. The Department of Justice and the FBI runs background checks iv. The Department of Justice also asks sitting federal judges for input v. Prospective candidates alert local parties and run campaigns c. Regarding appellate courts i. President usually has more power and senators have less because the appellate courts encompass multiple states d. Polarization of politics has made senatorial confirmation time longer 3. The Supreme Court a. The president can appoint justices from outside sources and chief justices from the current justices as well as outside sources. b. They must go through a confirmation hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee c. To screen candidates i. The President relies on White House aids, the attorney general and the Department of Justice. ii. Sitting justices also sometimes affect the decision. d. Regarding state senators in the appointment processes i. They play a little role ii. Presidents usually confront them after they have chosen iii. Senators usually do not oppose the choice because they like the fact that they have a justice from the state e. Regarding the Senate as a whole i. The senate judiciary committee probes each appointment f. Regarding candidates i. They usually keep a low profile

THE BACKGROUDS OF JUDGES AND JUSTICES

The constitution does not set any prerequisites for judges, but many will see that the group is highly distinguished 1. The demographic a. Overwhelmingly white male

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b. Carter appointed the most diverse group of judges than any other president before him c. Federal judges have often held public office as a judge or prosecutor d. Most have been involved in partisan politics e. All have been lawyers 2. The effect of partisanship a. Political ideology is the biggest factor. b. Only 13 members of the Supreme Court have been appointed by a president of the opposite party c. Presidents try to pack the court with justices of the same ideology president with similar ideology e. Appointed justices are not always known to follow the ideology of the president when appointed i. Earl Warren and William Brennen compared to Eisenhower ii. Warren Burger to Nixon d. Court justices often time their retirement to coincide with the term of a

THE FEDERAL COURT AS POLICY MAKERS

Federal courts also affect the policy of the nation by ruling what is constitutional. Of course there is also a process to doing this that first begins with accepting the case 1. Step first: Accepting the Case a. Appeal courts tend to have greater control over what they want to hear i. Every week, the 9 justices meet and choose which cases are to be put on the docket ii. 99% of cases are denied from the 8000 submitted annually. iii. If four justices vote to hear it, the case is put on the docket iv. To call up a case, the supreme court uses a writ of certiorari b. The solicitor general also has an important role in the process i. Decides whether to appeal cases the government has lost ii. Reviews and modifies the briefs presented to appeals court iii. Represents the government in the Supreme Court iv. Submits briefs on behalf of the litigants in cases the government is not directly involved in.

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2. Step Next: Making Decisions a. Justices look at amicus briefs which try to change established doctrine b. Justices write an opinion on the case i. Statement of legal reasoning behind decision ii. Dissenting opinions oppose the majority decision iii. Concurring opinions support the majority decision c. All cases are settled on the principle of Stare Decisis i. They call upon precedents set by previous court cases ii. Lower courts are expected to follow established precedents 3. Step Almost Last: Casting The Vote a. Each case must have at least six justices b. If there is a tie then the ruling of the previous court is upheld 4. Step Last: Implementing a. Judicial Implementation refers to how the court decisions are implemented. b. Other courts can serve as roadblocks to implementation. c. To successfully implement you must take into account two groups i. The interpreting population is the group of judges and lawyers who interpret the case ii. The implementing population are the people who are affected by the court case

COURTS AND THE POLICY AGENDA

Historically speaking the courts have dealt with issues that come up in different eras predominated by one overall idea. For example the first years of the union, the court saw many cases dealing with federalism and such. 1. John Marshall and Judiciary Review a. John Marshall presided over landmark court case Marbury v. Madison b. The court case arose over Adams midnight appointments. One of which included William Marbury. c. When Jefferson took office, vice president Madison withheld the commission for the midnight appointments. d. Marbury took Madison to court demanding for commission e. John Marshall ruled

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i. Madison was wrong to withhold commission ii. The supreme court could not enforce giving of commission because the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional. iii. Instated the idea of Judicial Review f. This precedent was also set in Hamiltons Federalist Papers 2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Nine Old Men a. FDR had his jimmies rustled because nine old men were blocking New Deal reform laws by deaming them unconstitutional b. He proposed to add 9 more people to the court c. Nope.avi d. The result was two of the judges started ruling more liberally 3. Warren Court a. Ruled on public segregation b. Liberalized criminal rights c. Rustled a lot of jimmies 4. The Burger Court a. United States v. Nixon b. Row v. Wade c. Miranda rights 5. Rehnquist Court a. Bush v. Gore

UNDERSTANDING THE COURTS

1. Courts Are Not Democratic a. Our founding fathers did not want the court changing with the will of the people b. They wanted it to be protected from anything political. c. This is not always the case. 2. Courts Are Still Affected By People and Politics a. Court decisions often coincide with popular belief b. Courts are deeply affected by interests groups and their goddamn amicus briefs c. Promotes pluralism

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i. Groups use litigation to achieve policy objectives 3. Scope Of Judicial Power a. There are two types of judicial policies i. Judicial Restraint is where judges adhere closely to precedents and play minimal policy making roles ii. Judicial Activism is where the judge makes bold policy decisions often charting new constitutional ground b. Both liberals and conservatives use these type of ruling styles c. The Supreme Court often does not involve itself in political concourse between the executive and legislative branch i. This is called the Doctrine of Political Question d. The court prefers less contentious and more technical grounds of ruling a case 4. Other Branches can Check the Court a. The legislative branch can i. Determine who sits on the bench ii. Begin to amend the Constitution iii. Change the lower court system iv. Can pass legislation to clarify a piece of legislation if the issue is where the court is interpreting an act of congress (Statutory Construction).

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