Chapter 14: The Judiciary

Judicial Review: power to interpret the constitution

Language of the U.S. Law:

1. Litigation: court cases
2. Trial Courts: trials – everyone is allowed to have one
3. Criminal: innocent until proven guilty
4. Civil Cases: not a crime, so jail is not a punishment; just get fined. (Example: it’s
like when you roll over your neighbor’s yard, and your neighbor says you ruined
his property, so he takes you to court.)
5. *Class action suit: an individual files a lawsuit against a company on behalf of
everyone affected.
6. Plaintiff: person taking someone to court
7. Defendant
8. *Prosecutor: govt. attorney
9. Public Defender: court attorney if you have no money/ can’t afford a lawyer
10. *Plea bargain: lawyers do this when the case is to heavy or they can’t win the
case, so they ask you to bargain so they can win the case
11. Indictment: charges against laws

Types of Laws:
1. Common Laws: made by judges
2. Constitutional: derived from court cases interpreting the Constitution
3. Statues: laws stemming from Congress to deal with issue

Sources of Laws:
1. Federal:
2. State:
3. Statues
4. Judicial decisions: judges; court cases base some laws; decided from previous
court cases. Decisions are not based only on the evidence, but also from
previous cases similar to this; “Stare decisis”: let decision stand. If there were
no cases before, this case sets a precedent
5. Executive orders: president orders
6. Administrative orders: from bureaucracies, secretaries of state, etc.
 Court – U.S System

U.S District Courts

Jurisdiction: means power
Limited jurisdiction

U.S Courts of Appeal

Appellate Jurisdiction

U.S. Supreme Court

Appellate Jurisdiction

Federal Judges: appointed by president, approved by Senate

Dept. of Justice: bureaucracy; govt. agency

Dual Court System: two court system: state & federal

Supreme
Court

Courts of
Courts of Appeals
Appeal for Federal
Court

Court of
Federal Court of Court of
Territorial Veterans
Tax Court Bank District Regulatory International Federal
Courts Agencies Trade &
Claims
Appeals
Judges as Policy Makers:
Courts make common law – by deciding cases and establishing principles that
bind future cases based on cases.