How Does It Work?

The Judiciary
Principles of American Democracy
Austin Esparza, EDSC 304-55
Jennifer Blander
 § Lecture Objective: Comprehend information regarding the
United States’ Judiciary and become able to effectively
evaluate and analyze information presented. Conducting
effective evaluation and analysis will allow the student the
ability to facilitate the synthesis and application of this

Lecture information in later assignments and real life.

Objectives and § CA Content Standards Addressed

§ 12.5.2 Analyze judicial activism and judicial restraint and
California Content the effects of each policy over the decades

Standards § 12.5.4 Explain the controversies that have resulted over

changing interpretations of civil rights, including those in
Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v.
Arizona, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke,
Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, and United States v.
Virginia (VMI)
§ The classroom you’re sitting in
right now is more diverse than
those we saw prior to the 1960’s
and they are only getting more

What Does It
diverse as time goes on. Relying
on prior knowledge, which
advancement made during the
Civil Rights Era was the most
Mean to You?
impactful in regard to
advancement as a society, and to
yourself?
 Original Intent
§ The Framers of the Constitution decided that no one
faction of the government should be able to acquire too

Separation of much power, which was prevented by borrowing the

concept of separation of powers from the French
Powers in the Political Philosopher Charles de Montesquieu

United States § Checks and Balances is another constitutional safe-

guard designed to prevent any one branch of government
from becoming dominant
Separation of Powers
 The Roles of the Three Branches
§ Legislative: Publicly elected official whose job is to make
laws and approve presidential appointments to federal
positions, such as their cabinet and judicial nominees. Most
democratic as the winner of the popular vote receives their
seat.
§ Executive: The executive branch is the enforcer of the law

Separation of as they have the final say and control veto powers when it
comes to laws passed by the United States Congress. Voted
Powers for by the people, must win the electoral college.
§ Judicial: The United States court system that is used to
interpret the law based on Constitutional standard and
precedent. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the
country and is the most powerful. Typically by appointment
– state judges will face retention elections occasionally, the
least democratic.
 Brief Overview of the State Court System
§ Purpose of state criminal courts is to try cases that
allege violations of state criminal law – majority of

The Court criminal cases are heard in state courts, rather than
federal courts. Most state court systems are organized
System into four tiers (similar to federal) based on their
jurisdiction.
§ Jurisdiction: the types of cases any given court is allowed
to hear – there are FOUR main types: Geographical,
Concurrent, Subject Matter, Appellate
 State
Supreme Court Supreme
Court

Court of Court of
Appellate Courts Civil Criminal

State Court Appeals Appeals

Structure Trial Courts

Municipal
Court
Probate
Court
District
Court

Small
Civil Courts Claims
Court
 § The federal court system is responsible for managing
criminal, civil, and administrative cases under federal
law – the federal court system’s jurisdiction reaches all
Federal Court 50 states, territories, and the District of Columbia.

System § Within the federal system, most judges are appointed by

the president, confirmed by the Senate, and serve a life
term
 Federal Court Tiers
§ Magistrate: first level of courts in the federal system.
They have limited jurisdiction as they generally hear
misdemeanor cases.

§ District Courts: courts of general jurisdiction in the

federal courts system.

Federal Court § U.S. Court of Appeals (Circuit Courts): intermediate

courts of appeals that hear cases of law from the U.S.
System district courts or from the federal administrative courts.

§ U.S. Supreme Court: Highest court that can hear cases,

has appellate jurisdiction as you must exhaust all other
legal resources. Decisions are used to establish
precedent in subsequent cases.
 Supreme U.S.
Supreme
Court Court

Appellate U.S. Court

Courts of Appeals

Federal Court
Structure Trial U.S. District
U.S. Courts
of Federal
Courts Courts
Claims

Civil U.S.
Magistrate
Courts Courts
NOW YOU TRY!
Reflect on the differences and similarities in the organization and structure of the state
and federal courts, how similar are they? Any notable differences, if so, why do you think
those differences are implemented? Pssssst this might be a test question!
 ***The Supreme Court will not grant an appeal until all
other opportunities have been exhausted in lower
appellate courts***

§ Step 1: However, the court may choose to review the

decisions of the lower courts as long as four justices
How Do Cases agree, which allows a writ of certiorari to be issued.

Get to the § Step 2: Cases must be justiciable, which means they are
real issues that involve an actual legal dispute. Political
Supreme Court? issues cannot be decided by the courts as they are not
justiciable issues with the law. The Supreme Court will
also not hear on hypothetical cases – only cases with
actual litigants.
 Marbury v. Madison (1803)
§ The Constitution does not explicitly grant the power of
judicial review to the Supreme Court; however, this
was established in 1803 by Marbury v. Madison. This
The Power of allows the Court the right to judge the constitutionality

the U.S. of laws, which granted the Supreme Court the

importance and power it still carries to this day.
Supreme Court § The Supreme Court has helped evolve many institutions
in the nation and continues to do so everyday –
especially with the Civil Rights movement, which we
will reach later.
 NOW YOU TRY
§ What is the impact of the Supreme Court’s
power of judicial review? Would the system
of checks and balances be as effective as it
is today without this power or would we see
the legislative and executive branches run
with most of the power? Be ready to share
your thoughts with the class. Psssst this
might be a test question!
 An Introduction to Eras
§ Each Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is essentially
the head of our judicial snake that controls the climate
of the court. They are often the ideological litmus test
for the course of a particular era’s run. For example,
when Earl Warren was chief justice, the court was in the
Warren Court Era.

Supreme Court § Warren Courts: Period of history in the Supreme Court

of the United States when Earl Warren (appointed by
Eras President Eisenhower) was Chief Justice from 1953 until
retirement in 1969
§ Rehnquist Courts: Refers to the period of time that
spanned from 1986 to 2005 in which William Rehnquist
(appointed by President Reagan) was Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court.
 What Are the Two Basic Judicial Ideologies?
§ Judicial Activism: Judges who are more willing to
second-guess and analyze the effectiveness of and
change law, in relation to its constitutionality, in order to
reflect the country’s current values are said to practice
judicial activism.

Supreme Court § Judicial Restraint: A judge who is more conservative in

Ideologies their willingness to edit laws and conform to current

societal values in order to preserve the Constitution is
someone who practices judicial restraint.

§ Note that not every era of the Supreme Court will

always side with activism or restraint – they will often
use either selectively in accordance to issues they are
Fun Fact: the Rehnquist Court is one of
the most stable courts as the same willing to hear revisions for.
nine justices served from 1994 until
his death in 2005 – the longest stretch
in history!
PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES
§ If you were a Supreme Court justice would you
rather practice judicial activism or judicial
restraint? Is it more important to adjust to every
changing societal norms or retain tradition?
 § The term ”civil rights” is all encompassing as it is
referring to the advancement of equality among all
people in the country regardless of age, skin color,
ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

§ The fight for Civil Rights was and is still an ongoing

Civil Rights process that will continue to move forward as society
evolves. For example, slavery was abolished in 1865,
women gained the right to vote in 1920, the voting age
was dropped to 18 in 1971, and gay people won the
right to marry in 2015.
 Emancipation
Thirteenth Fourteenth
Civil War Begins Proclamation leads
Amendment Amendment
1861 to End of Civil War
1865 1868
1865

Fifteenth Jim Crow Laws and

Civil Rights Act of Voting Restrictions Equal Pay Act of
Amendment in Southern States
1875 1963
1870 1877

Voting Rights Act

Twenty-Fourth Amendment
of 1965 and End of Civil Rights Act, Civil Rights Act of
and Civil Rights Act of 1964
Jim Crow Laws Title VIII (1968) 1991
1964
1965

Civil Rights Timeline 1861-1991

 § In their original form, the Bill of Rights did not apply to
state law; therefore, after the Civil War ended former
slaves were subject to discrimination at the hands of
Southern state law.

§ This led to the Fourteenth Amendment, which

The Fourteenth expanded the right of due process to all Americans – it

Amendment just didn’t immediately apply the protections found in

the Bill of Rights to all state laws.
(1868) § One of the Warren Courts most significant
accomplishments was the inclusion of the Bill of Rights
in the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause
extending those protections to both state AND federal
law.
Speed Round! Landmark Supreme Court Cases

On The Basis of Race

§ Plessy v Ferguson (1896): allowed southern

states to twist the Equal Protection Clause by
allowing “separate but equal” facilities based
on race

§ Brown v. Board of Education I (1954):

overturned Plessy, determined “separate but
equal” to be unconstitutional.
 Protecting the Rights of the Accused

§ Miranda v. Arizona (1966): All defendants must be

informed of all of their legal rights before they are

Speed Round! detained or arrested. Ruled in favor of Miranda, 5-4.

Landmark § “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say
can and will be used against you in a court of law. You
Supreme Court have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an

Cases attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you

understand the rights I have just read to you? With these
rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”
 On the Basis of Equal Protection
§ Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978):
Alan Bakke rejected from medical school because of an
affirmative action plan to boost the number of black
students, in a 5-4 ruling it was decided that Bakke was
discriminated against
Speed Round! § Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena (1995): held that racial
Landmark classifications, imposed by the federal government, must
be analyzed under a standard of ”strict scrutiny.” Ruled 5-
Supreme Court 4 that state and local must be held to the same standard

Cases as federal with strict scrutiny.

§ United States v. Virginia (VMI) (1996): Struck down the
long-standing male-only admission policy of the
Virginia Military Institute on the basis of gender- based
discrimination by a 7-1 vote.
 § Following this lecture and the discussion of Civil Rights, write a one
paragraph response about the court ideology that you believe is
more productive in regard to the advancement of opportunity that
the landmark Supreme Court cases, the Constitutional
amendments, etc. granted? Within the response you should briefly
define judicial activism and restraint and provide details for

Let’s Order Take examples used.

Out! § Is the definition of Civil Rights constantly evolving? In our current

state is there more we can do and what change would you like to
see brought about in the future, if any? Be prepared to pull relevant
examples from within the lecture to support your claims and also
be ready to share with a partner.