Judicial Branch

Judicial Branch Creation

Our original government under the Articles of Confederation was lacking a Judicial Branch The Judicial Branch is created by Article III of the Constitution

Originally created only the Supreme Court Gave Congress the ability create inferior federal courts

The three tiered structure of todays judiciary was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789

Dual Court System

Congress can establish lower federal courts but the States can also establish their own court system Where court cases start depend on who has jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the authority to decide justice

Original-case first heard and facts determined Concurrent-shared ability to hear case Appellate-decide law behind, not facts of the case

Three types of jurisdiction

Three Tier System

Districts Courts

94 District Courts US territories, Common Wealths, 50 states plus some states are divided into regions because they are populous For example, TX and CA are divided into 4 regions Have original jurisdiction over mail fraud, counterfeiting, smuggling, etc.. Also hear cases on Constitutional questions

Three Tier System

United States Courts of Appeals (Circuit Courts)

Divided the United States into 12 Regions 13th Court of Appeals is a court for trademarks, patents, and copyright Review decisions made by the district courts and cases that result from the actions of government agencies

The Court of Appeals hand down decisions based on majority vote of a three-judge panel The Court of Appeals was originally created to help with the docket load of the Supreme Court

Three Tier System

The Supreme Court

Only court created by the Constitution Most visible of the courts Supreme Law of the Land 9 Justices

Stitch in time saves 9 FDRs Court Packing Plan

1 Chief Justices 8 Associate Justices

The Supreme Court of 1937 didnt support FDRs New Deal programs-FDR referred to them as nine old men FDRs response to his legislation being ruled unconstitutional was to pass a bill that said a president could add a Justice for every justice over the age of 70.5 (but no more than 6) to the Supreme Court This would have given FDR the majority ruling he needed to get New Deal Legislation deemed Constitutional Senate voted against it at the last minute

How does a case get to the Supreme Court?

Original Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over controversies between the U.S. and a state, two or more states, a state and a citizen of a different state and involving foreign ambassadors or other diplomats Cases of Original Jurisdiction account for 25% of the cases before the Supreme Court

How does a case get to the Supreme Court?

Appellate Jurisdiction

Appellate Jurisdiction from lower federal constitutional courts, most federal legislative courts, and highest state court having jurisdiction when the case involves a federal constitution issue When a court has appellate jurisdiction, they decide the law behind of the case NOT the facts of the case

How does a case get to the Supreme Court?

Cases that can be tried in either federal or state court Cases fall into two categories

Judge Made Law

Judges are asked to issue injunctions or awards against people

Divorce, property disputes

Statutory Law

Criminal Law-Cases that try facts against Federal and State laws Civil Law-Cases that deal with contracts and tort issues

Murder

Public Law

Defamation, Slander, Libel, legal rights of individuals Constitutional Law

Participants of litigated cases are called defendants and plaintiffs

On appeal, participants are called petitioner and respondent

Supreme Court
Original Jurisdiction Cases U.S. Courts of Military Appeals

U.S. Courts of Appeals

The U.S. Tax Courts

U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

The Courts of Military Review

94 District Courts The U.S. Court of Internation al Trade The U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals The U.S. Claims Court

The courts highlighted are in your book!

When a case gets to the Supreme Court

Cases are appealed to the Supreme Court through a writ of certiorari After reviewing the case the Court may:

Hear the case if the Rule of Four is met

Rule of Four states that a Petitioner need only 4 Justices to agree to hear a case for it to go before the Supreme Court This is done to prevent a simple majority from controlling the Supreme Court Docket

A docket is a list of cases in court for trial

Send the case back to the lower court for them to review their ruling

Court will hear and issue opinions on about 100 of the approximately 7000 that are presented

Writ of Certiorari

Writ of Certiorari is Latin for to be made more certain-meaning the ruling needs to be reviewed The Supreme Court agrees to hear a Writ based on five criteria:

If a court has made a decision that conflicts with precedent If a court has come up with a new question If one court of appeals has made a decision that conflicts with another If there are other inconsistencies between courts of different states If there is a split decision in the court of appeals

Once the Supreme Court Agrees to hear a case

If the Rule of Four is met:

Attorneys for both sides file briefs Groups or individuals not directly involved with the case may file an Amicus Curiae The attorneys will then present their case directly to the Court through oral arguments The Justices then conference to discuss and vote on the case Once the vote is taken, a statement is issued that relates the Courts decision and how they came to the decision

After hearing the arguments, the Justices may also issue a Stare Decicis (This occurs in a vast majority of the cases that reach the court)

The statement of the majority and their rational is called the Majority opinion A justice that agrees with the vote but not the rationale may issue a Concurring opinion Those justices that were not in the majority vote may issue a dissenting opinion Latin for let the decision stand This means the Justices decision is to let the ruling of the lower court stand

How can I be on the Supreme Court?

Farthest removed branch from the voters Appointed by the President then Confirmed by the Senate

Senatorial Courtesy applies to the District and Appeals courts Senate Judiciary Committee (Standing Committee) Simple majority vote (Thomas confirmed by the closest margin of 5248) Serve life terms or until they retire

Judges . Shall hold their office in good behavior

Most important app that the President makes during his tenure Framers intended the selection of Justices to be separate from politics BUT 90% of Justices come from the same political party of the president that appoints him (or the two hers) Confirmation Hearings are now highly publicized (Clarence Thomas) and confirmation is not a guarantee (Robert Bork and though not tested, most likely Harriet Miers)

What did the court look like when Obama took office???
Name 1 John Roberts 2 John Stevens 3 Antonin Scalia 4 Anthony Kennedy 5 David Souter 6 Clarence Thomas 7 Ruth Bader Ginsberg 8 Stephen Breyer 9 Samuel Alito Title Chief Justice Associate Justice Associate Justice Associate Justice Associate Justice Associate Justice Associate Justice Associate Justice Associate Justice Yr Pres? Job? DC COA 7th COA DC COA 9th COA 1 COA DC COA DC COA
st

Law School? Harvard Northwestern Harvard Harvard Oxford Yale Columbia

Voting Record? Moderate to Conservative Liberal Conservative Moderate to Conservative Moderate to Liberal Conservative Liberal

3 W Bush 33 Ford 22 Reagan 20 Reagan 18 Bush 17 Bush 15 Clinton

14 Clinton 2 W Bush

1 COA 3 COA
rd

st

Harvard Yale

Moderate to Liberal Moderate to Conservative

Obamas Appointments

Appointed Elena Kagan to replace John Paul Stevens She attend Harvard Law She had previously served as Solicitor General on the DC COAs

Obamas Appointments

Appointed Sonia Sotomayor to replace David Souter Yale Law Served on the 2nd COAs

Judicial Activism and Restraint

It is through Activism and Restraint that the Supreme Court helps to shape Public Policy
Justices are considered activists if they interpret legislation more loosely and are less bound by precedent Judicial Activism has increased in recent times because Access to the courts is easier Laws passed by Congress are often ambiguous Court decisions are often broad and have an impact on a wide range of people Justices are said to have restraint if they tend to follow statutes and precedents closely. Those in favor argue that Justices should be constitutional interpreters who reflect current day values.

Vs.

Not without controversy, those in favor believe its the Courts responsibility to fix the problems of the other branches. Those against believe that policy shaping should be left to elected officials.

Judicial Review

Marburry vs. Madison (1803)

Chief Justice Marshall was the first to invalidate an act of Congress

Marshall also spearheaded court decisions upholding contracts and ruled a state law unconstitutional Marshall was the leader of the first assertive court

Judicial Review

Judicial Review is the Judicial Branchs Check on the other branches Resolve disputes among the three branches Evaluate legislation Oppose or support the President or Congress Arbitrate issues between the Federal Government and the States The Supreme Court has deemed fewer than 200 laws unconstiutional

In 1986, William Rehnquist became the 16th Chief Justice Supreme Court became the most conservative court in history Although they were appointed by a Republican, Souter and OConnor where the crucial swing votes OConnor stepped down in 2005 and was (eventually) replaced by Samuel Alito Rehnquist passed of throat cancer the same year and was replaced by John Roberts, who had clerked for him early in his career and had argued 39 cases before the court

Recent Court History

Roberts and Alito are still to young for their voting status to be completely deciphered but at the very least they are moderate to conservative

With our recent Court, Liberal judges are seen to have restraint and it is the Conservative judges that are considered to be activists

The future of the court depends on future presidential elections and appointments