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Unit 4: Judiciary, Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Judicial Branch
+The National Judiciary- Creation of a national judiciary
Article III of the Constitution
Creation of a national judiciary: Federalist Paper #22 “Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operations”. Articles of Confederation did not have a judiciary at the national level.
+The National Judiciary- Creation of a national judiciary
! A dual court system: two kinds of courts in the United States, further discussing the establishment of federalism ! National Judiciary ! State Judiciary
+The National Judiciary- Creation of a national judiciary
! 2 kinds of federal courts ! Supreme Court of the United States
! Inferior Courts: created as needed by Congress
! Constitutional courts: judicial power of the United States (Article III courts)
! Special courts: created by Congress to hear cases arising out of some of the expressed powers of Congress from Article I
+The National Judiciary: Federal Court Jurisdiction
! Federal court jurisdiction: any court not heard by federal courts are jurisdiction of the state courts (federalism) ! Jurisdiction: authority of the court to hear a
case ! Article III, section 2 provides that the federal
courts may hear case because ! Subject matter ! Parties involved
+National Judiciary: types of jurisdiction
! Exclusive and concurrent jurisdiction ! Exclusive jurisdiction: case can be heard only in
the federal court
! Concurrent jurisdiction: case can be heard in federal or state court
! Congress has provided that federal can hear cases with diverse citizenship (dispute between citizens of different states) if $75,000 dispute or higher
! Plaintiff: person who files suit ! Defendant: person being sued
+National Judiciary: types of jurisdiction
! Original and appellate jurisdiction ! Original jurisdiction: court in which a case is 1st
heard has original jurisdiction
! Appellate jurisdiction: court in which case is heard on an appeal (re-hear) from a lower court" they can uphold, overrule or modify the ruling of the original court
+National Judiciary: Appointment of judges
! Appointment of judges: Article II, section 2, clause 2 ! President appoints, advise and consent of the Senate
! Senatorial courtesy: senators from the state where the district court judge will be serving are given consideration during conversations
! Background: legal experience, political affiliations, past decision-making
! Views: judges serve for decades" agreement with President’s legal, political, economic and social views
! Decision making philosophy
! Judicial activism: use position to promote changes to the interpretation of the Constitution (usually for social ends)
! Judicial restraint: hold to precedent, decisions of Congress and President " unless actions are unconstitutional
+National Judiciary: Terms and pay of judges
! Terms and pay of judges: Article III, section 1 ! Constitutional courts appointed for life: resign, retire or die (to
ensure independence from influence)
! Removal by impeachment process (Senate)
! Only 15 brought up on impeachment"8 removed
! Special courts serve 15 year terms
! DC = 4 year term, DC appellate= 8 year term
! Salaries and benefits (2014 updated): for life! ! Supreme Court: Chief=$255,500, Associate= $244,400
! US Court of Appeals: $211,200
! US District Courts and most other courts: $199,100
! Magistrates and others make 92%
+National Judiciary: Court officers
! Clerk, deputy clerks, bailiffs, reporters, stenographers, probation officers, etc.
! Magistrates: 8 year term ! Handle legal matters once dealt with by judge
! Issues warrants, set bail, etc.
! Bankruptcy judge: handle bankruptcy cases under the direction of the district court
! US marshals: perform duties for a federal district like a county sheriff ! Arrests, serve legal papers, etc.
+Inferior Courts: District Courts
Created by Judiciary Act of 1789
! Federal judicial districts-94 ! Each state has a least 1 judicial district
! At least 2 judges to each district
! District court jurisdiction ! Criminal case: defendant is tried for committing some action
that Congress has declared by law to be a federal crime
! Civil case: noncriminal matters that deal with federal laws
+Inferior Courts: Court of Appeals
Gate keepers to relieve the US Supreme Court of hearing appeals from the district courts (1891)- 12 court of appeals (circuits)
! Appellate court judges ! 3 or 4 judges per state within circuit
! a US Supreme Court justice is assigned to each court
! Appellate court jurisdiction: only have appellate jurisdiction, where they hear cases from the lower courts
+Inferior Courts: Other Constitutional Courts
! Court of international trade: hears civil cases arising out of tariff and other trade-related laws
! Court of appeals for the federal circuit: (1982) created to centralize the handling of appeals in certain cases ! Nationwide jurisdiction
! US Courts of International Trade, Federal Claims and Veterans Claims
+The Supreme Court: Makeup of the Court the court of last resort Article III, section 1
! Chief Justice: established by Article I, section 3, clause 6 ! John Roberts- 2005 (Bush)
! Associate Justices: 8 established as of 1869, Judiciary Act of 1789 revised ! Antonin Scalia- 1986 (Reagan)
! Anthony Kennedy- 1988 (Reagan)
! Clarence Thomas- 1991 (Bush)
! Ruth Bader Ginsburg- 1993 (Clinton)
! Stephen Breyer- 1994 (Clinton)
! Samuel Alito-2006 (Bush)
! Sonia Sotomayer-2009 (Obama)
! Elena Kagan- 2010 (Obama)
! Retired, but still living: Sandra Day O’Connor (1981-2006), David Souter (1990-2009), John Paul Stevens (1975-2010)
+The Supreme Court: Judicial Review
not mentioned in the Constitution, but implied by Framers (Article III, section 2 and Article VI, section 2" supremacy clause)
! Marbury v Madison (1803): US Supreme Court established judicial review as implied by their enumerated powers in the Constitution
! Effects of Marbury ! Supreme Court has the right to declare acts of Congress
unconstitutional
! Interprets federal law and applications as being constitution (or not)
! Provides foundation of Judicial Branch as part of the checks and balances system
+The Supreme Court: Jurisdiction
Most cases are appellate in nature
! Original jurisdiction: (Article III, section 2)
! State is a party ! Ambassadors, public ministers and consuls
! Appellate jurisdiction: coming from a lower court
+The Supreme Court: How do cases reach the USSC?
! 8,000 cases on average appealed to the USSC ! Petitions to the court
! Writ of certiorari: order to review lower courts documents
! Rule of four: 4 of 9 justices must agree that case should be put on docket (list of cases) for review
! Certificate: lower court is unsure and requests USSC to review matter
+The Supreme Court: How the court operates
October to June/July is a calendar year.
! Oral arguments: layers make their public presentation to the court ! Placed on the docket after court determines to hear the case
! Two weeks of oral arguments
! Two weeks of conferencing
! Briefs: written documents filed with the court prior to oral arguments ! Amicus curiae briefs: friend of the court (interest groups will file
briefs to the court of their concerns and wishes
+The Supreme Court: How the court operates
! Solicitor general: the third highest ranking official of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the one who represents the national government before the Supreme Court ! Duties of the solicitor general
! Determining whether the government should appeal lower court decisions
! Reviewing and modifying briefs filed in government appeals
! Deciding whether the government should file amicus curiae briefs: briefs filed (with the permission of the court) by an individual or group that is not a party to a legal action but has an interest in it.
! Roles of the solicitor general ! Advocate for the president’s policies
! Officer of the Court
+The Supreme Court: How the court operates
! Court in conference: ! Chief begins conversation, discusses points and
indicates direction of vote
! Rest of Associates (in order of seniority) discuss point and indicates direction of vote
! Debate
+The Supreme Court: How the court operates
! Opinions: Chief justice (if majority) writes majority; if not senior associate in majority writes ! Majority opinion: (Opinion of the court) decision and rationale
! Precedent: examples to be followed on similar cases
! Rationale is very important to be noted for this reason
! Concurring opinion: Agree with majority, but for different or additional reasons
! Could be used by the court in future cases
! Dissenting opinion: Disagree with majority and rationale
! Could be used by the court in future if opinion changes
+Special Courts
created by Congress to hear cases arising out of some of the expressed powers of Congress from Article I
! Court of federal claims
! Territorial courts
! District of Columbia courts
! Court of appeals armed forces
! Military tribunals
! Court of appeals for veteran claims
! US Tax Court