Transcript The Judiciary - Hackettstown School District

The Judiciary
Judicial Branch
National Judicial Supremacy
• Judicial review of other branches
• Established in Marbury v. Madison 1803
• Judicial Review: the power to declare congressional and presidential acts invalid because they violate
the Constitution
• Judicial review of other branches
• Supremacy Clause of Constitution (Article VI) can nullify state law
• Supreme Court imposes uniformity on national law
• Components
• Declare national, state, and local law invalid if violating the Constitution
• Supremacy of national laws & treaties that conflict with state & local laws
• Supreme Court is final authority on meaning of Constitution
Key Terms
• Criminal Case: court case involving a crime or violation of public order
• Civil Case: involves private dispute from matters like accidents, contractual
obligations, or divorce
• Plea bargain: defendant’s admission of guilt in exchange for a less severe
punishment
• Settle: Parties resolve dispute between themselves outside of court
Key Terms
• Adjudication: court judgment resolving parties’ claims & enforced by the
government
• Opinion: explanation justifying a judge’s ruling
• Lengthy
• Making Policy
• Common Law: legal standards derived from previous judicial decisions (precedents)
• Statutory law: laws enacted by legislatures
• Code law: unchanging (ex. Roman law)
Jurisdiction
Federal Courts
State Courts
Federal crimes
Constitutional questions
Foreign diplomats, citizens, or nations
Citizen of one state suing citizen of
another
5. Often related to expressed powers of
Congress, esp. commerce
6. Drug cases crossing state or national
borders
1. Violations of state law
2. Law suits involving citizens of same
state
3. Drug laws, marriage, divorce, burglary,
murder, etc.
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Organization of
Courts
• US District Courts: lowest
tier, where litigation begins
• US Circuit Courts: second
tier, where decisions of
district courts & federal
agencies may be appealed
for review
• Supreme Court
US District Courts
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94 federal district courts
677 full-time judges
100,000 new criminal and 300,000 new civil cases each year
Each state has at least one district
No district straddles more than one state
Sources of Litigation
• Federal criminal cases, as defined by national law
• Civil cases alleging violation of national law
• Civil cases brought against national government
• Civil cases between citizens of different states when amount in controversy exceeds $75,000
US Court of Appeals
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13 US courts of appeals
179 full-time judgeships
55-60,000 cases each year
Circuit: area covered by the appeals court
• 12 geographic circuits in the US
• 13th circuit deals with federal government issues
US Court of Appeals
• Appellate Court Proceedings
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Public, but lack drama
Reviews procedure & ruling of lower court – NOT evidence
Convene in panels of 3 judges
Receive briefs (written arguments)
• Terms
• Precedent: judicial ruling serving as basis for ruling in a subsequent case
• Stare Decisis: literally “let the decision stand” (making decisions according to precedent)
Supreme Court
• Appellate litigation must satisfy two conditions:
• Case has reached end of line in state courts system
• Case raises a federal question: issue with Constitution, national laws, or US treaties
• Court exercises nearly complete control over its docket (court’s agenda)
• Rule of Four: at least 4 justicies agree a case warrants consideration before it is reviews
• Writ of certiorari: order from higher to lower court demanding the record of a
particular case
Supreme Court
• Solicitor General: highest ranking official of the US Department of justice, who represents the national government before
the supreme court
• Appointed by President
• Determines which cases government should appeal
• Decides if government should file an amicus curiae brief: a brief filed by a ‘friend of the court’ that is not a party to the case but has
interest in it
• Terms
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Judicial Restraint: philosophy whereby judges adhere closely to statues & precedents in reaching a decision
Judicial Activism: philosophy whereby judges interpret existing laws & precedents loosely and interject own values in court decisions
Judgment: decision in a court case
Argument: heart of a judicial opinion; logical content separated from facts, rhetoric, and procedure
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Concurrent Opinion: agrees with court’s decision for a different reason
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Dissenting Opinion: disagreement of a judge with a majority decision
The Opinion
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Chief justice of most senior justice in the majority writes or assigns it
Court’s most critical function
Opinion drafts are circulated & rewritten to accommodate colleagues
Explains the ruling & serves as a precedent for lower/later courts
Recruitment
• Appointments
• No formal requirements
• Federal judges hold commission for life
• President’s appointments are a kind of political legacy
• “Advice & Consent” of Senate
• Senatorial Courtesy – nomination must be acceptable to the home state senator from the
president’s party
• Senate Judiciary Committee conducts hearing for each judicial nominee
• Growing proportion of nominees below the Supreme Court unconfirmed
Current Supreme Court
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Chief Justice John Roberts (59; from Buffalo; GWB)
Antonin Scalia (78 from Trenton; began Reagan)
Anthony Kennedy (78 from Sacramento; Reagan)
Clarence Thomas (66 from Pin Point, GA; GHWB)
Ruth Bade Ginsberg (81 from NYC; Clinton)
Stephen Beyer (76 from San Francisco; Clinton)
Samuel Alito (64 from Trenton; GWB)
Sonia Sotomayor (60 from NYC; Obama)
Elena Kagan (54 from NYC; Obama)