Transcript The Judicial Branch - Granville County Schools

The Judicial Branch
Origins of the Supreme Court
 Constitutional Origin. Article III, §1, of the
Constitution provides that “[t]he judi-cial Power of the
United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in
such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time
ordain and establish.”
 created by authority of the Judiciary Act of
September 24, 1789.
 Jurisdiction:



Cases with ambassadors or other public
ministers
Between two states
United States Laws and treaties
Members of the Supreme Court
 Chief Justice of the United States
 WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST
 Associate Justices
 JOHN PAUL STEVENS
 SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR
 ANTONIN SCALIA
 ANTHONY M. KENNEDY
 DAVID H. SOUTER
 CLARENCE THOMAS
 RUTH BADER GINSBURG
 STEPHEN G. BREYER
Overview of the Judicial Branch
1. Function:
Interpret Laws
2. Structure
a.
b.
c.
District Court – Starting point of most cases
Appellate Court – 3 Justice panel – appeals only
Supreme Court – Original and Appellate Jurisdiction – Highest
Court in the Land
3. Method of Selection
Presidential Appointment with approval from Senate
4. Term of office – Life (or Retirement)
Judicial Review
 Duty to interpret laws and uphold the
constitution
 John Marshall established Judicial Review
(ability to deem laws unconstitutional) with
Marbury v. Madison
 McCulloch v. Maryland (1819, Marshall). The
Court ruled that states cannot tax the federal
government, i.e. the Bank of the United
States; the phrase "the power to tax is the
power to destroy"; confirmed the
constitutionality of the Bank of the United
States.