APAG Ch. 15 The Judiciary

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APAG Ch. 15 The Judiciary

• Assignment 1
• Pages 452-457

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• Why are the Justices of the Supreme Court
  considered policymakers?

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• 1. They are considered policymakers because they
  have the final say on how the U.S.
  Constitutionthe supreme law of the Landshould
  be interpreted.

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• 2. How many states have elected justices? What
  is meant when we say they are for sale?

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• 2. 39 states have elected judges. They are
  considered for sale because judges increasingly
  are using their discretion in deciding cases to
  satisfy public opinion and campaign contributors.

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• 3. What would be the other major problem if
  justices were elected?

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• 3.If elected and because justices, either liberal
  or conservative, might be changed so often, the
  decisions made by the Court as the final
  interpreter of the Constitution, might not be
  very final.

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• 4. What is common law? Where did it come from?

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• 4. Common Law is judge-made law that originated
  in England from decisions shaped according to
  prevailing custom. Decisions were applied to
  similar situations and gradually became common to
  the nation.

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• 5. What is a precedent? A stare decisis?

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• A precedent is a court rule bearing on subsequent
  legal decisions in similar cases. Judges rely on
  precedents in deciding cases.
• Stare Decisis is the judicial policy of
  following precedents established by past
  decisionsto stand on decided cases.

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• 6. How many countries have common law systems?
  How did they get them?

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• 6. The U.S., Britain, and 13 other countries have
  common law systems. Most acquired them because
  they were colonies of Great Britain.

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• 7. What are the sources of American law?

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• 7. The sources of American law includes the
  federal and state constitutions, statutes passed
  by legislative bodies, administrative law, and
  case lawthe legal principles expressed in court
  decisions.

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• 8. What are state laws called that deal with
  criminal codes, commercial laws, and laws
  relating to variety of other matters?

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• 8. State statutes

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• 9. What are the laws called made by cities,
  counties, and other local bodies? What do they
  deal with?

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• 9. Ordinancesthese ordinances may deal with
  such issues as zoning proposals and public safety.

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• 10. What is another source of law besides the
  ones just mentioned?

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• 10. Rules and regulations issued by
  administrative agencies.

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• 11. What is case law?

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• 11. Case law includes judicial interpretations of
  common law principles and doctrines as well as
  interpretations of constitutional law, statutory
  law, and administrative law.

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• 12. When the Supreme Court decides what a
  constitutional provision or a statutory phrase
  means, what is it actually doing?

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• 12. The Court in effect is establishing law.

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• 13. What kind of court system do we have in the
  United States?

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• The U.S. has a dual court systemstate and
  federal courts.

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• 14. What and when was the first federal secret
  court established? What cases did it hear? How
  many warrants did it approve?

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• The first secret court was established in 1978
  with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
  (FISA), which established a court to hear
  requests for warrants for the surveillance of
  suspected spies. Of the thousands of requests
  for warrants that officials have submitted to the
  FISA court, the court has approved almost all of
  them. (99.9)

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• 15. How did the Bush Administration change the
  powers of the FISA after 9/11?

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• Recent amendments to the FISA changed the wording
  to a significant purposemeaning that warrants
  may now be requested to obtain evidence that can
  be used in criminal trials. The court also has
  the authority to approve physical as well as
  electronic searches, which means that officials
  may search a suspects property without a warrant
  in open court and without notifying the subject.

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• President Bush signed the Military Commission Act
  of 2006 which suspends the Habeas Corpus
  provision of the Constitution.
• This Act allows this President and future
  presidents to permanently detain and/or torture
  (as defined by the Geneva Convention) anyone,
  including American citizens without the
  possibility to defend oneself in a court of law.

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• 16. What did Congress pass after the Oklahoma
  City bombing in 1996? What were its provisions?

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• 16. It passed the Anti-terrorism Act which a
  provision creating an alien removal court to
  hear evidence against suspected alien
  terrorists. A deportation proceeding can be
  held in U.S. district court. The prosecution
  does not have to follow the normal rules and the
  defendant does not have access to the evidence
  that the prosecution used to secure the hearing.

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• 17. What are the two basic requirements before a
  case can be brought before either a state or
  federal court?

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• Jurisdiction and Standing to Sue (a sufficient
  stake in a matter to justify bringing suit).

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• 18. How does Article III, Section 1 limit federal
  courts?

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• It limits the jurisdiction of the federal courts
  to cases that involve either a federal question
  or diversity of citizenship.

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• 19. What makes a case a federal question?

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• A federal question arises when a case is based,
  at least in part, on the U.S. Constitution, a
  treaty, or a federal law.

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• 20. When does diversity of citizenship exists?
  What is the minimum dollar amount required?

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• 20. Diversity of citizenship exists when the
  parties to a lawsuit are from different states or
  (more rarely) when the suit involves a U.S.
  citizen and a government or citizen of a foreign
  country. The amount in controversy must be at
  least 75,000 before a federal court can take
  jurisdiction in a diversity case.

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• 21. Why wont a court give an advisory opinion on
  hypothetical questions?

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• The controversy has to be real and substantial as
  opposed to hypothetical or academic. The courts
  are already overloaded with real cases. They
  would become overloaded if anyone could submit
  hypothetical questions.

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• 22. Describe the three tiers that make up the
  federal court system.

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• (1) The U.S. district courts and various
  specialized courts of limited jurisdiction.
• (2) The intermediate U.S. courts of appeals.
• (3) The U.S. Supreme Court