The Judicial Branch - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 20
About This Presentation
Title:

The Judicial Branch

Description:

The Judicial Branch Constitutional Guardians – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:258
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 21
Provided by: antonj150
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: The Judicial Branch


1
The Judicial Branch
  • Constitutional Guardians

2
Introduction
  • Today, there are 51 court systems in the US (one
    for each state a separate federal system)
  • 95 of all cases are heard in state court- only
    5 make it to federal court
  • Under the Articles of Confederation, there was no
    federal court
  • The Constitution established the Supreme Court
    and gave Congress the power to create all other
    federal courts

3
What is Jurisdiction?
  • Jurisdiction- the authority of a court to hear a
    case
  • There are 4 types of jurisdiction
  • Exclusive- case can only be heard in a particular
    court
  • Concurrent- state federal courts could both
    hear the case
  • Original- a court is the first to hear a case
  • Appellate- a court hears the case from a lower
    court on an appeal

4
Federal Courts can hear a case if
  • The subject matter deals with the Constitution, a
    treaty, or a law passed by Congress
  • The subject matter arising on the high seas or
    navicable waters of the US
  • US Govt officials are involved
  • An ambassador or foreign minister are involved
  • A US citizen is suing a foreign govt
  • One of the parties are from the same state where
    both claim land in a different state

5
Federal District Courts
  • Federal Trial Courts of original jurisdiction
    hear both civil and criminal cases
  • District Courts handle 80 of all federal cases
    (300,000 cases a year)
  • 89 Federal District Courts nationwide that are
    divided into 12 regions (circuits)
  • Over 600 judges preside over district courts

6
Federal Circuit Court
  • Created by Congress in 1891 to reduce the work
    load of the Supreme Court
  • Only has appellate jurisdiction
  • They hear 55,000 cases a year
  • Usually hear appeals from District Courts
  • 12 of these courts nationwide
  • Approximately 180 judges
  • Judges usually hear cases in panels of three (en
    banc)

7
Supreme Court
  • Made up of a Chief Justice and 8 Associate
    Justices (9 in total)
  • Sometimes called court of last resort
  • Has both original and appellate jurisdiction, but
    almost always hears cases on appeal
  • 7 to 8,000 cases appealed to Supreme Court each
    year but they only hear a few hundred

8
Judges
  • The president appoints federal judges and the
    Senate confirms the appointments
  • Most judges are leading attorneys, scholars,
    professors, or state judges
  • Terms
  • Constitutional Court Judges- Life
  • Special Court Judges- 15 years
  • Pay
  • Chief Justice 202,900
  • Associate Justices 194,200
  • Federal Circuit Court of Appeals judges 164,100
  • Federal District Court Judges 154,700

9
More on the Supreme Court
  • Cases arrive at the Supreme Court in 2 ways
  • From one of 50 State Supreme Courts
  • From one of the Circuit Courts of Appeals
  • Once a case has arrived on the docket, the Court
    decides rather or not to hear it

10
Hear or no Hear?
  • At least four justices must agree to hear a case
    before it is accepted
  • Writ of Certiorari- directs lower court to send
    up record of the case for review (appealing to
    the Supreme court is asking for a writ of
    cert---most are denied)
  • The Supreme Court will not usually hear a case
    unless it raises some important Constitutional
    question

11
Court Operation
  • The Court considers cases in 2 week cycles from
    October to May
  • Briefs are filed with the court that support each
    side of the case
  • Sometimes, the court hears oral arguments (each
    side gets 25 minutes to speak)
  • Justices meet in conference on Wednesdays and
    Fridays to consider cases
  • It usually takes months for the court to reach a
    decision (sometimes they speed up the process)

12
Decision Time
  • A decision is made by majority vote
  • 3 Opinions are written
  • Majority Opinion- The official written opinion of
    the court
  • Concurring Opinion- A justice gives of different
    explanation of why he/she agrees with the
    majority
  • Dissenting Opinion- Justice(s) give an
    explanation of why they disagree with the majority

13
Influences on Opinion
  • Judicial Activism- a judge uses his/her opinion
    to promote desirable social ends (ex. Civil
    Rights, social welfare)
  • Judicial Restraint- a judge should defer his/her
    opinion to the actions of other two branches
    (expect when actions are clearly unconstitutional)

14
Who makes up the Supreme Court?
  • There are 4 justices considered to be
    conservatives on the Supreme Court
  • From L to R- Chief Justice John Roberts (50 yrs
    old- appointed by GW Bush), and associate
    justices Antonin Scalia (66- Reagan)

15
Who, Part II
  • From L to R-Associate Justices Samual Alito (55
    yrs old- appointed by GW Bush), and and Clarence
    Thomas (54- H.W. Bush)

16
Who else?
  • There are 3 justices considered to be liberals on
    the Supreme Court
  • From L to R- Associate Justices John Paul Stevens
    (82 yrs old- appointed by Ford), Stephen Breyer
    (64- Clinton) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (69-
    Clinton)

17
Who else, else?
  • There are 2 justices considered to be swing votes
    on the Supreme Court
  • From L to R- Anthony Kennedy (66- Reagan) and
    David Souter (63- H.W. Bush)

18
What are Special Courts?
  • Special Courts- courts created by Congress to
    hear certain cases
  • 8 of these have since been created

19
Some Special Courts
  • US Court of Federal Claims- hears civil claims
    against the US Government
  • US Tax Court- hears civil cases dealing with
    taxes
  • US Court of Intl Trade- hears civil cases
    arising out of trade related laws
  • Territorial Courts- Courts set up for US
    Territories (Guam, Puerto Rico)

20
Some more Special Courts
  • Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims- hears
    appeals from decisions made by the Dept. of
    Veterans Affairs
  • Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit- hears
    appeals from the Court of Intl Trade, Court of
    Federal Claims, and Court of Appeals for Veterans
    Claims
  • Military Court- conducted by military (court
    martial)
  • Court of Military Appeals- hears appeals from
    military court (civilian judges)
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com