The Judicial Branch

1
The Judicial Branch

• Chapters 11 12

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GPS SSGC 16

• Students will demonstrate knowledge of the
  operation of the federal judiciary.
• Explain the jurisdiction of the federal courts
  and state courts.
• Explain how John Marshall established the Supreme
  Court as an independent coequal branch of
  government through his opinion in Marbury v.
  Madison ( Judicial Review).
• Describe how the Supreme Court decides cases.
• Compare the philosophies of judicial activism and
  judicial restraint.

3
Jurisdiction of the Courts

• The United States has a dual court system of
  state and federal courts.
• The authority to hear certain cases is called the
  courts jurisdiction.
• States courts have jurisdiction over cases
  involving state laws.
• Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases
  involving United States laws, foreign treaties,
  and interpretation of the Constitution.

4
Jurisdiction of the Courts

• Federal courts also have jurisdiction if certain
  parties or persons are involved
• Ambassadors and representatives of foreign
  governments
• Two or more state governments
• The United States government or one of its
  offices or agencies
• Citizens who are residents of different states
• Citizens who are residents of the same state but
  claim lands under grants of different states.

5
Jurisdiction of the Courts

• In some cases federal and state courts have
  concurrent jurisdiction, shared.
• In the federal court system, the district court
  in which a case is originally tried is a trial
  court. It has original jurisdiction.
• Federal courts of appeals have only appellate
  jurisdiction, or authority to hear cases appealed
  from district courts.

6
Jurisdiction of the Courts
7
Developing Supreme Court Power

• The Supreme Court has become the most powerful
  court in the world its power developed from
  custom, usage, and history.
• No federal court, including the Supreme Court,
  may initiate action. The courts must wait for
  litigants, people engaged in law suits, to come
  to them.

8
Judicial Review

• The Supreme Court gained much power as a result
  of the case of Marbury v. Madison.
• This case established the precedent of Judicial
  Review, the right of the Supreme Court to declare
  an act of Congress unconstitutional.

9
Constitutional Courts

• Courts established by Congress under the
  provisions of Article III are Constitutional
  Courts.
• These include the federal district courts, the
  federal courts of appeals, and the United States
  Court of International Trade.
• The federal district courts were created by
  Congress as trial courts for both civil and
  criminal cases.

10
Constitutional Courts

• District Courts use two types of juries in
  criminal cases.
• A Grand Jury hears charges against a person. If
  they believe there is sufficient evidence, they
  issue and indictment, a formal accusation
  charging a person with a crime.
• A Petit Jury, or trial jury, weighs the evidence
  presented at a trial.
• District courts carry the main burden in federal
  cases and in most cases render the final decision.

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Constitutional Courts

• The 13 courts of appeals ease the appellate
  workload of the Supreme Court.
• There are 12 judicial circuits, or regions, with
  one appellate court in each circuit. The 13th
  court is a special appeals court with national
  jurisdiction.
• The courts of appeals may decide to uphold the
  original decision, reverse the decision, or send
  the case back to the original court to be tried
  again.

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Constitutional Courts
13
Selection of Federal Judges

• According to the Constitution, the president has
  the power to appoint all federal judges, with the
  approval of the Senate.
• Presidents often appoint judges who share their
  own points of view on key issues.
• Thurgood Marshall was the 1st Black Justice on
  the Supreme Court. Sandra Day OConnor was the
  1st woman Justice on the Supreme Court.

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Marshall OConnor
15
The Supreme Court
16
The Supreme Court
17
The Supreme Court

• Only one person has held the two highest offices
  in the land, serving as president of the United
  States and later as chief justice of the Supreme
  Court. William Howard Taft served as
  twenty-seventh president of the United States
  from 1908 to 1913 President Warren G. Harding
  later appointed Taft chief justice of the Supreme
  Court, a position he held from 1921 until his
  death in 1930.

18
William Howard Taft
19
The Supreme Court

• The Court has original jurisdiction over two
  types of cases those involving representatives
  of foreign governments, and those in which a
  state is a party.

20
Supreme Court Justices

• Congress sets the number of Supreme Court
  justices. It has been nine since 1869
• The Court consists of eight associate justices
  and one chief justice.
• Congress sets the salary of the justices and may
  not reduce it.
• Congress may remove justices by impeachment for
  treason, bribery, or other high crimes and
  misdemeanors.
• The justices duties are not defined in the
  Constitution but have evolved from laws and
  through tradition, according to the needs of the
  nation.

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Supreme Court Justices

• The justices main duty is to hear and rule on
  cases.
• The justices also have limited duties related to
  the 12 federal judicial circuits on occasion
  they may serve on high-level commissions

22
Supreme Court Justices

• Most justices have been federal or state judges
  or have held other legal positions such as
  attorney general most have considerable legal
  experience, are in their 50s or 60s, and come
  from upper socioeconomic levels.

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The Justices
24
Chief Justice
John Roberts Jr. Appointed September 29, 2005
25
1st Chief Justice
John Jay
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Supreme Court Decision Making

• Ch 12

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How Cases Reach the Supreme Court

• The majority of cases concern appeals.
• Most appeals concern cases in which a lower state
  or federal court has ruled laws unconstitutional.
  Cases the Court chooses not to hear are
  dismissed, and the ruling of the lower court
  becomes final.
• Most cases reach the Court by writ of certiorari,
  in which either side petitions that a lower
  courts decision involved an error raising a
  serious constitutional issue.

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How Cases Reach the Court

• The chief justice puts certiorari cases on a list
  for discussion two thirds never make the list.
  If four of the nine justices agree, a case is
  accepted.
• Some cases are decided by a brief, unsigned
  statement of the Courts decision called a per
  curium opinion the rest are given the Courts
  full consideration.

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Steps in Deciding Major Cases

• Each side submits a brief, a written statement
  detailing legal arguments, facts, and precedents.
  
• Parties not directly involved but with an
  interest in the case may submit amicus curiae,
  friend of the court briefs.
• Lawyers for each side make arguments during which
  justices ask questions.

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Steps in Deciding Major Cases

• The justices debate each case. Each justice has
  one vote a majority vote is needed to decide a
  case.
• The justices may issue four kinds of opinions a
  unanimous opinion, a majority opinion, a
  concurring opinion, or a dissenting opinion.
• Justices written decisions, opinions interpret
  the law and help shape public policy.

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Steps in Deciding Major Cases

• Unanimous Opinion All agree.
• Majority Opinion Most agree.
• Concurring Opinion Agree with the majority but
  for a different legal reason
• Dissenting Opinion Disagrees with the majority.

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Did You Know?

• The Constitution sets no basic requirements for
  Supreme Court justices, not even age limits or
  citizenship. Neither a law degree nor prior
  experience as a judge is mandatory.

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Shaping Public Policy

• The Court determines policy in three ways
• 1. using judicial review
• 2. interpreting laws
• 3. overruling or reversing its previous
  decisions
• Judicial Review is the authority of the Supreme
  Court to declare a law unconstitutional.

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Shaping Public Policy

• The Courts rulings become precedents, or models,
  on which to base other, similar decisions.
• Since times change, the Court may overturn or
  reverse its earlier decisions.
• Some decisions create social change.

35
Judicial Review
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court who wrote the majority opinion in
the Marbury v. Madison decision.
36
Judicial Review

• There are two areas of thought on how the court
  should use its power to influence society.
• Judicial Restraint the court should avoid
  taking the initiative on social and political
  questions.
• Judicial Activism the court should play a role
  in shaping national policies.

37
Limits on the Supreme Court

• Generally, the Courts decisions have dealt
  largely with civil liberties, economic issues,
  federal laws and regulations, due process, and
  suits against government officials.
• Civil liberties cases make up the largest number
  of Court cases appeals from prisoners comprise
  about one-fourth of its cases.

38
Limits on the Supreme Court

• The Court hears only cases where its decision
  will make a difference. Plaintiffs must have
  suffered real harm, or cases must involve a
  federal question. The Court avoids political
  issues.
• The Court may never initiate an action.

39
Limits on the Supreme Court

• The Courts power to shape public policy also is
  limited by its own limited ability to enforce its
  decisions. Noncompliance by other courts also is
  difficult to monitor.
• Ex The Court could not enforce its decision that
  the Indian Removal Act was unconstitutional.

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Basing Decisions on the Law

• Justices must base their opinions on the law, not
  on personal opinions.
• The Court must relate their interpretations to
  the Constitution itself, relevant statutes, and
  legal precedents.
• This means that they have to back up their
  decision with the law.

41
Balancing the Courts Power, Checks and Balances

• The power of presidents to fill vacancies on the
  Court, as every full-term president but Carter
  has done, gives presidents influence over the
  Court.
• The president is responsible for enforcing the
  Courts decisions, but he or she may do so
  vigorously or with little enthusiasm.
• Congress has the power to limit the Courts
  ability to hear certain cases may propose a
  constitutional amendment to overturn a decision
  may set, but not reduce, the justices salaries
  and uses its confirmation power to shape the
  Courts position on social issues.

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Major Supreme Court Decisions

• Marbury v. Madison established Judicial Review.
• Miranda v. Arizona established that police must
  inform a person of his or her rights upon arrest.
  
• Plessey v. Ferguson established that separate
  but equal was constitutional.
• Brown v. BOE of Topeka over turned Plessey v.
  Ferguson.
• Gideon v. Wainwright poor defendants in
  criminal cases have the right to a state paid
  attorney.
• Roe v. Wade no states can pass laws restricting
  a womans right to an abortion.