FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM

Chapter 16

p. 430

I. DUAL COURT SYSTEM51 Courts

Virginia State Courts1.General District Cts. a. misdemeanors small crimes2.Circuit Court a. felonies, large crimes (murder)3.Va.Court of Appeals4.Virginia Supreme Ct.

Federal Courts 1.Federal District Court a. Federal crimes, tax or mail fraud2.U.S.Court of Appeals

3.U.S.Supreme Court – if a federal quesiton is

involved, state case goes straight here

II. The U.S. Supreme Court

A. The Nine Supreme Court Justices

1. Who are they? You will get a hand out that gives a brief biography of each

2. How do they get their job? a. President appoints/criteria 1) age 2) experience 3) Does he/she think like him? 4) Demographics – Does the court look like America? b. Senate must approve

B. Terms and salary

1. Serve for life because

2. Salary cannot be reduced because

III. Supreme Court Procedure

A. Writ of Certiorari: A court order by the Court to send a case up for review (to be made more certain

1. Takes the “rule of four” – four justices

must agree to hear case

2. Must raise an important constitutional

issue. Only about 150 heard out of

8,500

B. Briefs are filed – each

side files their side of the case with

supporting cases (stare decisis) 1. Amicus curiae (friends of the court: Those people not actually a party to the case but have an interest in its outcome. 2. Example: N.O.W.files concerning no Medi- caid for abortions.

C. Oral Arguments: Each side gets 30 minutes to present his side of the case

1. Heard in two week cycles. Two weeks

listening, two weeks writing

2. Opinions are not fast.

D. Conferences: In closest secrecy, cases are discussed and voted on

1. Chief justice presides –

He gives his opinion first followed by the others 2. A vote is tallied as they speak. 3. Only those cases that pose difficult questions or where the lower court disagree reach the Supreme Court.

E. Opinions: How and why the court decided the way it did.

1. If Chief Justice is in

majority, he assigns

who writes the

majority opinion

2. Senior justice who voted with minority assigns the dissenting opinion

G. Types of opinions

1. Majority opinion: the official published

opinion of the Supreme Court

2. Concurring opinion: Justice voted with

the majority but for different reasons

3. Dissenting opinion: Justices give their

reasons for disagreeing. The minority

opinion of today could be the majority

opinion of tomorrow.

H. Why are Supreme Court decisions so

important?

Opinions set the precedents that all states must follow. Each decisions has the strength of law. Examples are Roe vs.

Wade, Miranda vs. Ariz., and Brown vs. State Board of Topeka, Kansas.

IV. Power of the CourtA. Court has overturned over 160 laws

(abortion, school segregation, etc)

1. All congress has to do is pass a

revised law such as restrictions

on recent voting restrictions

B. Frequency Court Reverses itself

1. Usually Court decides based on “stare

decisis” (let the decision stand) Why?

a. Keeps law stable and not chaotic.

b. Maintains equal justice: That which is

fair for one must be fair for another

2. Court has overruled itself over 260 times

which shows its power.

3. Another measure of Court’s power is

agreeing to hear “political questions such

gerrymandering or the 2000 election

4. And finally the Court’s power is measured

by kinds of “remedies it imposes.

examples: Prison reform or requiring all

schools to teach English to foreign

students

IV. Judicial Restraint vs. Judicial Activism

A. Definitions:

1. Judicial Restraint: Deciding cases on

precedent and original intent. Legis-

ture should make changes because

they are controlled by elections

2. Judicial Activism: Deciding cases in a

way that changes direction of gov’t

policy.

IV. Judicial Restraint vs. Judicial Activism