the national judiciary. creation of a national judiciary in the times of the articles of...
TRANSCRIPT
The National Judiciary
Creation of a National Judiciary
In the times of the Articles of Confederation there were no national courts
Court decisions in one state was most likely denied in other states
A National Judiciary established by Article III of the Constitution
“the judicial 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”
US Constitution: A Dual Court System
The US has two separate courts Federal Courts State Courts
Jurisdiction: Who gets to Hear and Decide a Case Plaintiff: person making legal
complaint Defendant: person against whom
the case will be tried If a case can only be heard by
federal courts it has exclusive jurisdiction
If the State and Federal courts both hear a case it has concurrent jurisdiction
Original and Appellate Jurisdiction
A court in which a case is first heard has original jurisdiction
A court that hear a case on appeal from a lower court has appellate jurisdiction
The appellate court can uphold or overrule a decision from a lower court
Two Kinds of Federal Courts
Judiciary Act of 1789: Proposed a 3 tier structure for the Federal Courts
Federal Courts are divided into Supreme Court Inferior Courts
Inferior Courts are divided into The Constitutional Courts The Special Courts
Appointment of Federal Judges
Appointed by President with Senate consent Usually from President’s political party Senatorial Courtesy-a senator from
the same state as the nominee may block the nomination for any reason.
Confirmation begins in Senate Judiciary Committee
Terms
The judges of the constitutional courts are appointed for life – until they resign, retire or die in office
The judges of the special courts serve 15 year terms
Can be impeached by Congress
Pay Congress controls the pay of Judges Both House and Senate versions of the bill
call for the same pay increases. District court judges' salaries would go
from $165,200 to $218,000; appeals court judges would rise from
$175,000 to $231,000 Supreme Court associate justices would
go up from $203,000 to $267,900. The chief justice's salary would go from
$212,000 to $279,000.
Benefits
They may retire at the age of 70 if they served at least 10 years
They will receive full salary for the rest of their lives
The Chief Justice may call any retired judge back to temporary duty in a lower court at any time
Inferior Court System
Federal District Courts Created by Judiciary act of 1789 600 judges hear 50 states divided into 89 federal
districts Hear both criminal and civil cases
US Court of Appeals Hears appeals from District Courts
US Court of Appeals
Created in 1891 by Congress to relieve the Supreme Court’s overloaded docket Currently separated into 12 different
courts(circuits) Each court is assigned 12 judges to
hear cases in their assigned circuits Each court also has a Supreme Court
Justice assigned to oversee cases 3 judges required to provide ruling
Review
1. Why was a national court system formed?
2. Inferior Courts are divided into what two courts?
3. What's the difference between exclusive and concurrent jurisdiction?
4. What is the difference between original and appellate jurisdiction?
The Supreme Court
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the only court established by the constitution (Article III)
Composed of 1 Chief Justice (John Roberts) and 8 Associate Justices
How Cases Reach the Court Over 8,000 cases a year are
appealed to the Supreme Court Only a couple hundred are heard
because they already agree with a decision of a lower court
Rule of 4- In order for the Supreme Court to hear a case, 4 of 9 justices must agree to hear the case
How Cases Reach the Court Most cases reach the Supreme
Court by writ of certiorari (Latin meaning “to be made more certain”)
A writ is an order by the Court directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review
How Cases Reach the Court A few cases reach the Court in yet
another way, by certificate This process is used when a lower
court is not clear about the procedure of the rule of law that should be applied in a case
Oral Arguments
The Supreme Court hear arguments on Monday – Wednesday & sometimes Thursday
Lawyers arguments are always limited to 30 min
The Court hears oral arguments for 2 weeks; they then recess for two weeks to consider the cases
Opinions
The Courts decision is often called the majority opinion.– It announces the Court’s decision in
a case and sets out reasoning on which it was based
The majority opinions stand as precedents, or examples to be followed in future cases
Opinions
Justices may add or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion with a concurring opinion
One or more dissenting opinions are written by justices who do not agree with the court’s decision
Judicial Restraint vs. Judicial Activism
Judicial Restraint: – Judge should interpret const. based on framers’ intent– Laws only overturned if clear violation of Const. original
meaning– defer to the actions of the Executive and Legislative
branch in making decisions unless case is clear violation of Constitution. Don’t believe in “making law from the bench”
Judicial Activism: – Judge can adapt the meaning of the const. to meet
demands of modern realities– Belief that Constitution is a living document that
evolves with the times– judge often use position to promote desirable social
ends
Highlights of Supreme Court History The Marshall Court
– Headed by Chief Justice John Marshall
Marburry vs. Madison (1803)- establishes principal of Judicial Review
McCulloch v. Maryland-expand implied powers through interpretation of necessary and proper clause
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)- asserted federal govt’s power to regulate commerce
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)- – Scott (a slave) sued for his freedom– Taken to free territory of Illinois by
owner– Supreme Court ruled that he was
still a slave and that slaves were never envisioned to become citizens
Plessy v. Ferguson– Discrimination/Segregation case
that established Separate but Equal doctrine that fueled segregation in the South until 1954
The Court and The New Deal– In the 1930’s the court clashes
over FDR’s New Deal programs– FDR proposed a law that would
allow him to add 6 new Justices to the Supreme Court
– “Attempt to “pack the Court” met with fierce resistance, FDR withdraws but due to his lengthy time as President, appoints many liberal justices
The Warren Court (1953- 1969)- 16 year period led by Chief Justice Earl
Warren- Many justices were FDR appointees- Seen as very liberal, judicial activist period of
court- Brown v. Board of Education (1954)- overturns
Plessy’s “Separate but Equal” doctrine/ makes segregation illegal
- Expanded rights of people accused of crimes (Miranda v. Arizona)
- Ended prayer in public schools