American Legal System: Key Concepts

• These flashcards cover key legal concepts and principles relevant to the American legal system, court structures, procedures, and judicial appointments.

Limiting Implicit Bias

• Counter-stereotype training can reduce implicit bias.
• Exposure to individuals who defy stereotypes reduces implicit bias.
• Intergroup contact diminishes implicit bias.
• Education aimed at raising awareness about implicit bias.
• Taking the perspective of others helps to limit implicit biases.

Law v. Justice

• Law consists of regulations established by governments.
• Justice is a concept grounded in equality of rights, fairness, and morality.

Majoritarianism

• Majoritarianism emphasizes the primacy of majority rule.
• Institutions (such as the Senate) protect minority rights.

Minoritarianism

• Minoritarianism places primacy on minority rule.

Key Characteristics of the American Legal System

• Courts respond to specific cases and controversies.
• Claimants must request a specific remedy from the court.
• Rules of evidence are rigorously enforced.

Article I Courts

• Created by acts of Congress under Article I.
• Judges typically do not have life tenure.

Article III Courts

• Created by the Constitution or Congress under Article III.
• Judges have life tenure.

Federal Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

• There are 94 federal judicial districts.
• Each state has at least one district, including D.C. and Puerto Rico.
• Each district court includes a U.S. bankruptcy court.
• Appeals from these courts go to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.

Roles of Federal District Courts

• Serve as tiers of fact.
• Enforce norms.
• Engage in policymaking.

Magistrate Judges

• Appointed by judges to manage heavy caseloads.

Venue Shopping

• Selecting a court or jurisdiction perceived to offer a more favorable outcome for a lawsuit.

U.S. Courts of Appeals

• There are 12 regional circuits.
• Each circuit includes a group of federal district courts.
• Referred to as circuit courts.
• Hears cases appealed from federal district courts.
• Appeals go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Roles of the Courts of Appeals

• Error correction.
• Policymaking.

Decision Making Processes of Courts of Appeals

• Screening cases.
• Using three-judge panels.
• Briefing and oral argument.
• Opinion writing.
• Appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Jurisdiction (Original)

• Cases that may not have been heard by any other court.
• A Special Master is usually appointed.

Supreme Court Jurisdiction (Appellate)

• Cases that have been heard by another court and then appealed.

Judiciary Act of 1789

• Created the courts at the federal level, excluding the Supreme Court.

Judiciary Act of 1891 (Everts Act)

• Established the three-tier system of courts of appeal.

Writ of Certiorari

• An order from a higher court directing a lower court to send up a case for review.

Writ of Certiorari Procedures

• Supreme Court Clerk handles initial filings.
• In forma pauperis: waiving of court fees for those without means.
• Chambers review petitions.
• Cert pool (law clerks) evaluate cases.
• Discuss List: list of cases deemed potentially worthy of review.
• Conference: justices discuss and vote on cases.
• Rule of Four: four justices must agree to hear a case.

Merits Docket

• Briefs are submitted.
• Litigants present their arguments.
• Amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs are filed.
• Oral arguments are presented.
• Individual Justices question in order of seniority.

Shadow Docket

• Emergency docket with no oral arguments or briefing.
• Functions as an appeal.
• Policies can be made without full transparency.

Supreme Court Procedures

• Conference: justices discuss the case.
• Opinion assignments:
  • If the Chief Justice is in the majority, they assign the opinion.
  • If the Chief Justice is in the minority, the most senior justice assigns it.
• Opinion circulation and bargaining among justices.
• Opinion announcement.

Opinion Writing

• Justices meet to discuss cases, resulting in preliminary coalitions.

Federalism

• The Constitution divides powers between the federal government and the states.

Federalism Problems

• State courts can restrict or expand rights and liberties.
• Lack of uniformity across the nation.

Courts of Last Resort

• All states have a highest court.
• In states without intermediate appellate courts, appeals go to the highest court as a matter of right.
• Typically address mistakes of law or procedure, not new facts.
• Cases can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Double Jeopardy

• Being tried twice for the same crime, which is unconstitutional.

Problem Solving Courts

• Focus on crimes related to social problems.
• Target specific types of offenders.
• Emphasize rehabilitation over punishment.

Types of Problem Solving Courts

• Community courts address quality of life issues (e.g., prostitution, abandoned buildings).
  • Volunteering is often used as a punishment.
• Domestic violence courts consider special circumstances.
• Teen courts serve dual goals akin to juvenile court.
  • Teaching teenagers about the justice system.
• Mental health courts keep people out of the traditional justice system.
  • They feature mental health assessments and judicial monitoring.

Growth of Problem Solving Courts

• Breakdowns in community institutions spurred their development.
• Surge in incarceration contributed to their growth.
• Emphasis on accountability of public institutions.
• Advances in therapeutic interventions.
• Shifts in public perceptions of crime.
• Federal and state funding.

Problems of Problem Solving Courts

• Give judges too much discretion.
• Can result in inconsistencies across cases.
• Judges may lack appropriate training.
• Potential issues protecting the rights of the accused.
• Can be paternalistic.

Massachusetts Trial Courts

• Seven departments.
• Trial courts of general jurisdiction include
  • District Court
  • Superior Court
  • Boston Municipal Court.
• Trial courts of limited jurisdiction include
  • Juvenile Court
  • Housing Court
  • Land Court
  • Probate and Family Court.

"Show Cause" Hearings

• Significant regional variation.
• Some favoritism of white defendants.
• Bias in favor of defendants with attorneys.

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Notable Decisions

• Commonwealth v. Nathaniel Jennison (1783).
• Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842).
• Goodridge v. Department of Public Health (2003).

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

• Seven justices.
• Located in Boston.
• Oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the nation.
• Hears both civil and criminal appeals, mainly from appeals courts.

Massachusetts Appeals Court

• 25 judges.
• Sit in three-judge panels.
• Located in Boston, but holds oral arguments statewide.
• Some cases bypass the Appeals Court and go directly to the Supreme Judicial Court.

Intermediate Appellate Courts

• Most states have one between trial courts and the court of last resort.
• Appeals are a matter of right, except when a criminal defendant has been found not guilty.
• Address alleged errors.

Civil Law

• Deals with private wrongs.
• Involves no criminal penalties.
• Governs relationships among groups and individuals.

Criminal Law

• Deals with public wrongs.
• Includes criminal penalties sought by the state.
• Governs relationship between individuals and society.

State Trial Courts General Jurisdiction

• Handle civil and criminal cases.
• Cases are presided over by one judge and often a jury.

State Trial Courts Limited Jurisdiction

• Handle specific types of cases.
• Cases are presided over by one judge without a jury.

Jurisdiction of Federal Courts

• Diversity of Citizenship cases.
• Federal Question cases.

Jurisdiction of State Courts

• Any type of case that does not fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal courts.

McCulloch v. Maryland

• A Supreme Court decision declared a state law unconstitutional.
• Any case can be shifted to a federal court if a federal law or constitutional principle is involved.

Non-Lawyer Judges

• Do not have formal legal training but serve in judicial roles.
• Found in lower courts
  • Magistrate judges.

How Seats Open Up on the Federal Courts

• Retirement
  • Rule of 80
  • Senior status
• Resignation
• Death of a sitting judge
• Impeachment
• Creation of new seats

Strategic Retirements

• Judges retire at specific times for professional or political reasons.
• Happens on the district courts and court appeals.

Appointing a Federal Court Judge

• President nominates candidates.
• Senate advises and consents.

Nominee Vetting by President (Federal Court Judge)

• President has a list of potential judges.
• Home state senators play a significant role
  • Senatorial courtesy.
• Interest groups lobby.
• Candidates interview with White House/Justice Department staff.
• FBI conducts background checks.

The Federalist Society

• An external organization used for nominee vetting.
• Outsources judicial nominations.
• Bias toward conservative-leaning candidates.

Nominee Vetting by President (Supreme Court Justice)

• President usually has a list of potential nominees.
• President meets with prominent senators.
• Interest groups lobby.
• Candidates interview with White House/Justice Department staff, and the president.
• Department of Justice and White House conduct background investigations.
• FBI conducts background checks.

Problems in Appointing Supreme Court Justice

• The tradition was that every Supreme Court nominee would get a vote in the Senate.

Senate Judiciary Committee

• Questionnaire and background check.
• "Murder boards" (intense mock hearings).
• Courtesy calls.
• Hearings.

Measuring Bias

• Questions of competence.
• Stereotype questions.
• Tone of senator's questions.
• Interruptions.

Theoretical Approach of Bias

• Gender and racial bias.
• In-group/out-group theory.
• Mediating role of partisanship.

Validity

• Measuring what is intended to be measured.

Reliability

• Ensuring consistency in application of coding protocols.

The Mediating Role of Shared Party Affiliation

• Co-partisans tend to be more "friendly" than opposite party senators.