US Constitution Article 3: Judicial Branch

• Article 3 of the US Constitution outlines the provisions and powers of the judicial branch, which balances the other two branches of government.
• The judicial branch is tasked with interpreting and enforcing laws.
• The federal judicial branch has established the American court system as a foundation for settling disputes.
• Before the creation of the judicial branch under the Articles of Confederation, no judicial branch of government existed.
• The absence of a judicial branch under the Articles of Confederation, served as a motivation to create a new Constitution.
• Most of the power rested with Congress, who held the authority to make decisions for the nation.
• The framers of the US Constitution instilled the power of interpreting and making decision based on the law within the judicial branch of government
• The framers strategically distributed power, avoiding concentrating it in either the presidential or congressional branches.

"Least Dangerous" Branch

• In 1787, Alexander Hamilton believed the judiciary would be the weakest of the three departments of government, calling it the "least dangerous" branch.
• Initially, the national government even forgot to include space for the justices of the Supreme Court when moving to the District of Columbia.
• Today, the role of the courts, especially the Supreme Court, differs significantly from the vision in 1788, the year the national government was established.
• Elected presidents nominate judges to federal courts and justices to the Supreme Court, which often advances their personal politics.
• The selection process, and the process by which cases are heard by the Supreme Court, is often political.
• Interest groups seek out test cases to advance policy positions, while the Department of Justice aims to advance its version of the public interest in court.

Scope and Development of Judicial Power

• The Constitution and the creation of the federal judiciary, the American legal system, and the federal court system.
• Constitution and the creation of the federal judiciary, including the Judiciary Act of 1789 and the establishment of the federal judicial system.
• Article III of the Constitution established the Supreme Court, but Congress was tasked with creating other federal courts.
• The American legal system encompasses the concepts of civil and criminal law.
• The federal court system comprises specialized courts, district courts, courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court, which is the ultimate authority on all federal law.
• All appointments to the federal district courts, courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court are made by the president and are subject to Senate confirmation.
• Only a small fraction of the millions of cases filed yearly in courts across the United States eventually reach the Supreme Court through the appellate process.
• Judicial philosophy and decision-making involve judicial decision-making relies on a range of legal and extra-legal factors.
• Framers believed that a federal judiciary posed little of the threat of tyranny that they feared from the other two branches.
• James Madison made apparent at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia that Article III, which created the judicial branch of government, was written and given little thought by the Framers.
• There was an argument about the ratification process of the constitution.
• Alexander Hamilton insisted that it was the least dangerous, but Anti-Federalists disagreed.
• Anti-Federalists feared that the ability to interpret "the supreme law of the land" would grant the Supreme Court too much power.
• The Framers also debated the need for federal courts below the Supreme Court level.
• Some advocated for deciding all cases in state courts, with only appeals going to the Supreme Court, while others argued for a system of federal courts.

Constitution

• Article III, section 1, vests "The judicial Power of the United States... in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish."
• A compromise was reached between the two sides that left the final choice to Congress.

Judiciary act of 1789

• The Judiciary Act of 1789 is the federal act that established the lower federal courts and defined other functions of the federal judiciary.
• This act included specifying the jurisdiction and powers of the district and circuit courts, alongside regulating the qualifications and authority of federal judges, district attorneys, court clerks, U.S. Marshals, and Deputy Marshals.

Judicial Review

• The power of the courts to review acts of other branches of government and states.
• Judicial review is not explicitly stated in the Constitution.
• Judicial review was resolved in the Marbury v. Madison (1803) case.
• Section 1 of the Constitution granted Congress the authority to establish other courts.
• Section 2 specifies the judicial power of the Supreme Court, including the Court's original and appellate jurisdiction.
• All federal crimes, excluding those involving impeachment, shall be tried by jury in the state where the crime was committed.
• Section 3 defines treason and mandates that at least two witnesses appear in such cases.
• Although the Chief Justice presides over presidential impeachments, it is not mentioned in Article III.
• Article I, section 3, addresses the “When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside.”

Life Tenure of the Judges

• Article III states that these judges "hold their office during good behavior,” meaning they have a lifetime appointment, except under very limited circumstances.
• Framers did not want the justices (or any federal judges) subject to the whims of politics, the public, or politicians.

Checks on the Power of the Judiciary

• The Constitution gives Congress the authority to alter the Court's jurisdiction.
• Congress can propose constitutional amendments to reverse judicial decisions and can impeach/remove federal judges.
• The president, with the Senate's advice, appoints all federal judges.