Judicial Branch Notes

The Judicial Branch: Jurisdiction:  Federal courts: - Article 111, Section 1 vests judicial power in the supreme court and other inferior courts created by congress - Judges serve “during good behavior” - Appointed by the president with the “advice and consent of the sen...

The Judicial Branch: Jurisdiction:  Federal courts: - Article 111, Section 1 vests judicial power in the supreme court and other inferior courts created by congress - Judges serve “during good behavior” - Appointed by the president with the “advice and consent of the senate” according to Article 11, section 2 - Essentially serve for life - Article 111, section 2 lists certain types of cases that must be heard by the Federal Courts The Role Of The Lower Courts: - Resolving disputes: - Between people - Between state/fed governments - Between government and the people - Can include criminal and civil cases, with the “guilty” or “not guilty” verdicts - Criminal cases you go to prison- civil cases you dont - Setting precedents: (guidelines for later courts to follow) - Interpreting the law: (what do they mean? Is the government enforcing them correctly?) Jurisdiction: - Original - Article 111, Section 2 lists cases in which the supreme Court has this - The authority to hear cases initial trial - District courts have this in most cases - Appellate: - All other cases must come to S.C. Upon appeal (banana) - The supreme court doesn’t have the ability to look at someone and say I want that one, pick and choose which one only when they appeal do the - They only decide the cases that are brought to the The authority of the lower federal courts to hear the initial trial-original jurisdiction- of cases involving: - The constitution and federal laws - Diplomats - Treaties - The US government  - State governments - Citizens of other countries or of more than one state The Federal Court System: - Step 1-District Courts - -94 Us Dist-Hear 342000 cases/yr - Trial by jury (only federal court with jury) - Step 2- Appeal (Circuit) Courts - 12 courts of Appeal- Hear 61000 cases/yr - Panel 3 judges, sometimes more - No cases start here; they review district - (CA in the 9th circuit) Step3: The Supreme Court - Created by the Constitution - Marbury v. Madison - Judicial Review - Increased influenced over policy of the other branches - The justices - Presidential appointment - Senate confirmation/ rejection - Serve for life - Seated L-R: Alitoo, Thomas, Chief justice Roberts, Breyer, Sotomayor - Standing L-R: Kavanaugh, kagen, Gorsuch, Convey Barret What SCOTUS does: - They do not decide guilt or innocent - They usually interpret the laws, or decide if a state or federal government has created a law or done something in violation of the constitution - Most cases come to a SCOTUS on appeal - If SCOTUS decides if a law is unconstitutional, its because a case came to them- they cannot decide on their own The Supreme Court: - What the court does - Writ of certiorari - Decided in conference for consideration of cases - Rule of Four- 4 justices have to want to hear case - Granted or denied  - If granted, case placed on docket (calendar) - Filling of Briefs - Petitioner, respondent, amicus curiae - Smith V Jones= (petitioner V Respondent) - Hear Oral Arguments - Usually 30 minutes each side; justices can interrupt with questions - Research ( assisted by clerks) - Conference - Consider and decide cases (vote) - Unanimous v. split Types of Opinions: - When an opinion is written(a decision), it often takes months and many drafts - Per Curiam Opinion- Unsigned, brief - Opinion of the court/majority opinion- justices in the majority must draft an opinion setting out the reasons for their decision; this decision has essentially the force of law - Dissenting opinion-Justices who disagree wit the majority opinion write their side - Concurring Opinion- Justices who agree with either majority or dissenting justices for other reasons can give their opinion Influences on Court Decisions: - The constitution and the law - Judicial Philosophy - Strict interpretation (what does the law say and intent when written) - Loose interpretation(how might the law be adapted to changes over time) - Briefs - Lawyers - Amicus curia(outside parties/ interest groups) - Precedent(Stare decisis-let the previous decision be the guide) Influences on Justices: - Justices are not elected appointed by president - However not entirely immune to public opinion 1. Appointed by prez may share his ideologies; Prez was elected chosen because of bias of public 2. Justices are aware of public opinion, and are aware decisions that strongly go against public opinion not always be followed Judicial Activism v. Judicial Restraint:  - Judicial activism: - Encourages judges to actively use judicial review to interpret and enforce the constitution - Courts are equal to LB and EB in interpreting Const. =>makes changes in the law - Judges should use power to correct injustices when other branches fail or refuse to do so - Courtss should play an active role in shaping policy on issues like civil rights, protection of liberties, political fairness and public morality - Judicial restraint: - Courys should uphold acts of the congress/statelegislatures except those that ckearly violate the const - Courts should defer to const interpretation of congress and president when possible - Hesitate to use judicial review in promotion of new ideas/policy preferences - Jobs to interpret, not rewrite;Do not legislate from the bench” Issues raised by judicial activism and judicial restraint: - Federal judgesoverstep their powers through judicial activism - Courts areassuming responsibilities of other branches become unelected legislators if activist - Undemocratic - If federal judge exercise judicial restraint Limits on the supreme court: - Limits on types of issues and cases-must be brought through appeal - Checks and balances - Ways the courts power can be checked: - Appointment process of justices congress may alter the structure of the court system (#of courts and justices) - Congressional power to pass amendments (eg 16th amendment to allow for income taxes) - Court must rely on branches states and officials to enforce its ruling - Refusal of states or individuals to obey judicial decisions Types of law: Criminal law: - Felonies(murder rape burglary) - Misdemeanors - Law that defines crime against the public order and provides for punishment(jail, fines) - Government is responsible for enforcing criminal law; mostly handed by states  Civil law: - Law that governs the regulations between individuals and defines their legal rights (eg suits, monetary compensation, divorce and custody agreements) Types of Law: Statutory Law: - Rules on running government  Common Law: - Judge-made law; precedent; the rule of stare decisis, which means”let the decision stand;” Implies that a rule established by a curt is to be followed in all similar cases  Constitutional Law: - Statements interpreting the US Constitution  Admiralty and Maritime Law: - Applicable to cases concerning shipping and water way commerce  Administrative Law: - Relating to the authority and procedures (rules and reg) of administrative agencies Elements of American Law: - two opposing sides - Lawyers - Impartial judge - Parties in a case: - criminal and civil law - Plaintiff and defendant - Petitioner and respondent (SCOTUS case) Elements of American Law: - Presumption of innocence - Burden of proof on prosecution (often State) or plaintiff - Due Process of law(government must follow rules andrespect restablished rights of people) - Substatntive (law itself must be fair and reasonable) - Procedural(law must be applied equally and fairly) - Equal Justice under the law - Trial by jury - Grand (12-23 people; decided if there is enough evidence for an indictment-to bring case to trial)  - Petit (usually 12; people in a community who are chosen to hear a case to determine a persons guilt or innocence) Differences between civil law and criminal law: Civil law: - Applies to private disputes - Punishable by fines Criminal law: - Applies to actions prohibited by the government - Punishable by fines or imprisonment - The police system enforces criminal laws Steps an accused person goes through after his or her arrest: 1. Appearance in court before a judge to determine if bail should ne set 2. Preliminary hearing-judge decides if enough evidence exists against the accused to be formally charged 3. Indictment-the accused is formally accused before a grnad jury or by an information 4. Arraignment-the accused is formally 5. Jury selection- prosecution and defense choose a jury of 6 to 12 people for trial to begin 6. Trial 7. Verdict 8. Judge gives you your punishment - A defendant might chose a plea bargain to avoid going to trial by Parole: - The early release of convicts from poison - Determined by a parole board - Based on the prisoners previous record - And the facts of the crime he or she committed - Set based on the time remaining on the sentence The controversy of capital punishment: - Arguments supporting it: - - costs less than life imprisonment - Deters people from committing murderous crines - Is a just punishment - Arguments opposing it: - - has a costly appeals process - Does not deter people from committing murderous crimes - May lead to the death of innocent people - Is cruel and unusual - Is discriminatory in the way it s administered