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The Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch. National Judiciary. During the Articles of Confederation years, there were no national courts and no national judiciary. Creation of National Judiciary. The States applied and interpreted the laws. What was the problem here?

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The Judicial Branch

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  1. The Judicial Branch

  2. National Judiciary • During the Articles of Confederation years, there were no national courts and no national judiciary.

  3. Creation of National Judiciary • The States applied and interpreted the laws. • What was the problem here? • Decisions by one court might be ignored by court from another state.

  4. Dual Court System • Keep in mind this important point: there are (2) separate court systems. • National system and state system.

  5. Dual Court System

  6. Federal Courts • The Constitution creates the Supreme Court and leaves to Congress the creation of the inferior courts: • the lower federal courts. • Over the years Congress has created (2) distinct types of federal courts:

  7. Federal Court System

  8. Federal Courts

  9. Federal Court Jurisdiction • DEFINE jurisdiction • Authority to hear (try and decide) a case • What kinds of cases does the Constitution give to the Federal Courts: • They deal with (1) the subject matter or (2) the parties involved

  10. Types of Jurisdiction

  11. Appointment • We have seen early that the President nominates all Federal judges and the Senate confirmsthe appointment.

  12. Senatorial Courtesy • President nominates someone recommended by the Senator of the state where the Federal Judge is to serve. • Where do most Federal Judges come from? • Legal scholars, law professors, state courts, leading attorneys.

  13. Very Important! • The concepts of judicial activism and judicial restraint often play a part in the judicial selection process.

  14. Judicial Activists • Belief that a judge should use his/her position to promote desirable social ends.

  15. Judicial Restraint • Belief that a judge should defer to the actions of the executive and legislative branch.

  16. Terms of Judges • Judges are appointed for life - until they resign, retire, or die in office. • They may also be removed through the impeachment process: • 13 have been impeached and 7 have been removed throughout US History

  17. Special Courts • Judges who sit in the special courts are not appointed for life. • Congress sets the terms for the various courts.

  18. Salaries • Salaries: • Set by Congress • Retirement: • Full salary if serve 10 years (age 70) or 15 years (age 65)

  19. Court Offices • Today, Federal judges have little involvement in the day-to-day administrative operations of the courts over which they preside. • What is their primary mission? • Hear and decide cases.

  20. Court Offices • Judges have support from: • a clerk • several deputy clerks • Bailiffs • court reporters • stenographers

  21. US Marshall • What do they do for the judges? • Make arrests in federal cases • Hold persons in custody • Keep order in courtrooms

  22. District Courts • Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789 created the District Courts and today there are 94 of them.

  23. Federal Districts • The 50 states are divided into 89 federal districts and 5 other districts for other territories and districts - eg. Washington DC.

  24. Federal Districts - PA Middle Eastern Western

  25. District Courts • A single judge in each district often hears cases – but certain cases may be a heard by a 3-judge panel. • What is the FISA court? • Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court

  26. District Jurisdiction • District Courts have original jurisdiction over most cases heard in federal courts. • Most of the decisions made in federal court are final, some cases may be appealed the court of appeals; few go directly to the Supreme Court.

  27. District Jurisdiction

  28. The Courts of Appeals • Established in 1891 to act as “gatekeepers” to relieve the Supreme Court of the burden of hearing appeals from the district courts. • The Supreme Court then was 3 years behind its docket = list of cases to be heard.

  29. Appellate Judges • Today there are 12 courts of appeals in the judicial system. • 12 judicial circuits. • Today there are 179 circuit judges that sit on these appellate courts and a Supreme Court justice is also assigned to each circuit.

  30. Appellate Jurisdiction • They hear cases on appeal from the lower federal courts. • They hear about 55,000 cases a year and their decisions are final unless what happens? • Unless the Supreme Court chooses to hear appeals taken from them.

  31. Court of International Trade • Created in 1890 with 9 judges. • Holds trials in major port cities such as New Orleans, New York and San Francisco. • What kinds of cases does it hear? Civil cases arising out of tariff or trade related laws.

  32. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit • Created in 1982 and has national jurisdiction. • Why was it created? • To centralize and speed up appeals in certain kinds of civil cases.

  33. The Supreme Court

  34. Judicial Review • Judicial review: extraordinary power to decide the constitutionality of an act of government, whether executive, legislative, or judicial.

  35. Judicial Review • Who does the ultimate exercise of this power rest with? • The United States Supreme Court

  36. Marbury v Madison • This case (1803) first asserted the Court’s power of judicial review. • Chief Justice John Marshall’s powerful opinion was based 3 propositions:

  37. Marbury v Madison • The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. • Legislative acts and other actions of government are subordinate to supreme law. • Judges are sworn to enforce the provisions of the Constitution.

  38. Effect of Marbury • Supreme Court has the right to declare act of Congress unconstitutional. • Laid the foundation for the judicial branch’s key role in development of the American system of government.

  39. Supreme Court Jurisdiction • The Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction • Where do most of the cases come from? APPELLATE

  40. Supreme Court Jurisdiction • The Constitution spells out two classes of cases that may be heard by the High Court in its original jurisdiction: • Those in which a state is a party • Those affecting ambassadors, other public ministers or consuls

  41. Path to Court • Some 8,000 cases are now appealed to the Supreme Court each year. • Of these the Court accepts only a few 100 for decision.

  42. Path to Court • What is the rule of four? • At least 4 of the 9 justices agree that a case should be put on the Court’s docket.

  43. Path to Court • More than half the cases decided by the court are disposed of in brief orders. • This means the case is returned to the lower court for reconsideration in light of a recent or related case by the High Court.

  44. Writ of Certiorari • Most cases reach court this way. • Order by the Court directing a lower court to send up a record in a given case for review. • When a certiorari is denied – the lower court decision stands.

  45. Certificate • A few cases reach the Court by certificate. • This means a lower court asks the Supreme Court to certify the answer to a specific question in a complex matter.

  46. Court Operation • The Court sits from the first Monday in October to sometime the following June or July. • How is each term identified? By the year in which it began.

  47. Oral Arguments • Once the Supreme Court accepts a case, its sets a date on which that case will be heard. • This is done in 2-week cycles.

  48. Oral Arguments • They hear oral arguments in several cases for two weeks. • Then they recess for two weeks to do what? • The Court considers those cases and handle other court business.

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