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THE JUDICIAL BRANCH. Why it Matters. The framers of the Constitution believed in the need for a national judicial system. The Constitution outlines the structure of the federal judiciary, the jurisdiction of the courts, and the functions of federal judges. Defense of a Judiciary.
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Why it Matters The framers of the Constitution believed in the need for a national judicial system. The Constitution outlines the structure of the federal judiciary, the jurisdiction of the courts, and the functions of federal judges.
Defense of a Judiciary Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Paper #22 “Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation.”
Dual Court System The Constitution creates the Supreme Court and leaves to Congress, the creation of the Inferior Courts. Inferior Courts= Lower Federal Courts, those beneath the Supreme Court.
2 Kinds of Federal Courts Over the years Congress has created Two distinct types of federal courts: 1.) The Constitutional Courts 2.) The Special Courts
Constitutional Courts The Constitutional Courts are the federal courts that Congress has formed under Article III to exercise “The judicial power of the United States.”
Constitutional Courts Together with the Supreme Court, hey now include the Courts of Appeals, The District Courts, and the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Constitutional Courts These courts hear cases involving the constitutionality of laws; criminal and civil cases involving the laws and treaties of the United States; and disputes between two or more states.
Constitutional Courts Article III Court judges are nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate and have life tenure, which can be taken away only through impeachment and conviction by the U.S. Senate.
Special Courts The Special Courts do not exercise the broad “Judicial Power of the United States.” Rather, they have been created by Congress to hear cases arising out of some of the expressed powers given to Congress in Article I
Special Courts Article I Courts do not have full judicial power. They cannot issue a final decision in all questions of Constitutional law, all questions of federal law or hear claims at the core of habeas corpus issues.
Special Courts U.S. Court of Federal Claims Terri-torial Courts Courts of the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims U.S. Tax Court These courts are sometimes called the Legislative Courts.
Federal Court Jurisdiction The Constitutional Courts hear most of the cases tried in the federal courts. That is, those courts have a jurisdiction over most federal cases. Jurisdiction= defined as the authority of a court to hear (to try and decide) a case.
Federal Court Jurisdiction • The Constitution gives the federal courts jurisdiction over certain cases. Article III, Section 2 provides that the federal courts may hear a case because of either- • The subject matter. • The parties involved.
Types of Jurisdiction The federal courts have several different types of jurisdiction, depending on whether or not they share the power to hear the case with the State courts and they are the first court to hear the case.
Types of Jurisdiction In some of the cases the federal courts have Exclusive Jurisdiction. Exclusive Jurisdiction= Cases can be heard only in the federal courts.
Legal ‘Speak’ Plaintiff- The person who files the suit. Defendant- The person whom the complaint is against.
Jurisdiction A court in which a case is first heard is said to have original jurisdiction over that case. A court that hears a case on appeal from a lower court has appellate jurisdiction over that case.
Jurisdiction In the federal court system, the district courts have only original jurisdiction, and the courts of appeals have only appellate jurisdiction.
Jurisdiction The Supreme Court exercises both original and appellate jurisdiction.
The Appointment of Judges • Judges are appointed by the President. • Judges are confirmed by the Senate. • Historically appointments were accepted if the Senator from that state supported the appointed Judge. • This is referred to as Senatorial Courtesy. • This is not the case any longer.
The Appointment of Judges Terms of a Judge • Judges are appointed for life. • We want impartial judges, not subject to the emotion and whims of the masses. • If they were elected, they may craft decisions to get re elected. • Special Court Judges serve 15 year terms.
The Appointment of Judges • Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution reads, in part: “ The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good behavior…” This means that the judge are appointed for life-until they resign, retire, or die in office.
The Appointment of Judges They may be removed only through the impeachment process. Only 13 federal judges have ever been impeached.
Types of Jurisdiction Many cases may be tried in either a federal court or a State court. If so, then the federal and State courts have Concurrent Jurisdiction.
Constitutional Basis • Power of Judiciary is established by Article III, section one of the Constitution. • Mentions only a Superior court. • No mention of Lower courts. • Judiciary Act of 1789 set up the Supreme Court, 3 Circuit Courts and 13 District Courts.
Limits on Power • Cases must be Justifiable, or appropriate for review by the courts. • Must wait for a case to be brought to them. • Can only rule on legal matters. • Involved parties must have standing, a vested interest, in the case. • Supreme Court will only hear a case as a last resort. • Burden of Proof is on the plaintiff. • Case must involve a specific portion of the Constitution • A person can not question a law that they benefit from.
