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Judicial Branch

Judicial Branch. Unit 4 Chapters 11 and 12. Dual Court System : state and federal courts work concurrently Jurisdiction : the authority to hear cases (what type of cases are heard and where) Concurrent jurisdiction : both state and federal courts can hear this case

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Judicial Branch

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  1. Judicial Branch Unit 4 Chapters 11 and 12

  2. Dual Court System: state and federal courts work concurrently • Jurisdiction: the authority to hear cases (what type of cases are heard and where) • Concurrent jurisdiction: both state and federal courts can hear this case • State: cases involving state laws • Federal: cases involving federal laws • US laws, treaties, interpretation of Constitution, 2 state govs, people from different states, foreign diplomats Organization

  3. Legislative vs Article III • Created by the Legislature (Necessary and Proper Clause) • Tax Court, Military Court • Created by the Constitution in Article 3: • Supreme Court + other inferior courts Types of Courts

  4. District Courts (94 spread out across country) • Appeals (13 spread out across country) • Supreme (1 in Washington, DC) Structure of Federal Courts

  5. Original jurisdiction – trials, cases heard for the first time, guilt or innocence is decided Uses both a Grand and Petit jury Grand: decides if gov has enough evidence to put you on trial, issues an indictment if so Petit: Listens to prosecution and defense and decides guilt or innocence Bench: used instead of a petit sometimes, judge decides guilt or innocence District (94)

  6. Appellate jurisdiction: hears appeals from lower courts • 12 districts each with one court • 13th is reserved for national jurisdiction • Usually a panel of 3 judges hears the case • Decides whether or not a legal error occurred in original trial • Can do 1 of 3 things: • Reverse the lower court’s ruling • Remand the case back to lower court for a redo • Affirm the original court’s decision Appeals

  7. Highest court in the land • Appellate or original jurisdiction • 9 justices (1 Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices) • John Roberts, Jr is current Chief Justice • Article III: president appoints justices with approval by Senate, justices serve during “good behavior” ie for life as long as they behave (freedom from political pressures) Supreme

  8. Trial at the district level • Appeal to the Appeals court • Appeal to Supreme Court • Petition Supreme Court to hear your case (~10,000/year) • Grants Writ of Certiorari, an order to send up info (~1,000 per year) • Discuss List, consider to consider (~650) • Rule of 4, 4 justices must agree to hear case (~100) • Issue Per Curium Opinion and done or: • Request more info from attorneys Reaching the Supreme Court

  9. So you’ve made it past the Rule of 4 and the justices have requested more information… • Lawyers will submit “Briefs” (summaries, transcripts, evidence, precedents, etc) • Lawyers will present Oral Arguments in front of the justices, usually only allowed 30 minutes and justices can ask questions • Justices go into closed conferences to argue and debate • Justices vote and make their decision • Write Opinions • Make the announcement Supreme Court at Work

  10. Written documents • State facts, decision and justification or reasons • Can become precedents Opinions

  11. Unanimous: all justices vote the same way • Majority: at least 5 justices vote one way, that’s the final decision • Dissenting: those justices that are on the losing side • Concurring: some justices are on the winning (majority) side, but made their decision for different reasons Opinions

  12. Until recently, few women, African American, or Hispanics served • LBJ: Thurgood Marshall, first African American • Ronald Reagan: Sandra Day O’Connor first female • Barack Obama: Sonya Sotomayor first female hispanic Justices

  13. Using Judicial Review: examining laws and actions of the government for constitutionality (Miranda v Arizona) 2. Interpreting laws: What do existing laws mean? (Americans with Disabilities Act) 3. Reversing previous decisions: Changes in society and court composition can bring reversals (Plessy v Ferguson/Brown v BOE) Shaping Policy

  14. Judicial Restraint vs Judicial Activism • How strictly do justices interpret the Constitution? Allow for leeway? Do they see their position as an active source of societal change or are they to strictly interpret the wishes of the founding fathers? • Judicial Restraint = strict interpretation • Judicial Activism = actively making policy changes through decisions Judges Actions

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