American Government and Organization

1. 0 American Government and Organization PS1301 Monday, 26 April

2. 0 Video • Weighing the Patriot Act: Background • Weighing the Patriot Act: Discussion • The Newshour with Jim Lehrer [PBS] • August 19, 2003

3. Who protects our civil liberties? • Does the constitution guarantee certain absolute civil liberties? • Truth is that our interpretations of these freedoms constantly change. • Question of how to balance individual liberties with societal rights

4. The Courts—The Third Branch • Powerful, but not Democratic • Supreme Court has nine unelected judges appointed for life and are independent from one another • Responsive? • Accountable?

5. Power of the Supreme Court • Originally intended to interpret the constitution • Principal of Judicial Review • Allows the SC to declare the acts of president and Congress unconstitutional • Role of the Court in Civil Rights and Bush v. Gore

6. Limitations on power • Courts are reactive (can only hear cases brought before them) • Lack of enforcement • Limited by the ability of Congress and the president to write new laws (or constitutional amendments) • Public opinion

7. The Structure of the Federal Judiciary • Only the Supreme Court is explicitly mentioned in the Constitution (Article III). • Nature of the judiciary beyond the Supreme Court deferred to Congress. • Judiciary Act of 1789 - created the federal judiciary. • The federal judiciary is organized as a three-layered pyramid.

9. District Courts • Base: 94 district courts staffed by 632 justices. • Every state has at least one district court; the three largest states have four. • These trial courts deal with three types of cases: criminal, civil, and public law.

10. Courts of Appeals • Above the district courts are thirteen courts of appeals, administered by 179 judges, who generally sit in three-judge panels. • Eleven separate geographic regions (circuits) cover the fifty states. • A twelfth circuit is assigned to the District of Columbia. • A thirteenth, called the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has a nationwide jurisdiction and deals mostly with federal policies.

11. The Supreme Court • The Supreme Court is the court of final appeal. • Under its appellate jurisdiction, the Court may hear cases appealed from the lower courts or directly from the highest state courts when an important constitutional question is in dispute. • Decision on which cases to accept is based on the Rule of Four.

12. Supreme Court’s Case Load • In a few rare situations the SC has original jurisdiction (meaning it is the first to hear the case). Example: disputes between states • Another unusual route is certification, when an appeals court requests a review to settle a question of law. • The majority of cases are appeals (via the Court of Appeals).

13. Deciding Cases • English Common law • Principal of stare decisis (precedent) • Judicial restraint vs. judicial activism

14. Reasoning • Majority opinions • The Court majority sends a signal to lower courts, lawyers, potential litigants and others how they are likely to treat similar cases in the future. • Concurring opinions • Agrees with decision but not reasoning • Dissenting opinions • Explains why they disagreed with the ruling. Dissents can be important as they lay the groundwork for future decisions.