80 likes | 209 Views
Judicial Branch . The Supreme Court, Equal Justice under the Law, The Federal Court System. #49 The Supreme Court. Head of the Judicial Branch Justices: The Judges who sit on the Supreme Court Bench Size of the Court is determined by the Congress Constitution doesn’t specify
E N D
Judicial Branch The Supreme Court, Equal Justice under the Law, The Federal Court System
#49 The Supreme Court • Head of the Judicial Branch • Justices: The Judges who sit on the Supreme Court Bench • Size of the Court is determined by the Congress • Constitution doesn’t specify • Number has been set at 9 since 1869 • Justices are appointed by the President, approved by Senate • Appointed for Life, can only be removed through the impeachment process
#49 The Supreme Court • Annual salary for Chief Justice is $181,400 • Associate Justices get $173,600 • Justices are typically men and all have been lawyers • Sandra Day O’Connor: first woman appointed to the court in 1981 • Ruth Bader Ginsburg: appointed in 1993 • Thurgood Marshall: first African American in 1967
#49 The Supreme Court • Judicial Review • Unique feature of US Court system • Judicial Review: courts have the power to determine whether a law or presidential action is Constitutional • Supreme Court holds ultimate authority • Unconstitutional: a law that conflicts with the US Constitution • Constitution doesn’t specify this • John Marshall: Chief Justice from 1801-1835
#49 The Supreme Court • Influence of John Marshall • Idea of Judicial Review was promoted by Marshall for the first time in 1803 in the case of Marbury v. Madison • Marbury v. Madison • Involved William Marbury, who’d been promised appt. as Justice of the Peace and Secretary of State James Madison • Significance: established the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review
#49 The Supreme Court • Supreme Court cannot begin a case on it’s own • Mainly an Appeals Court • Supreme Court decides which cases it will hear and places them on it’s docket. • Docket: the calendar/schedule for the Court • Supreme Court chooses to hear cases that involve issues of significant public interest • 4 judges have to want to hear the case • If it refuses, then original decision stays in effect • Remand: Supreme Court can order a case to a lower court fo a new trial
#49 The Supreme Court • Supreme Court begins session on the first Monday of October and ends in late June • Once a case is to be heard, lawyers for each side prepare a brief. • Brief:a written statement explaining the main points of one side of the argument • Lawyers then present their case to the Court • Get only 30 minutes • Court then issues it’s opinion. • Concurring Opinion: what a Justice writes when they agree with the ruling but for different reasons • Dissenting Opinion: a written explanation as to why a Justice disagreed with the decision of the Court
#49 The Supreme Court • The Court helps make the Constitution a flexible document by meeting the demands of society as it changes • In addition to judicial review and being an Appeals Court, the Supreme Court has Original Jurisdiction: the right to hear a case for the first time • Involving diplomatic representative of another country • Involving disputes btw states • Involving a State and the Federal government