The Judicial Branch

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:

8. Federal Court System

9. Federal Courts

10. 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

11. Types of Jurisdiction

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

13. 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.

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

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

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

17. 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

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

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

20. 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.

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

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

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

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

26. Federal Districts - PA Middle Eastern Western

27. 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

28. 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.

29. District Jurisdiction

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. 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.

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. The Supreme Court

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

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

38. 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:

39. 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.

40. 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.

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

42. 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

43. 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.

44. 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.

45. 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.

46. 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.

47. 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.

48. 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.

49. 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.

50. 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.