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Chapter 8THE FEDERAL COURT AND THE
JUDICIAL BRANCH
Section 1
The Federal Court System
The American court system
Judicial Independence is the cornerstone of our nations Judicial system because safe guards the rule of law and protects it from all other entities.
No person is above the law and all people are entitled to equal justice
American court system
A big reason for the new Constitution was the manner in which the courts worked
Under the Articles of Confederation there were no Federal Courts only State Courts
Each state court may have a different interpretation of a law and therefor people would not know which law to truly follow
American court system
It was very confusing with many state courts and no centralized federal court.
With the Constitution there was created a Federal Court that was alongside each state courts and answered directly to the Constitution.
State courts answered to state constitutions
The majority of cases in the United States go to the State Courts
American court system jurisdiction
Jurisdiction says what type of cases a certain court has the authority to hear.
A few examples of Jurisdiction are as Exclusive Jurisdiction (sole right to hear a case) or Concurrent Jurisdiction (cases that fall under both state and federal cases)
Concurrent Jurisdiction generally is involved when a case involves people from multiple states and the money exceeds $75,000 in a case.
American court system jurisdiction
When you have a case a Plaintiff (person making the legal complaint in court) files a case in either Federal or State Court against the Defendant (person the complaint is against in the court).
The 1st court that a case is heard in has Original Jurisdiction over the case.
After a case is heard if the defendant or plaintiff do not like the result the court’s ruling they have the ability to appeal it to a higher court that has appellate jurisdiction over the matters.
Structure of the federal court system
The Constitution does not go into great detail of the structure of the Courts system
Article III, Section 1 states simply that “the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts, as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”
Structure of the federal court system
In the 1st session of Congress it passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which laid out the details of the Supreme Court and a 3 tiered structure for the Federal Courts
The 3 tiers were as follows : District Courts
Circuit Courts
Supreme Court
District Courts
District Courts are spread all throughout the country and hear the majority of cases.
District Courts have original jurisdiction over the vast majority of criminal and civil court cases
There is 94 Federal Judicial districts. There has to be atleast 1 court in every states
Court of appeals
Circuit Courts are a layer of courts above District Courts
They were called Circuit because originally the Judges would travel around from place to place having court
Circuit Courts are now primarily called the Court of Appeals because they generally hear appeals from district court cases
The United States has 12 different circuits in which they have a court of appeals in each circuit
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the top Court in the Federal Court system
The Supreme Court is mainly an appellate court there are only a few specific instances where the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction as listed in the Constitution “cases involving Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and anything in which the State shall be a party”
Originally the Court had 1 Chief Justice and 5 Associate Justices. In 1869 they changed it to 1 Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices
The court receives about 8,000 requests for cases a year it chooses which cases it will see and on average sees about 100 cases a year.
Appointing Federal Judges
The President nominates Federal Judges and then the Senate must approve this
When nominating a Federal Judge a President takes 4 factors into consideration: Legal expertise- Most Judges are trained, experienced lawyers
Party Affiliation- Presidents generally prefer Judges from their political party so they will share the same political views as he does.
Judges Judicial Philosophy- Generally this falls back on Judicial restraint (Interpret the Constitution as it was intended, more conservative) as opposed to Judicial Activism (The Judge can adapt the original meaning in the constitution to make the ruling fit to contemporary realities.)
Approval of the Senate - Presidents consult and respect the decision of Senators on nominations because they have the power to block any nomination from happening .
Checks and balances
The Judicial Branch has a big role in the nations checks and balances system by way of Judicial Review (determining if any action is Constitutional or Unconstitutional.
Judicial Review was established in 1803 in the Marbury v. Madison Case
While Judges may have life terms Congress can Impeach a Judge
The other check is that Congress can make an unconstitutional item constitutional by way of making an amendment
Judges have lifetime terms so they will be free to do their job with no political agenda
They also may not have their pay reduced during their term for the same reasons
Section 2
LOWER FEDERAL COURTS
Federal district courts
District Courts are the lowest tier on the court system
There are 94 federal court districts
Cases involving residents of different states or cases between the United States and a foreign government
Civil offenses or cases that involve Civil Rights
Criminal offenses which can be anything seen as criminal
In a serious criminal case the case goes before a grand jury and they decide whther it is worthy of filing criminal charges before it goes to the courts
Bankruptcy is a federal case as well that deals with when a person cannot pay what they owe to a person
Federal district courts
Judges are the primary person in any case and they preside over the trial
Magistrate judges oversee early hearings of a criminal case during routine matters of the case and they may hear all misdemeanor cases (minor offenses.)
The clerk in the court takes care of all judicial jobs (maintaining records, handling money received, and overseeing jury recruitment)
Federal district courts
Each court has 1 district attorney which their job is to represent the United States Government in all matters
The DA and assistant Da are employees of the US department of Justice
US attorneys are appointed by the president and serves a 4 year term
Public defenders are provided to people in court who cannot afford to hire an attorney for themselves
Each court has a US Marshall who is responsible for protection at federal courthouses and they transport prisoners, track down and arrest people, and provide protection for witnesses
Federal court of appeals
The middle tier of federal courts is the court of appeals
There are 13 court of appeals in America
There job is to hear cases that are on appeal from district courts
These courts hear about 65,000 cases a year
Criminal cases are filed by a defendant who was found guilty the federal government cannot appeal a “not guilty” charge
Civil cases either side can appeal the ruling
Appeals are rarely overturned only 9% were overturned in 2009
Federal court of appeals
Most appeals are heard by a randomly selected panel of 3 circuit judges
No new evidence is allowed only briefs (written arguments) from the original case
Generally this court is the final say in a case, sometimes they may send the case back to the original court in order to hear other issues
1982 Congress created the Court of appeals for the federal circuit
Other federal courts
U.S. Court of International Trade- deals with import / export laws
U.S. Tax Court- Deals with tax issues with the IRS
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims- Issues with military veterans benefits or other matters with them.
U.S. Court of Federal Claims- Issues where claims against the government for more than $10,000
Other federal courts
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Services- Court-martials are heard when a military person breaks the military code in this court
National Security Courts- There are 2 courts in this branch that deal wit the protection of US citizens. Intelligence Surveillance Court- (1978) deals with government spying operations
on American soil
Alien Terrorist Removal Court- (1996) deals with removal of potential terrorists from the country
Military Commissions- tries people suspected of being “enemy combatants” of the United States. The case Hamdan v. Rumsfield (2006) tried the legality of this court which forced the President and Congress to change the rules of this court
Section 3
The Supreme Court
Highlights of Supreme Court History
Alexander Hamilton wrote extensively in The Federalist about the federal Judiciary and the powers of the Supreme Court.
He stated the Judiciary branch was the “weakest of the 3” but he saw the critical role the Judicial branch had in Judicial Review
Chief Justice John Marshall
In 1801 John Marshall was appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice
He was a Federalist and he served for 34 years
He made the Judicial Branch equal to the Executive and Legislative Branch
He dealt with the Marbury v. Madison in 1803 which asserted the Courts powers of Judicial Review
Chief Justice John Marshall
The case dealt with out going President John Adams appointment of William Marbury as Justice of the Peace
In coming President Thomas Jefferson ordered Secretary of State James Madison not to deliver Marbury’s commission
Marshall ruled in favor of Jefferson
This declared the courts right to review material in Judicial Review and declared parts of the Judiciary Act of 1789 Unconstitutional
Chief Justice John Marshall
He also ruled in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) – this case made the necessary and proper clause a powerful mechanism for the courts
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) was another important case that helped regulate interstate commerce
Dred Scott
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) was an important case under Chief Justice Roger Taney which ruled in favor of states rights and slavery and denied Dred Scott and his wife the right to be free even though they had lived in a free state for a time
This case was one issue that helped lead to the Civil War
Civil Rights
Following the Civil War the main rights dealt with in the courts were Civil Rights of freed slaves and Economic regulations
They dealt with the 13th , 14th, and 15th Amendments (Civil War amendments)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) the courts ruled in favor of Ferguson and ruled people of different races could be separate but equal.
Meaning segregation was legal
Courts and the New Dea l
The court dealt with many cases from 1899-1937 and clashed with Presidents on economic regulation as it viewed it as an assault on property rights
The Court declared some of FDR’s New Deal programs unconstitutional
In time FDR reshaped the courts to more of a liberal type of court
1950’s – Present
Chief Justice Earl Warren was the height of the liberal era and was Judicial Activist
He served from 1953 – 1969 and was over the JFK assassination deal
Brown v. Board of Topeka, Kansas (1954) – desegregation of public schools
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) and Miranda v. Arizona (1966) – expanded the rights of people accused of crimes
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) – schools could not prevent students from protesting the Vietnam War
The Warren Court halted prayers in schools
Choosing Supreme Court Justices
Presidents use the same criteria in choosing a Supreme Court Justice as they do a Federal Judge
There are no formal requirements listed in the Constitution but all have had extensive law backgrounds
After being nominated the candidate goes to a confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary committee where they are intensely scrutinized before being approved
Supreme Court Procedures
Their term begins each year on the 1st Monday in October and remains in session until June or July
Each session is blocked into 2 week intervals
1st block they sit and listen to the proceedings and then the next block they go behind closed doors and review the information to make a ruling
Supreme Court Procedures
The Supreme Court hears very few cases most are appeals
A person asks the court to issue a writ of certiorari (a request to review a lower courts results)
If this is denied the ruling of the lower court is final
If selected it goes on the courts docket (list of cases)
They read briefs of the cases and get statements from amicus (friends of the court)
Each lawyer has 30 minutes to present their case to the court
Opinions
After hearing the arguments then going to a closed room and discussing the case the court justices produce a formal written opinion on the case
The opinion displays the reason for the courts decision
Majority opinion – signed by at least 5 of the 9 justices
Concurrent Opinion – agree with the conclusion of the case but suggest different legal action on the case
Dissenting Opinion – opinion that is held by the minority of the justices that does not agree with the ruling of the case.
