The Judicial Branch

Article III of the Constitution

Creation of the National Judiciary

Established by Article III of the US Constitution Only sets up the Supreme Court Allows Congress to create additional

courts if needed The US has a Dual Court System,

meaning there are two separate court systems National (or Federal) and State

Jurisdiction – the authority to hear a court case

Court Judges Appointed by the President but must be

approved by the Senate Supreme Court judges and all other federal judges

follow this process Constitutional Court judges are appointed for

LIFE! Constitution: “[Judges] shall hold their Offices

during good Behavior…” Can only be removed through impeachment.

Historically only 13 judges have been impeached, 7 removed by Senate

Note: Not all federal judges serve life terms. For example, special court judges are not appointed to life terms but for 8 year terms

Court Judges – Salary and Retirement

Congress sets the salaries of all federal judges Currently set at $169,300 Associate SC Justices: $208,100 Chief Justice: $217,400

Plus, they can earn an additional $21,000 for teaching or speaking

Retirement: there is no mandatory retirement age. With 15 years of service @65/yrs. old. With 10 years of service @70/yrs. old.

Dual Court System

Additional Information US District Courts

80% of federal caseload (94 total courts – at least 1 court per state, also DC,

Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and Mariana Islands) Hear criminal cases (for committing some action that

Congress has declared by law to be a crime) and civil cases (non-criminal matter, such as contract disputes or patent infringement)

US Appellate Courts 12 Courts in the US – they hear appeals from lower federal

courts Approximately 55,000 cases/year Decisions are final unless SC chooses to hear appeal and

overturns the decision

Anthony Kennedy1988

Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.

2006

Sonia Sotomayor2009

Elena Kagan2010

Stephen Breyer1994

Clarence Thomas1991

John G. Roberts, Jr.

Chief Justice 2005

Antonin Scalia1986

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

1993

Meet the Justices of the Supreme Court 

There are 9 Supreme Court Justices

Judicial Review Supreme Court has the power to decide the

constitutionality of an act of government – legislative, executive, or judicial **The SC is the FINAL authority on the meaning of

the Constitution Marbury vs Madison (1803) – Chief Justice

Marshall wrote 3 key opinions:1. Constitution is the supreme law of the land2. All govt actions are inferior to the supreme law and

cannot conflict with it3. Judges are sworn to protect the Constitution and must

refuse to enforce govt action that conflicts with it

How cases reach the Court Approximately 8,000 cases are appealed to

the SC every year – they only choose to hear about 100

Most reach by Writ of Certiorari – an order by the SC directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review Very few are chosen, usually ones dealing with

some type of Constitutional question…not deciding the guilt or innocence of someone

Others reach by a Certificate – a lower court asks the SC to clarify a procedure or rule of law that they are unclear about

How the Court operates 4 out of 9 justices must vote in favor of hearing

a case before it appears on the courts docket Docket – a list of cases to be heard

When the court accepts a case, each side (prosecution and defense) sends the court a brief – a detailed written report supporting its side of the case

Working periods – justices consider/listen to cases from Oct to May (2 weeks on; 2 weeks “off”)

How the Court operates: Ruling on a Case

The Courts ruling on a case is called the majority opinion or the Opinion of the Court—It announces the Court’s decision and reasoning A simple majority or 5 out of 9 justices must vote

in favor of a side to render a decision The rest of the Justices who voted with the

majority can write a concurring opinion—in which they can add or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion

How the Court operates: Ruling on a Case

One or more dissenting opinions are written by the justices who did not agree with the Court’s majority opinion Important: the minority opinion of today may

become the majority opinion of tomorrow All of the Court’s written opinions (majority,

concurring, and dissenting) are very valuable and stand as a precedent

Precedent - example to be followed in a similar case