The Judicial Branch

ARTICLE III“The INTERPRETERS of Freedom”

The Supreme Court

• Final authority in the court system

• 1 chief justice and 8 associate justices reside on the Supreme Court.– Originally 1 & 5 (why?)– Number can change

Supreme Court Judges

• Judges are appointed by President, approved by Congress, for life

• only 3 ways to lose job:– Death– Resignation (Retired)– Impeachment (Fired)

• A good judge is “non-partisan” (not biased to one party or the other.)

The Justices

1. Roberts (R) Chief Justice

2. Breyer (D)

3. Thomas (R)

4. Bader Ginsburg (D)

5. Alito (R)

6. Kennedy (R)

7. Stevens (D)

8. Scalia (R)

9. Sotomayor (D)

17 86 9

2 3 4 5

How do cases reach the Supreme Court?

1.) Original Jurisdiction

- This means certain types of cases go directly to the Supreme Court.

- Examples: Cases involving foreign ambassadors or disputes among states

2.) Appellate Jurisdiction- This means certain

cases have to start in a lower court and work their way to the Supreme Court.

- In a lower court, if the losing side believes a judge made a mistake in applying the law in a case, that case may be appealed to a higher court.

vs.

Stop copying me! Stop copying me…Stop copying me…

Ooh! I read about this in COSMO…

Fun Facts!

•Between 5,000 & 7,000 cases are appealed to the Supreme Court every year

•Only 150 are heard:

1. Clerks review cases

2. Pass on to Justices

3. Four justices must agree to review the case

•Cases heard Mondays, Tuesdays, & Wednesdays from October to June

Judicial ReviewThe power of the Supreme Court to review decisions and actions of other branches and

departments

•Role is not described in much detail in the Constitution.•Weakest of the three branches until 1803.•When the Supreme Court makes a decision, it is called a “precedent,” meaning it sets an example of how other cases should be decided…kind of like a permanent rule.

Types of Courts: District Courts • Criminal

– Deals with Federal Laws.

– Punishments usually include jail time.

• Kidnapping across state lines

• Drug transporting• Mail fraud• Tax evasion• Counterfeiting $

• Civil– Claims against the

federal government.

– Constitutional rights

• Free Speech

– Relations between individuals

• Hit my car• Sue McDonalds• Judge Judy

Types of Courts: Appellate Courts

• Considers court decisions in which the losing side has asked for a review of the verdict.

– Can overturn a verdict (declare the other side a winner).

– Order a retrial (say, we need to take this back to court).