Section 1 Equal JusticeSection 2 The Federal Court System

Section 3 The Supreme Court

A Nation of Laws The Social Contract states our society needs

laws. Laws promote protections and the common

good. Some protect your right to speak, practicing

religion, and your health. These rights come with limits: You have the

right to listen to your stereo as long as you do not violate your neighbors right to enjoy the peace and quiet of their property.

When citizens break the law it is referred to as crime.

A crime is any behavior deemed as illegal by society b/c it is considered harmful to society.

*Criminal Law-refers to the types of laws which define what acts are considered crimes.

Also explains how a person should be accused, tried in court, and the punishment(s).

Ex: Laws against: Assault, Murder, and Rape protect citizens from being harmed.

Laws against property help protect your property. Important b/c if someone steals your neighbor’s property and is not punished they may steal from you.

A group of laws which refer to disputes b/w people.

If you cannot resolve the issue privately it may be resolved in court.

In court the Judge may act as the jury and the Judge will apply Civil Law when making a decision.

Civil Law issues: Personal issues, contract disputes(think sports), divorce proceedings, and property boundaries.

There are 4 principal sources of law: Statutory, Common, Administrative, and Constitutional Law.

Laws which are passed by law making bodies.

Congress, state, and local govts. may pass these laws. EX: Laws which require buildings to contain fire exits is a Statutory Law.

These usually represent majority rule. Everyone needs to know how to obey these

laws so they may be a good citizen.

A type of law which overrides a judges’ decision that rely on common sense and previous cases.

Ex: When cars were invented there were not any rules on how to drive them. Judges had to use tradition and common sense to create these rules/laws.

In other cases judges use other rulings from the past or precedent-earlier decisions to rule what becomes part of the custom.

Many laws which affect day to day life is created by govt. agencies instead of the legislatures.

Administrative Laws cover many areas in daily life, health, safety, education, and banking. Ex: the Product Safety Commission use administrative law to establish safety standards on toys.

Is based off the Constitution and Supreme Court decisions that interpreted law.

Example: The 6th Amendment guarantees a defendant in a criminal case the right to counsel.

B/c of the 1963 Supreme Court ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright all states are required to provide free legal counsel to those who cannot afford it.

The courts use the 4 sources of law to settle disputes.

In a criminal case the dispute is b/w the individual and society. The defendant is represented by counsel and society is represented by counsel.

In a civil case both individuals are represented by counsel.

In a criminal case the person accused of a crime has certain rights: the right to counsel/attorney, to confront their accuser, and trial by a jury of their peers.

The accused are always presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The person brining charges needs to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty.

If found guilty, the person accused of the crime may appeal the decision.

An appeal is the process by which the individual asks the higher court to review the result of the trial.

A higher court will determine if the lower court applied the law fairly or unfairly.

Review allows the accused to ensure the case has been decided fairly.

Section 2

Each level of the federal court system is given jurisdiction in several kinds of cases.

Jurisdiction is the scope of authority that a court has to hear and decide a case that has properly been brought before it.

There are 2 types of jurisdiction: Original and appellate

District court is the lowest level and they are courts of original jurisdiction.

Original is the authority of a court to hear and decide a case for the first time.

Cannot hear appeals from other courts. They are local courts in the federal system.

At least on Fed. District court in each of the 50 states.

Judges apply relevant law before them to decide a case.

There may be many federal judges in a district depending on the case load.

These judges conduct both civil and criminal cases w/ and w/ out juries.

If there is no jury the judge decides the winner and the remedy for the winner.

In a criminal case they also decide the punishment.

All U.S. federal judges are appointed by the President and must be approved by the Senate.

They can only be removed by impeachment from the Congress.

After loosing a trail you may appeal to the next level of courts in the court system the Court of Appeals or Appellate Jurisdiction.

Has the power to review decisions made by the lower court.

Each district is broken into circuit courts. Don not hold trials, instead it’s a panel of 3

judges who make a decision on a case. Appellate examine review the decision of the

lower court and hear the arguments from both sides

They determine only if the law was interpreted correctly.

They reach their decision by majority vote. Can send the case back to district court for

a new trial or may uphold their decision. Sometimes an appeal is made to the

Supreme Court.

The highest court in the land is the Supreme Court in Washington D.C.

It is mainly an appeals court. The decision of the panel of 9 judges may

not be appealed. It has original jurisdiction on 3 types of

cases: 1.Cases on diplomatic representatives from

other countries

2.In cases between two states. 3.Cases involving a state and the federal

Government.

Section 3

There have been several laws which have been reviewed by the courts and deemed unconstitutional.

Through Judicial Review-the power to allow courts to decide whether a law conflicts with the Constitution.

This power came in the case Marbury v. Madison. Gave the federal courts the power of Judicial Review.

The courts decide which cases they will hear.

It accepts only those cases that generally deal with important Constitutional questions.

If they refuse a case the decision of the lower court remains in effect.

They can also remand or return a case to the lower courts.

Hears cases by an oral argument. Lawyers have 30 Mins. to present their

arguments. Spend the rest of the time reading the

arguments and consider the information. Each justice has 1 vote and they must reach

a majority. After they deliberate they submit an opinion

which explains their reasoning on a decision.

Sometimes they agree w/ a decision but w/ different reasons. They deliver a concurring opinion in a written statement.

If justices disagree w/ the opinion they will issue a dissenting opinion which explains why they disagree.

There are 9 Supreme Court Justices They are appointed by the President and

approved by the Senate. There are no special requirements to

becoming a justice.

The Senate reviews all appointments. If the Court rules a law is unconstitutional

the legislative branch has an opportunity to write a better one.

The legislative branch may rewrite the law until the Supreme Court upholds it.

The court decisions have allowed the Constitution to meet the demands of changing times.

1954 Brown v. Board of Ed.- outlawed segregation of schools.

Miranda v. Arizona-police must read suspects their rights before they are arrested.

All of these decisions were aimed to ensure that each citizens rights are protected.