The Federal Court System

Kelly WalkerAP US Government

A Dual Court System Two separate court systems:1. National Judiciary-120 courts2. State courts-(Thousands) Hear

the most cases 3. http://www.icivics.org/games/court-quest

The National Judiciaryhttp://www.sunnylandsclassroom.org/Asset.aspx?id=1256

Article III Section 1“The Judicial power of the United

States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may form time to time ordain and establish.”

Two Kinds of Federal CourtsInferior Courts-Beneath the Supreme Court1. Constitutional Courts- Exercise the broad

judicial power of the US Courts of appeals District courts US Court of International Trade2. Special Courts-Hear a narrow range of cases, or

legislative cases: US Court of Appeals of for the Armed Forces/

Veterans claims US Tax Court Courts for Washington DC

Federal Court Jurisdiction Jurisdiction-The authority of a court to hear a

case “to say the law” May hear a case because of:1. Subject matter-constitution/sea2. The parties involved-US, its officers, Officials

from other countries, US states All cases that are not heard at the Federal level

are heard in State courts.

Types of Jurisdiction Exclusive-cases only heard by the

federal courts Concurrent Jurisdiction-cases

may be heard in either federal or state courts-disputes involving citizens of different states or diverse citizenship

Original and Appellate Jurisdiction

Original-A court in which the case was first heard-district courts

Appellate-Higher court, may overrule the original courts ruling Only the Supreme Court may

exercise original and appellate jurisdiction

Appointment of Judges President appoints all Judges Senate confirms all Judges The president almost always

nominates those judges that the Senate has recommended

Nominate along party lines

Appointment of Judges Judicial activism-holds that judges

should use their position to promote desirable social ends

Judicial Restraint-holds that when making their decisions, judges should defer to the actions of the executive and legislative branches

Procedures and Policymaking Criminal Cases: A case involving a

crime or violation of public order Civil Cases: A case involving a private

dispute(divorce, contracts) Plea-bargain: a defendant’s admission

of guilt in exchange for a less severe punishment

Common (judge-made) law: legal precedents derived from previous judicial decisions

Terms and Pay Appointed for life (Supreme Court) May be removed through impeachment (13, 7

removed) Special Courts not appointed for life (15 years) May retire at 70 with 10 years of service-receive full salary for the rest of their lives or 65 with 15 years of service Chief $213,000-$225,000

Court Officer’s Clerks, bailiffs, court reporters, etc. Magistrates-issue warrants,hear

evidence to decide if action should be taken

Bankruptcy judge US Attorneys-Prosecute criminals US Marshals-In charge of criminals

and courts(police/sheriff)

Inferior Courts The District Courts-Federal trial courts-

665 judges handle 342,000 cases Judicial Districts-89 districts-94 courts

hear both criminal (criminal:bank robbery, murder) and civil(non-criminal:bankruptcy,civil rights) cases

United States district court

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_district_court

The Court of Appeals 1891-to relieve the burden of the SC-

gatekeepers. 12 courts, 55,000 cases 179 judges-A supreme court justice is

assigned to each Only hear cases on appeal from lower

federal courts Decisions are final, unless the SC wants to

hear them

Other Constitutional Courts US Court of International Trade- 18901. 9 judges2. Hears civil cases arising from tariff and other trade

issues The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit- 19801. Nationwide jurisdiction to speed up civil appeals2. 12 judges-sit on panels of 3 or more

The Supreme Courthttp://www.icivics.org/subject/judicial-branch

Equal Justice for All Highest Court in the land Chief Justice and 8 Justices The Court of Last Resorts on all

questions of Federal Law

Judicial Review Marbury v Madison 1803 Gave the courts the ability to decide

the constitutionality of an act of government, whether executive, legislative, or judicial

http://www.icivics.org/web-quests/courts

Supreme Court Jurisdiction Both original and appellate

jurisdiction1. Dealing with a state2. Those affecting ambassadors,

other public ministers, or consuls

How Cases Reach the Courthttp://www.supremecourt.gov/

• 8,000 cases are presented each year• Court accepts only a few hundred• 4 justices must agree to hear a case• Half will be returned to lower courts• Hear less than 100 cases:2 ways1. Writ of Certiorari-lower courts mustSend up the records for reviewIf the certi is denied by the SCthe decision of the lower court stands2. Certificate- when a lower court is not sure of the procedure or the Rule of law supplied in the case, theyask the SC for an answer

Original Jurisdiction(1)

U.S. Supreme CourtSigned opinions (71)Cases Argued (84)

Requests for Review(Approximately 8,000 Petitions and appeals)

State Courts of Last Resort(89,000 Cases)

State Intermediate Appellate Courts

(189,000)

State Trial Courts(36,000,000 cases)U.S. District Courts (94 Courts)

(342,000 cases)

U. S. Court of Appeals(61,000 cases)

From: federal administrative agencies

How the Court Operates Sits from the first Monday in October to the following June Oral Arguments-During public sessions, each Lawyer will

present their arguments for 30 minutes. Each case lasts 2 weeks. Then the justices decide for 2 weeks

Briefs-written arguments filed with the court before oral arguments begin. The Solicitor General-chief attorney-represents the US in all cases and decides which cases the government should ask the SC to review

The Court in Conference-Meet to consider the outcome of the cases.

Opinionshttp://www.sunnylandsclassroom.org/Asset.aspx?Id=1501

Majority Opinion-The Opinion of the Court-announces and gives reasons for its decision

Precedents-Examples to be followed in similar, future cases

Concurring Opinion-to add or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion

Dissenting Opinion- Written by those Justices that do not agree with the majority decision

The Supreme Court 2013

Six of the current justices of the court were appointed by Republican Presidents, while three were appointed by Democratic Presidents. It is popularly accepted that Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Alito compose the Court's conservative wing. Justices Stevens, Ginsburg, and Breyer are generally thought of as the Court's liberal wing.[88] Justice Anthony Kennedy, generally considered a conservative who "occasionally vote[s] with the liberals",[89] is most likely to be the swing vote that determines the outcome of close cases.[

President George W. Bush stands with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, as they pose for photos with U.S. Supreme

Court Associate Justices, October 3, 2005.

The Supreme Court

Chief Justice John RobertsRuth Ginsberg

John Paul Stevens Clarence Thomas

Antonin Scalia

Stephen Breyer

Samuel Alito

Sonjia Sotomayor

Anthony Kennedy

The Special Courts The Court of Federal Claims-Hear claims for damages

against the Federal Government The Territorial Court-Courts for the Nation’s territories The District of Colombia Court- Courts for the nation’s

capital The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces-Courts-Martial-

serve the needs of the armed forces Military Tribunals-Patriot Act-not part of courts-martial, tries

those accused of terrorism The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims-handles claims for veteran’s benefits The United States Tax Court-Hears civil tax cases only-

Terms1. Plaintiff-the person who files suit2. Defendant-the person whom the

complaint is against3. Docket-list of cases to be heard4. Amicus Briefs- friend of the courts-

briefs written by interested parties in a SC case

Choosing a

Supreme Court Justice1. The President nominates a

candidate2. The Senate has hearings where

they question the candidate intensely

3. The Senate usually confirms the candidate

Choosing a

Supreme Court Justice On July 1st, 2005, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced

her resignation from the United States Supreme Court. Described as a swing vote on many contentious Supreme

Court issues, her replacement has been the subject of much discussion and conjecture.

The July 19th announcement of John G. Roberts, Jr. to replace Justice O'Connor, the President's nomination of Roberts to replace Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, and subsequent nominations of Harriet E. Miers and Samuel A. Alito has heightened the interest in the nominations process.

Samuel Alito

Choosing a

Supreme Court JusticeBush has selected a long-standing New Jersey judge with an

extensive record of conservative rulings on abortion, federalism, discrimination and religion in public spaces. Confirmed to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the swing vote in recent years, Alito seems likely to shift the court to the right.

Not Quite the End…… http://www.learner.org/courses/

democracyinamerica/dia_9/dia_9_video.html

http://www.studystack.com/AmericanGovernment