The Judicial Branch Federal Court System

Dual Court System

Parallel federal and state court systems

Federal Court System

The Supreme Court and Lower Federal Courts

Jurisdiction

The authority to hear a case; type of cases a court hears

Federal Court Jurisdiction

Cases involving: federal law, treaties with foreign nations, interpretations of the Constitution, bankruptcy and admiralty or maritime law

Original Jurisdiction

First court to hear a case

Appellate Jurisdiction

Court in which appeal of a decision is heard

Constitutional Federal Court

Deals with constitutional law (interpretation and application of U S Constitution and state constitutions)

Federal District Courts

Created in 1789 to serve as trial courts; try criminal and civil cases

Criminal

Commit a federal crime

Civil

Conflict between people and entities

Grand Jury

16-23 people; hears charges against a person suspected of having committed a crime; if they believe sufficient evidence is available to bring the person to trial they issue and indictment

Petit Jury

6 or 12 people; weigh the evidence presented at a trial in a criminal or civil case; renders a verdict of guilty or not guilty; in civil case they jury finds for the plaintiff (person bringing case) or defendant (person against one the suit is brought); if parties do not want a jury trial, a judge or a panel of three judges weights the evidence

Indictment

To be brought up on federal charges

Suit

A claim or dispute brought to a court of law

Plaintiff

Person who brings suit against another in a case

Defendant

Person against whom a suit is filed against

Federal Courts of Appeals

Cases appealed from lower courts; uphold original decision, reverse original decision and/or send case back to lower courts unless appealed to Supreme Court

U S Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Hears cases from a federal claims court, the Court of International Trade, the U S Patent Office and other executive agencies

Court of International Trade

Hears cases dealing with tariffs (a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports)

Legislative Federal Court

Helps Congress exercise its powers

Federal Claims Court

Handles claims against the United States for money damages

Selection of Federal Judges

Nominated by president, confirmed by Senatt

Judicial Restraint

Judges should interpret the Constitution according to the Framers' original intention; laws should be overturned only when the violation of the Constitution's original meaning is absolutely clea

Judicial Activism

Judges can adapt the meaning of the Constitution to meet the demands of contemporary realities; the Constitution should be interpreted more broadly, as an evolving document, something that subsequent generations can interpret consistent with changing values and circumstances

Legislative Courts

Courts created by Congress to help them do their work and for other special purposes

The Constitution

Gives the federal courts their power

Criminal case

a case in which a defendant is tried for committing a crime as defined by the law

Civil case

A case involving a noncriminal matter such as a contract dispute or a claim of patent infringement

Bench trial

A trial in which the judge alone hears the case

Jury trial

A trial before a judge and a jury.

Majority opinion

a statement that presents the views of the majority of supreme court justices regarding a case

Dissenting opinion

A statement written by a justice who disagrees with the majority opinion, presenting his or her opinion

Prosecution

party who starts the legal proceedings against another party for a violation of the law

Defense

at criminal law, a legal position that allows the defendant to escape criminal liability

3 levels of federal court system

district courts, court of appeals, supreme court

3 Levels of the State Court System

District/Country Court/Municipal Court, Appeals Court, State Supreme Court

Judicial Review

The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional

Writ of Certiorari

An order by a higher court directing a lower court to send up a case for review

Korematsu v. US

1944 Supreme Court case where the Supreme Court upheld the order providing for the relocation of Japanese Americans. It was not until 1988 that Congress formally apologized and agreed to pay $20,000 to each survivor

Plessy v Ferguson

a 1896 Supreme Court decision which legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal; "separate but equal is ok"

Roe v Wade

(1973) legalized abortion on the basis of a woman's right to privacy

Gideon v Wainwright

A person who cannot afford an attorney may have one appointed by the government

Obergefell v Hodges

Upholds same sex marriage via 14th amendment equal protection clause

Miranda v Arizona

The accused must be notified of their rights before being questioned by the police

Texas v Johnson

A 1989 case in which the Supreme Court struck down a law banning the burning of the American flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.

Brown v Board of Education

1954 case that overturned Separate but Equal standard of discrimination in education; separate but equal is not ok

US v Nixon

Supreme Court intervenes in battle between President Nixon and Congress (impeachment process). President cannot use executive privilege as an excuse to withhold evidence in impeachment process. Leads to Nixon's resignation.

Marbury v Madison

This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review

Dobbs v Jackson

the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion; overturned Roe v Wade

Dred Scott v Sanford

Supreme Court case that decided US Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in federal territories and slaves, as private property, could not be taken away without due process - basically slaves would remain slaves in non-slave states and slaves could not sue because they were not citizens

Gibbons v Ogden

Regulating interstate commerce is a power reserved to the federal government