Judiciary and Federal courts - CH. 15 & 16 A.P U.S. Government (copy)

original jurisdiction

lower courts that have the authority to hear cases for the first time

appellate jurisdiction

courts that hear reviews or appeals of decisions from the lower courts

concurrent jurisdiction

allows certain types of cases to be tried in either the federal or the state courts

jurisdiction

who gets to hear the case

rule of 4

in order to grant your writ of certiorari, 4/9 justices must agree to hear your case.

______appoints justices, ________ approves

president, senate

judicial review

NOT specifically mentioned in sect. 3 of constitution

established only after marbury v madison

• declare a law or executive action as unconstitutional

criminal law

punishment

civil law

compensation ($)

plaintiff

person who is suing

defendant

person being sued/charged with a crime

brief

written argument (cite precedent/prior cases with the same outcome)

Article 3 of Federalist 78 speaks of what.

Life tenure. It talks of how judges will have life tenure with good behavior unless they are impeached, retire, die, or nremoved from office

• How is an amendment proposed?

To propose a constitutional amendment, it must

• pass Congress with a

  • 2/3 vote in both the House and Senate

or

be proposed by a national convention called by 2/3 of state legislatures

• passes with a

  • 3/4 vote of state legislatures

Dred Scott decision (1857)

upheld slavery

13th amendment (1866)

abolished slavery

what does it mean to Modify a Decision?

New legislation can address issues in which time the court decision is vague/deficient

Federalist 78

• judicial branch is the least dangerous

• justifies life tenure

amicus (brief) curiae

“friend of the court” (written argument by a “third party” not directly involved in case, but has an interest in the outcome)

writ of certiorari (cert)

petition court to call up records of case of lower courts. (hear my case! )

stare decisis

“let decision stand” (upholding precedent)

judicial activism

judge/justice who see selves as policymakers, have loose interpretation of constitution, want to change it, think it must evolve to modern norms

(tend to be liberal)

judicial restraint

judge/justice with literal/strict interpretation of constitution.

original intent: base decisions on “what would framers do”

• tend to be conservative

• woukd rather defer to other 2 branches

Who gets to alter jurisdiction?

Congress

Specialty courts

Congress can alter jurisdiction of case if case dels with

1. tax

2. military

3. customs

_____ impeaches judges ________convicts

house, senate

what roles does the president/executive branch have in relation to scotus

• appoints/nominates federal judges

• can decide how he will IMPLEMENT the decision (“marshall has made his decision, now let me see him enforce it”)

• pardon, reprieve

• judicial implementation

what does fed 78 say about life tenure for supreme court judges?

Life tenure allows judges to maintain impartiality and act as neutral arbiters as they don’t have to worry about campaigning for reelection. It is not as dangerous as it may seem because they rely on judicial implementation. Judges may be impeached/removed from office

judicial implementation

the courts have to rely on the other 2 branches to carry-out/ implement their decisions

what is the 3 tier court system in order from most powerful to least?

1. Supreme court (1) (often involves U.s. in case, maritime, state v state, ambassadors)

2. court of appeals - (12) panel of 3 judges

3. district courts - (94) only one With jury

(#)=the amount of that type of court in the U.S.

What does unconstitutional mean?

that something is declared Null and Void

Judiciary act of 1789

Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution created the Supreme Court but left the establishment of "inferior Courts" to Congress. 

what are the odds of you getting your case heard in the supreme court?

Very difficult and low, around 2 percent. They get around 5,000+ cases and only review 100-150 (80-125 from october to june)

Majority opinion

majority of justices agree on the decision and its reasons

concurring opinion

justice agrees with majority opinion but not with the reason behind the decision

dissenting opinion

justice or justices who disagree with the majority opinion

senatorial courtesy

• mostly district courts

• when there’s a vacancy in a state where the president looks for approval from a senator in his party to fill the vacancy