Studied by 26 people
the constitution does not explicitly say that federal judges hold tenure for life. What does Art 3 Section 1 say about how long judges hold their jobs?
“During good behavior“ → created from “king’s bench issue“
they can be removed from office if they are impeached of convicted
they have life tenure, their pay can not go down
What power to check the judiciary does Art 1 Sec2 grant the House
sole power of impeachment
what % of the house must vote in favor of conviction before an individual may be convicted
majority vote 50%
what power to check the judiciary does Art 1 sec 3 grant to the senate
sole power to try all impeachments
what % of the Senate must vote in favor of conviction bf an individual may be convicted
2/3 of present members
according to article 2 section 4 who may be removed from office if they are impeached and convicted of treason, bribery, or other high crime or misdemeanor?
president, vice president, all civil officers of the US
to promote an independent judiciary
federal judges basically serve for life
good behavior
Federalist 78 opinion of good behavior
“barrier to the despotism of the prince“
= judges are not answering to the people, they answer to the constitution
AntiFederalist 78-79 opinion of good behavior
“proper provision they were made properly responsible“
Brutus doesn’t object
on average how many justices does a president appoint
one every two years
Recusal: 42 U.S.C. § 455
any judge shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might be reasonably questioned
personal bias or prejudice
has served as private practice lawyer in the case
has served in governmental employment and has participated as counsel or expressed an opinion concerning the merits of the particular case in controversy
financial interest in the subject matter
is related to the party, lawyer, or one of their relatives
in 1802 the Jeffersonian Republicans repealed Judiciary Act of 1801, what extraordinary action did the jeffersonians take to ensure the SC could not consider a challenge to the 1802 Act
April Act
Cancelled the August 1802 sitting of the SC couldn’t challenge the constitutionally of Repeal Act
debate of what is the standard for impeachment
failure to maintain good behavior? - what does this mean
indictable criminal offense? - Samuel Chase’s impeachment hearing
Answer, what is the standard for impeachment, from Samuel Chase’s case
impeachment may rest only on conduct that constitutes an indictable offense
not based of their political preferences
Judge Thomas Pickering
dementia and alcoholic
is this an issue of good behavior or treason
no but he is still impeached
Why did the Jeffersonians object to Justice Samuel Chase
he opposed the Repeal 1802 Act
claimed he was bias towards his political party
“bad behavior“
What reasons did Representative Giles sought to impeach Samuel Chase
objected his political views, temperament, and thought impeachment was the only meaningful check on the judicial power
Who presided over Chase’s impeachment trial in the Senate
Vice President Aaron Burr
after he killed Hamilton
What did Chase’s Lawyer (Luther Martin) mean when he said basing impeachment on transgressions other than an indictable offense against the US would place judges “at the mercy of the prevailing party“
it would allow the party in control to impeach anyone they didn’t agree with, w/out evidence
who is the only SC justice ever impeached (although he was not convicted)
Samuel Chase
Convicted in the House
acquitted by the Senate
why did the senate oppose President Johnson’s nomination of Associate Justice Fortas to Chief Justice? (Rehniquest)
he thought the ethical ruled that regulate the conduct of judges did not apply to him
attended meetings devoted in parts to matter that might come up in court
ethical misconduct in financial dealings
pornographic ethical concerns
what factors led to the defeat of Fortas to Chief Justice (o’brien)
Johnson overestimated his influence after announcing that he would not seek reelection (lame duck)
republican senators wanted to deny him any appointments to the court
Abe Fortas Withdraw
New Nixon administration pushed for impeachment after Johnson withdrew Fortas nomination to Chief
claims to have resigned bc the public controversy would affect his future work on the Court and the work of the Court proceedings
Justice “Wild Bill“ Douglas
he was threaten with impeachment due to liberal jurisprudence and life style
his issues were in and out of the spotlight bc of other justice controversy
it is hard or easy to impeach
hard
what is a petition for a writ of certiorari?
since the court has discretionary appellate jurisdiction
the petition is for the SC on why they should hear the case in question, how they were wronged by the lower courts and how the law is in their favor
which act in congress established writ of certiorari as the primary means for supreme court review?
1925 Certiorari Act
established the SC has having discretionary jurisdiction rather than their previous mandatory
How is the SC the most accessible branch
if your case meets the criteria, you can be seen by the court and have them hear your case
you can listen to the audio of oral arguments
Why is secrecy a net benefit to the Court
avoiding outside influence, nit-picking, conflicts w/ Congress, prevents hold back opinions
according to Justice Taft what is the function of the SC
the decide cases that involve principles of wide public interest
to decide cases that involve principles of wide government interest
two books that resulted from a break in the norm of secrecy
justice Blackmun and Harvard professor Lazarus: Closed Chambers…
Washington Post’s Woodward and Armstrong: The Brethren: inside the SC
what did Justice jackson mean when he said the SC functions like nine little law firms
justices often have an highly individualistic rather than group viewpoint
justices often stay in their own chambers, not going into 1/8 for the entire term
how do the justices primarily communicate with one another about opinions that are being written about
written notes = memos
draft opinions
when is secrecy expected, the 1987 memorandum “the code of conducting for SC law clerks“ instruct clerks about discussing their work
They are not allow to discuss even after their clerkship ends
not to discuss the work of the court w/ anyone other than justices and other clerks
1989: discussion with law clerks from other chambers should be circumspect
avoid hinting about your justice is likely to vote
paid peitions
60/1400 (4%) are granted per term
20% of all peitions
$300
In forma Pauperis
unpaid petitions to the court
5600 (80%) of all petitions filled
8 (.1%) granted per term
dobbs leak statement of the court
breach of trust: justices need to be able to say their opinions and change their opinions
who leaked dobbs
the courts investigation came up empty
theories:
liberals: push for public outcry, attempt to focus justice to change their minds
conservative: cement opinions and votes
when are votes final?
when all justices agree that the opinion is ready for public distribution
Illegal ways to gain information about opinions and cases
leaks, often from clerks
how do you get information about opinions and cases legally
interviews with justices, releasing of a justice’s papers
Justice papers releasing
optional
question of when, but remains up to the justice if they chose to release that information
why is the cert pool a thing
before 1972, each justice would have to consider every writ of certiorari
as the number of petitions increased so did the work and time this process took
how the the cert pool works
justices polling their clerks together and dividing up all filings and having a single clerk’s certiorari memo to all others participating in the pool
current justices
Chief Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
current justices in the cert pool
Chief Roberts, Thomas, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
dead list
cases not discussed at conference and simply denied
terms of the SC
start in Oct 2022
end in June 2023
initial conference for the new term is held in September
when do oral argument start
first week October on Monday Tuesday Wednesday
until April
Conference Days during oral arguments
Fridays
Months with no arguments/ what do they do
April May June
issue opinions on the cases they heard in oral argument
what is the “long conference“
when the justices review all the petitions that were filled over the break
around 2000 cases
rule of law
we follow the rules rather than who is screaming the loudest
the SC makes decisions for everyone, which everyone needs to follow
why rule of law works
judiciary is not swayed
indepdent judiciary upholds the system we set
Note 
Flashcard (82)