The Judicial Branch

Article 3, Section 1 of the constitution

created the supreme court

What is the supreme court often called?

The “high court of last resort” because it is the final/highest court for a federal case

Why was the supreme court created?

it was created because the states did not agree on issues

What type of courts did congress make

inferior courts (lower courts) these inferior federal courts are under the supreme courts

What is the Dual Court system?

federal and state courts

What is it called when federal and state courts happen at the same time?

Concurrent courts

Example of a concurrent court

A person stole a car in California and drove it to another state (stole the car in one state but then went to another state) so it is both a state and federal crime

Original jurisidiction

the power of a court to hear a case first before any other court

Appellate means

appeal

Apellate Jurisdiction

the authority of a court to review after inferior courts have already tried the case

What percent of supreme court cases are appeal cases

99%

What percent of supreme court cases are original jurisdiction?

1%

What kinds of federal courts are there?

U.S. supreme court, 13 U.S. courts of appeal, 94 district courts

When and why did congress create the courts of appeal

In 1891 because the supreme court was overwhelmed with too many cases

Judicial review

power to interpret laws and determines if law is constitutional or not

What did Marbury vs. Madison do?

It established the judicial review

Supreme court

led by a chief justice who is chosen by the president and must be approved by the senate

How many justices do we currently have?

9 justices who are appointed for life

Nothing in the constitution says we have to have 9 justices

True

Justice Scalia (conservative)

died of a heart attack so Neil Gorsuch replaced him (conservative)

A swing vote was replaced by

conservative Brett Kavanaugh who allegedly assaulted a woman in college

RBG

was a liberal and passed away

Obama was not allowed to replace RBG with another liberal

True

Avery Coney Barret (conservative)

replaced RBG and was chosen by Trump

Ketanji Brown Jackson (liberal)

was appointed by Biden

Is the court balanced?

No, there are more conservatives (6 conservatives & 3 liberals)

How many cases are appealed to the supreme court each year?

8,000 to 10,000

How many cases do the supreme court accept ?

100

How do the federal cases reach the supreme court?

Either writ of certiorari or certificate

Writ of certiorari

an order to a lower court to send up a case record for review

Certificate

a lower court asks the supreme court to certify and answer to a matter in its case

How does the court select a federal case?

The rule of four - at least 4 out of 9 justices must agree that a case should be heard

Once the supreme court takes a case, What are the 2 methods of presentation?

Written brief and oral arguments

Written brief

a detailed written report supporting its side of a case

Oral Argument (most popular)

presentation that is limited to 30 minutes for each side and then majority votes to take the case

First amendment

congress cannot violate the rights of freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceable, assembly of petition

14th amendment

states cannot deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process

Civil liberties

basic rights and freedoms are guaranteed by constitution/bill of rights

Civil rights

positive acts of government that uphold the constitution,to stop unequal treatment based on characteristics like race, gender

Civil rights act of 1964

you cannot legally be denied a promotion based on you gender, race, religion, age or disability

Title VII (7) under the civil rights act of 1964

congress added to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity

Freedom of religion

is guaranteed bc of first amendment through its establishment clause and free exercise clause

Establishment clause

sets up a wall/separation between church and state

Free exercise clause

protects the right of an individual to believe whatever they want without harming others

Freedom of speech

is protected by the constitution and gives right to speak freely, to hear what others have to stay, right to symbolic speech, picketing (holding signs)

Not protected by the constitution

libel, slander, seditious speech, obscenity

Libel

false and malicious use of printed words

slander

false and malicious use of spoken words

Seditious speech

act of urging others to attempt to overthrow or disrupt the government

Obscenity

character or quality of being obscene, or corrupting the public morals by its indecency or lewdness

Prior restraint

the government can prevent the sharing of ideas before it even happens

Reporters sources

reporters do not have a constitutional right to keep their sources confidential (the have to reveal sources)

Shield laws

states which give reporters some protection against having to disclose their sources or reveal confidential information in legal proceedings

Media of radio and television

are subject to more regulations bc they are publicly owned

Symbolic speech

communicating ideas by conduct is protected by supreme court

Ex of symbolic speech

peaceful picketing, MAGA hat

Freedom of assembly and petition

right of Americans to assemble or gather to share their opinions on public matters

Ex of freedom of assembly and petition

petitions, advertisements, letters, demonstrations and must be peaceful, can’t block streets or endanger life or property