Topic 7 Lesson 1 - The National Judiciary

  • The Courts and Democracy

    • During the Articles of Confederation (1781-1789), there weren’t any national courts and no national judiciary

    • ‘The Federalist No. 22’

      • described the want of a judiciary power, written by Alexander Hamilton

    • The framers created a national judiciary with one single sentence within the Constitution:

      • “The Judaical Power of the United States Shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” - Article III, Section I

        • inferior courts are created by congress.

        • also includes the existence of special courts (Military courts, IRS.)

    • Congress is also given the expressed power “to constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court” - Article I, section 8, clause 9.

      • create the rest of the federal system

  • A Dual Court System: Federal Courts and State Courts

    • two separate court systems

      • federal court system:

        • 100+ courts

      • State courts:

        • each state has its own system of courts (numbers in the thousands)

        • most cases heard in state courts

  • First Type of Federal Court: Constitutional Courts

    • Constitution establishes the Supreme court and leaves to Congress the creation of the inferior courts (beneath supreme court)

      • congress created two distinct types of federal courts:

        1. The Constitutional Courts

          • formed under article III to exercise judicial power

          • Includes the courts of appeals (‘circuit courts’), district courts, and the U.S. court of international trade

            • Supreme court also included

          • also called ‘the regular courts’ and ‘article III courts’

  • The Second Type of Federal Court System: Special Court

    • also called ‘legislative courts’ / ‘article I courts’

    • includes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, U.S. Court of Appeals for veterans claims, U.S. Court of federal claims, the U.S. Tax Court, territorial courts, and the courts of the district of Columbia

  • Jurisdiction in the Federal Court System

    • the constitutional courts hear most pf the cases tried in the federal courts

    • Jurisdiction — the authority of a court to hear (to try and decide) a case

      • “to say the law”

    • most cases heard in court in the United States are heard in State, not federal, courts.

      • federal courts may hear cases because:

        1. the subject matter

        2. the parties involved in those cases

  • Subject Matter

    • involves a “federal question”

    • Maritime law — matters that arise on land but are directly related to the water

  • Parties

    • A case falls within the jurisdiction of the federal courts if one of the parties involved in the case is:

      1. the United States or one of its officers or agencies

      2. an ambassador, consul, or other official representative of a foreign government

      3. one of the 50 States suing another State, a resident of another State, or a foreign government or one of its subjects

      4. a citizen of one State suing a citizen of another State

      5. an American citizen suing a foreign government or one of its subjects

      6. a citizen of a State suing another citizen of that same State where both claim title to land under grants from different States.

  • Types of Jurisdiction

    • federal courts exercise exclusive and concurrent jurisdiction

      • also original and appellate jurisdiction

  • Exclusive Jurisdiction

    • mosts cases w/i federal courts fall w/i their exclusive jurisdiction

  • Concurrent Jurisdiction

    • some cases may be tried in either a federal or a State court

      • the federal and State courts have concurrent jurisdiction

        • they share power to hear the cases

    • ie. disputes involving citizens of different states

      • cases in diverse citizenship

      • a federal district court may only hear a case of diverse citizenship if the amount of money involved is at least $75K

  • Original and Appellate Jurisdiction

    • Appellate courts do not retry cases.

      • they determine whether a trial court has acted in accord with applicable law.

      • may uphold, overrule, or in some way modify the decision appealed from the lower court.

    • district courts have only original jurisdiction and the courts of appeals have only appellate jurisdiction.

      • The Supreme Court exercises both original and (most often) appellate jurisdiction.

  • Federal Judges and Court Officers

    • each federal court is headed by a judge

      • all judges have the same general duties

  • The Role of Judges

    • preside over the courtroom

    • interpret the law (as it applies to the specific case)

    • in trials that don’t use a jury — the judge must rule on the facts and decide the case

    • sentence those convicted of crimes/awards damages in a civil trial

  • Selection of Federal Judges

    • The manner federal judges are chosen, the terms they serve, and even the salaries they’re paid are vital parts of the Constitution's design of an independent judicial branch.

      • Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 — declares that the President "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... Judges of the supreme Court..."

    • The Senate plays a major part in the selection of federal judges:

      • the President can choose anyone the Senate approves.

      • The practice of senatorial courtesy gives heavy preference to the senators from a State the federal judge will serve

        • That unwritten rule means that the President almost always selects someone the senators from that State recommend.

    • the Constitution sets no age, residence, or citizenship requirements for federal judges.

      • Also doesn’t require that a judge have a professional background in the law.

      • (Infographic below shows the process that the supreme court justices + other presidential appointments go through to be selected and confirmed)

  • Influences on the selection of Judges

    • Most federal judges are drawn from the ranks of leading attorneys, legal scholars, and law school professors

  • Judicial Philosophies

    • Two different types of judicial Philosophies:

      1. Judicial Restriant

        • believe that judges should decide cases on the basis of:

          1. the original intent of the Framers / those who enacted the statues(s) involved a case

          2. precedent — a judicial decision that serves as a guide for settling later cases of a similar nature

      2. Judicial Activism:

        • a broader view on judicial power

        • argue that provisions in the constitution and in statue law should be interpreted and applied in the light of ongoing changes in conditions and values

          • especially civil rights and social welfare issues