Courts and Criminal Processes Exam 1

Judicial Review

• Established through Marbury v Madison
• Marbury wanted to get the job that could have been assigned to him through a writ of mandamus

The 14th Amendment

“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Legal Reasoning

Justiciability

• This means the types of matters a court can discuss

Originalism

• Interpret the constitution as the framers would

Pragmatism

• the purpose of anything is not to uncover or represent the truth but allow us to more effectively and or comfortably live our lives.

Dual Federalism

• A system of governance where the federal government and state governments each have clearly defined spheres of power.

Little Bill of Rights

Article VI: Supremacy Clause

• Helped establish a strong federal government
• In simple terms, it said the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions

Fundament v. Oridinary Law

• Ordinary Law→ means any measure, statute, regulation, ordinance or executive order that is enacted or adopted by this state, a political subdivision of this state or an agency or board of this state or a political subdivision of this state and that is subject to amendment or repeal by a legislative act that requires approval by a majority of the members of each house of the legislature for enactment.
• fundamental law→is the organic or basic law of a political unit as distinguished from legislative acts specifically

%%The Current Members of the Supreme Court and Their Schools%%

• John robertr→ Harvard
• Clarence Thomas→ Yale
• Samual Alito jr→ Yale
• Sonia Sotomayor→ Princston
• Elena Kagan→ Harvard
• Neil M. Gorsuch→ Harvard
• Brett M. Kavanaugh→ Yale
• Amy Coney Barrett→ Notre Dame Law School
• Ketanji Brown Jackson→ Harvard

Due process

• Due process is a requirement that legal matters be resolved according to established rules and principles, and that individuals be treated fairly

%%Stare Decisis%%

• This means that you stand by decided cases

Police Powers

%%Writ of Certiorari%%

• Most common way the litigants ask the lower court to send it to the supreme court so they can be informed about the case
• There are several checkpoints that the clerk make sure they fit such as being in the right format

The rules governing it are called @@in forma pauperis@@, but the major deal breaker is if it’s legible or not

• $Use pool method$: pool memos and clerk’s reports determine if the case is worth hearing
• Rule of four→ Grants certiotari to those cases receiving the affirmative vote for at least 4 justices

The First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Cooperative v. Dual Federalism

• Dual federalism is when power is divided between national and state governments clearly while cooperative federalism is a flexible relationship between the state and federal governments so they can work together

Dual Citizenship

Traditional Government Function

Ex Parte McCardle

• Ex Parte McCardle questioned if they should get rid of the exceptions for this so that congress can remove jurisdiction when necessary
• The Court validated congressional withdrawal of the Court's jurisdiction. The basis for this repeal was the Exceptions Clause of Article III Section 2. But Chase pointedly reminded his readers that the 1868 statute repealing jurisdiction "does not affect the jurisdiction which was previously exercised.

%%McCulloch v. Maryland%%

• McCulloch v. Maryland asked 2 main quesions

$1) Did Congress have the authority to establish a bank?$

$2) Did the Maryland law unconstitutionally interfere withe congressional powers?$

• The original argument started with Hamilton and Jefferson. Hamilton thought that the case was constitutional, but Jefferson did not
• James McCulloch was the cashier of the Baltimore Bank cost his branch 1 million in illegal financial schemes which Maryland fined $15,000 or 2% tax on banknotes, but McCulloch refused to pay
• The answer to this question was held in the “necessary and proper” clause and how you interpret it. Hamilton thought it meant what was convenient and so did Marshall.
• ==This means there was a unanimous vote to uphold the necessary clause so Maryland did not impost a tax on the bank==

Scott v. Sandford (1857)

• Through Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court

$Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (1985)$

• Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority claimed that it was exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements
• The question was: $Did principles of federalism make the San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority immune from the Fair Labor Standards Act?$
• ==The Court argued that the structure of the federal system itself, rather than any "discrete limitations" on federal authority, protected state sovereignty. They were in favor of Garcia.==

Printz v. US (1997)

• The question asked in Printz v US: Using the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I as justification, can Congress temporarily require state CLEOs to regulate handgun purchases by performing those duties called for by the Brady Bill's handgun applicant background checks?
• ==They determined that they could not make chief law enforcement officers do background checks for guns and that it was unconstitutional, but they could do that for the federal government==