Judiciary Branch

There were Judiciary issues in early colonial America and the Articles of Confederation.

  • Colonial America had corruption and incompetence when it came to the judiciary branch.

  • Articles of Confederation had no national judiciary.

What safeguards did the Framers put in place to make sure federal judges could do their job without facing removal for an unpopular decision?

They serve for life. This does not apply to state judges; state judges are elected. Federal judges are also appointed by the POTUS and cleared by the Senate.

What is a dual court system?

A dual court system inside the U.S. is how we are split between state and federal courts, also known as federalism. Most court cases are heard inside of state courts now.

What is an inferior court?

Lower courts created by Congress.

What are the two types of inferior courts? They are special courts and constitutional courts.

What is jurisdiction?

Authority to hear a case.

What determines if a federal court has jurisdiction in a case?

A. Subject matter = involves a fed. question, violation of Fed. law treaty or maritime/admiralty law.

B. WHO is involved (single or party)

What types of jurisdiction are there, and what do they do/mean?

  1. Exclusive = case is heard in federal court only

  2. Concurrent = case heard in federal and state court

  3. Original = Where a case originates or is first heard.

  4. Appellate = where a case goes for review

Parties to a case

Plaintiff V. Defendant

Civil case, SCOTUS = Petitioner v. Respondent, outcome is $ related, and person suing v. the sued.

Prosecution v. Defense

Criminal cases, prosecution is always either the state or federal government, outcome is either acquittal or conviction.

Who appoints replacement judges?

President

Who confirms the appointment?

Senate

How does senatorial courtesy/blue slip factor in?

If the Senator from the same state says they like them then they usually all say yes. Now, maybe the different parties don’t vote for each other.

What are the constitutional requirements a candidate must have to be appointed to the federal bench?

None.

Judicial Restraint

Follow original intent of the Constitution; textualism; strict construction; court is not where public policy is made.

Judicial Activism

Judges assume broader power esp. w/ social issues and civil rights; laws should be applied based on what's happening in real time in society based on changes, conditions, values.

Precedent / stare decisis / super precedent

Decisions or rulings from prior cases that set the standard going forward for similar cases.

SUPER PRECEDENT = a decision that has broad support, more than 90% of the country's approval.

How much do associate justices get paid? $306,600

How much does the chief justice get paid? $320,700

What is a Magistrate?

Officer of the federal court who handles judicial proceedings prior to trial.

What is a docket?

    A list of cases before the court, like a calendar.

What is a bench trial?

    Where the judge decides rather then a jury.

What is a bench?

    Where the judge sits.

Who is a Bailiff?

    The courtroom cop

Who is a US Marshal?

    Federal law enforcement for the courts.

Who is the clerk?

    The record keeper for all cases in county.

What is the record?

    The record of what happens in a case.

What does overruled mean?

    Judges response rejecting objection.

What does struck down mean?

    To declare a law or act of government unconstitutional

What does upheld mean?

    To declare an act of gov. or law constitutional

What does Grand Jury mean?

    A jury that decides if there’s enough evidence for trial.

Petit Jury

    A trial jury, 12 jurors, guilty or not guilty.

Change of Venue

    Moving the location of the trial to get a fair jury.

Sequestered

    To be removed from the public for the remainder of trial or hearings.

Voir Dire

    Process of jury selection

Jury Nullification

    When a jury finds a defendant not guilty even though they are guilty.

Plea Bargain

    It’s a deal and you can get a lesser charge or lesser punishment.

The justices of the supreme court:

  • Chief justice, John Roberts

    • Appointed by Bush 43 in 2005, conservative

  • Thomas

    • Appointed by Bush 41 in 1991, conservative

  • Alito

    • Appointed by Bush 43 in 2006, conservative

  • Soto Mayor

    • Appointed by Obama in 2009, liberal

  • Kagan

    • Appointed by Obama in 2010, liberal

  • Gorsech

    • Appointed in 2017 by Trump, conservative

  • Kabanaugh

    • Appointed in 2018 by Trump, conservative

  • Barrett

    • Appointed in 2020 by Trump, conservative

  • Jackson

    • Appointed in 2022 by Biden, liberal

Marbury V. Madison

    Created judicial review, power to decide if an act of government is constitutional. Created in 1803 by the court.

Federalist 78

  • Written by Hamilton

  • Relies on exec. branch to carry out their rulings

  • Court should be above the politics of congress and president; must be independent to be able to check the other two (Judicial review)

  • Institutional knowledge instability

  • Marbury V. Madison affirms Judicial review

  • Check on judicial branch is exec. must carry out rulings.

SCOTUS term = Oct. to June

Original Jurisdiction = 1 or 2 a term

Appellate Jurisdiction = 7000+ cases appeal to SCOTUS but only 80-100 heard a year.

Rule of Four

  • 4 justices must agree to hear a case

    • if they don’t agree… the lower court decision stands

  • If they do agree, they issue a Writ of CERT

  • 3 reasons why they will take a case

    • Circuit split

    • National importance

    • Lower court invalidates federal law

  • Writ of Certiorari

    • Means they will take the case, and is sent for review.

    • Must raise an important constitutional question or a serious problem with interpreted statue.

Briefs

Overview of case from each side

Amicus curiae ( Friend of the court) briefs

    Third party brief = party is not part of the case, but could be affected by the outcome.

Solicitor general

    Weighs in w/Gous position on the case to try and influence SCOTUS. Also tries to tell SCOTUS what cases to hear.

SCOTUS conference

    Go into a sound proof room, just the 9 of them, and then they talk about the case.

Decisions and Opinions

  • June (Most of them)

  • 1/3 of them are unanimous

  • The rest are split decisions that cause controversy.

Majority “The Opinion”

  • Winning side

  • Has the effect of Law.

Concurring Opinion

  • Opinion that agrees w/ the majority, but for different reasons

  • No law

Dissenting Opinion

  • Losers

  • Write about why the majority is wrong

  • No law

Military Justice

  • UCMJ

    • Uniform code of military justice

  • Court-Martial

    • Conducted very similar to civilian court BUT only 2/3 of jury must agree for a guilty verdict…

  • Convictions can be appealed to the Court of Appeals for Armed Forces

    • Court of Appeals for Armed Forces uses civilians instead of military personal.

Appeals for Veteran’s Claims

  • Deals w/ cases from Veteran’s Administration.

District Courts

  • Hear both civil and criminal cases

  • Most cases are on original jurisdiction

  • Most decisions are final but can be appealed to Court of appeals

Court of Appeals

  • 12 - Hear cases on appeal from districts courts

  • 3 - judge panel

  • 1 - Court of appeals for the federal circuit

    • Hear cases from Veterans claims court, international trade, federal claims courts

International Trade

  • Civil cases related to customs/trade laws

  • 3 judge panel