JUDICIAL BRANCH

Role of the Courts

Federal courts, such as the Supreme Court, make up the third branch of the U.S. govern- ment. Courts use the law to settle civil (involving ordinary citizens and their concerns) disputes and to decide the guilt or innocence of people accused of crimes.

Whether a civil dispute is between two private parties (people, companies, or orga- nizations), between a private party and the government, or between the United States and a state or local government, both sides come before a court. Each side presents its position. The court then applies the law to the facts that have been presented and makes a decision in favor of one or the other. The courts also hold criminal trials in which witnesses present evidence and a jury or a judge delivers a verdict.

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The United States Supreme Court is at the top of the federal court system. If you visit the Court, you will see the words “Equal Justice Under Law” on the face of its marble building. Our legal system is based on this important ideal. The goal of the legal system is to treat every person the same. Under the Constitution, every person accused of breaking the law has the right to have a public trial and a lawyer. If an accused person cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint and pay for one. Each person is presumed innocent until proven guilty and has the right to ask for a review of his or her case if, in that person’s view, the courts have made a mistake.

The ideal of equal justice is difficult to achieve. Judges and juries are not free from personal prejudices or the prejudices of their communities. Poor people do not have the money to spend on the best available legal help, unlike wealthy citizens and large companies who have hired top lawyers.

Court System

The federal court system has three levels—the district courts at the lower level, the appeals courts in the middle, and the Supreme Court at the top. Our federal court system exists alongside 50 separate state court systems. Each state has its own laws and courts as well based on its own laws.

The Constitution gives federal courts jurisdiction—which means that only the federal courts can be the only ones that hear and decide specific types of cases. To elaborate: federal courts have jurisdiction over cases involving federal laws (national government), while state courts have jurisdiction over cases involving state laws.

Most U.S. court cases involve state law and are tried in state courts. At the top of the federal court system is the Supreme Court. Below the Supreme Court are two lower courts—the district courts and the appeals courts. District courts are the federal courts in which trials are held and lawsuits are begun. All federal cases must begin in a district court, because district courts have original jurisdiction, the authority to hear cases for the first time. District courts are the only federal courts in which witnesses testify and juries hear cases and reach verdicts.

Above the district courts in the federal court system are the United States courts of appeals. These courts are also referred to as federal appeals courts. The job of the appeals courts is to review decisions made in lower district courts. This is referred to as appellate jurisdiction, or the authority of a court to hear a case appealed from a lower court. Lawyers usually appeal when they feel that the district court judge in their case followed the wrong procedure or did not apply the law. Some appeals may be based on new evidence that could affect, or impact, the verdict. An appeals court decision is final unless brought up to the supreme court.

Announcing the Decision

When an appeals court makes a decision, one judge writes an opinion for the court offering a detailed explanation of the legal thinking behind the court’s decision. The opinion sets a precedent for all courts within the district.

A precedent gives guidance to other judges by offering a model upon which to base their own decisions on similar cases. A precedent does not have the force of law, but it is a very powerful argument to use in court. Judges and courts follow precedents in nearly all cases.

Certain judicial principles were established early in the nation’s history.

Judicial precedents derive their force from a common law principle. This principle states that the decisions of the highest court in the jurisdiction are supreme on all lower courts in the jurisdiction. Thus, all courts in the United States are bound by precedent to follow the decisions of the United States Supreme Court (the highest court in the federal government).

Also do know: Neither any fed- eral court nor the Supreme Court may initiate action. A judge or justice may not seek out an issue and ask both sides to bring it to court. The courts must wait for litigants, or people engaged in a lawsuit, to come before them.

Nominating federal judges

According to the Constitution, the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, will appoint all federal judges. In general, presidents want to appoint judges who share their ideas about politics and justice, so justice is not always necessarily impartial. Thus, presidents usually choose people who belong to their political parties. At many points, Presidential elections have swayed the highest courts in our lands with much controversy and bitter divide. For instance, Republican Senators in the last election refused to approve a Supreme Court Judge nominated by President Obama in his final year in office since they wanted to wait until the upcoming election was officially decided. Obama argued that was not the formal process for nominating a federal judge based on constitutional precedent.

In nominating a Federal Judge, a president submits, or presents, the name of a candidate to the senators from the candidate’s state before submitting it to the entire Senate for final approval. If either or both senators object to the candidate, the president usually withdraws the name and nominates another candidate. The practice of senatorial courtesy usually applies only to the selection of judges to the district courts and other trial courts, not to the selection of judges to courts of appeals or the Supreme Court.

Once appointed, federal judges may have their jobs for life. A judge can be removed from office only through the process of impeachment. The writers of the Constitution gave federal judges this sort of job security because they wanted judges to be able to decide cases free from public or political pressures of elections.

Limited Judicial Power

Like the federal government, the power of the Supreme Court is limited.

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in only two instances. It can preside over cases that involve diplomats from foreign countries and in disputes between states. In all other instances, the Supreme Court hears cases that have been appealed from lower district courts or federal regulatory agencies.

The Supreme Court does not hear all the cases it receives. It chooses the cases it hears. It has final authority in any case involving the Constitution, acts of Congress, and trea- ties with other nations. The decisions of the Court are binding on all lower courts. When the Court refuses to hear a case, the decision of the lower court stands.

Supreme Court Organization and Duties

The Supreme Court is made of eight justices (justice = judge) led by a chief justice . Congress sets this number and has the power to change it. The justices are extremely important political decision makers. Their rulings often affect citizens as much as do presidential or congressional decisions.

The main duty of justices is to hear and rule on cases. They choose which cases to hear from among the thousands appealed to the Court each year, then decide the case itself and issue a written explanation for the decision, called the Court’s opinion.

The president appoints Supreme Court justices, with the approval of the Senate. Vacancies in the Court open up only often due to the resignation or death of a justice. Presidents are careful to choose nominees who are likely to be approved by the Senate. The president’s decision is often influenced by the attorney general (top lawyer for the United States) and other Justice Department officials, other Supreme Court justices, and interest groups, such as labor, civil rights groups, or corporate financiers.

Political support and agreement with the president’s ideas are important factors in who gets appointed. Of course, once appointed, a justice may make rulings with which the president does not agree - which has happened repeatedly over time.

The Supreme Court enjoys a great deal of power and prestige. The legislative and executive branches of government must follow the Supreme Court’s rulings. The fact that the Supreme Court is removed from politics and from the influences of special-interest groups once in power makes it more likely that the parties involved in a case will get a fair hearing. Nevertheless, politics still plays a role in swaying opinions.

Judicial Review

One of the most important powers of the Supreme Court is the power of judicial review. Judicial review means that the Court can review any federal, state, or local law or action to see if it is constitutional, or allowed by the Constitution. If the Court decides a law is unconstitutional, it has the power to nullify, or cancel, that law or action.

The power of judicial review is an impor- tant check on the legislative and executive branches of government. It prevents them from straying too far from the Constitution when they make and carry out laws.

Furthermore, under the system of checks and balances, there are limits on the power of the federal courts, including the Supreme Court. The Court depends on the executive branch as well as state and local officials, such as governors or police officers, to enforce its decisions. Under the system of checks and balances, there are limits on the power of the federal courts, including the Supreme Court. The Court depends on the executive branch as well as state and local officials, such as governors or police officers, to enforce its decisions.

The executive branch usually follows Court rulings, but there have been excep- tions. President Andrew Jackson refused to obey a Court ruling in the case of Worcester

v. Georgia, in which Chief Justice John Marshall ordered the state of Georgia to stop violating federal land treaties with the Cherokee Nation in 1832. Because most citizens agreed with President Jackson, there was no public pressure to force him to uphold the Court’s decision.

Selecting Cases

Supreme Court justices decide to hear only certain kinds of cases. They usually decide to hear a case if it involves a significant con- stitutional question. In most instances, such questions center around the Bill of Rights and other amendments and deal with issues such as freedom of speech, equal protection of the laws, and fair trial.

Although the Supreme Court is somewhat protected from public and political pressures, the social situation can also influence Court decisions. When social conditions change, the Court may make new interpretations of the law. As the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court is in a position to overrule outdated precedents.

The Supreme Court sometimes reviews a case to clarify the meaning of the Constitution for an important issue. This happened with disputes over manually recounting the Florida ballots in the presidential elec- tion of 2000. The dispute led the Court to address a question involving the Fourteenth Amendment: did all recounted votes have to be treated equally? In Bush v. Gore (2000), the Court ordered the recount to stop. This decision ensured that George W. Bush would receive Florida’s electoral votes and win the election.