Judicial Branch

==Good luck studying, phong!!==

Brief: a written legal argument presented to a court by one of the parties in a case

Dual court system: one federal + one state with each of the fifty states having its own courts

Precedent: The principles or guidelines established by courts in earlier cases that frame the ongoing operation of the courts, steering the direction of the entire system

Common Law vs. Code Law

  • Laws developed by judge decision vs. Laws with no room for interpretation by court decision
  • Think of it as one can be changed/swayed and the other cannot

Original Jurisdiction vs. Appellate Jurisdiction

  • Court hears case for 1st time vs. only hear appeal case from a lower court

Rule of Four: a Supreme Court custom in which a case will be heard when four justices decide to do so

Stare decisis: courts rely on past decisions + precedents when making decisions in new cases

Writ of Certiorari: an order by a higher court directing a lower court to send up a case for review

Senatorial courtesy: an unwritten custom by which the president consults the senators in the state before nominating a candidate for a federal vacancy there, particularly for court positions

Solicitor general: a lawyer who represents federal government + argues some cases before Supreme Court

Dissenting opinion vs. Concurring opinion

  • both are a signed opinion
  • Disagree with the majority view vs. Agree with the majority view BUT for different reasons

Majority opinion: an opinion of the Court with which more than half the nine justices agree

Oral argument: words spoken before the Supreme Court (usually by lawyers) explaining the legal reasons behind their position in a case and why it should prevail

Judicial Restraint vs. Judicial Activism

  • A judicial philosophy in which justice is more likely to…
  • let stand the decisions or actions vs. overturn decisions or rule actions by the other branches unconstitutional (especially in an attempt to broaden individual rights and liberties)

Docket: the list of cases pending on a court’s calendar

Conference: closed meeting of the justices to discuss cases on the docket and take an initial vote

Tort: law involving "wrongful acts" leading to "injury"

Remedy: order set forth what must be done to correct what judges believe to be wrong

Amicus Curiae: who can file legal briefs or oral arguments in support of one side

Class Action: case bought to court on behalf of ALL people

3 types of courts:

  1. SCOTUS (Supreme Court - big daddy/mommy according to O’Malley)
  2. Circuit (appeals)
  3. District (trials)

Judicial implementation: refers to how and whether court decisions are translated into actual policy, affecting the behavior of others

Roosevelt's court-packing plan: attempt to pass a bill that would allow him to appoint new justices and replacement justices for those that did not retire soon enough

  • He can push through any bill without worrying about it coming under fire for being unconstitutional

Federalist No. 78: discusses the power of judicial review

  • Federal courts have the duty to determine whether acts of Congress are constitutional and to follow the Constitution when there is inconsistency.

==-- Court Cases --==

Marbury v. Madison

  • The 1803 Supreme Court case established the courts’ power of judicial review and the first time the Supreme Court ruled an act of Congress to be unconstitutional

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

  • Overturned a Texas anti-sodomy law as a violation of the right to privacy + the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
  • Ruled that state laws banning homosexual sodomy are unconstitutional as a violation of the right to privacy.