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Chapter 7:

The Judicial Branch

Art I: The Legislative Branch

Art II: The Executive Branch

Art III: The Judicial Branch

Art IV: Relations between states

Art V: Amendment process

Art VI: National Supremacy

Art VII: Ratification

This week we will focus on Article III – The Judicial Branch

Established a national Supreme Court

Congress has power to create lower federal courts

Federal Judges are appointed by the president

Appointments must be approved by Senate

Lists Federal Jurisdiction

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Notes:Laws and Courts

• Federal Judicial Branch Components

–The Supreme Court and more than

100 other federal courts.

• Disputes involving laws are resolved

in the legal system

• (Crash)

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Notes:What Courts Do• Words you need to understand

– Plaintiff: Individual or group bringing a complaint

against another party.

– Defendant: The party who answers the complaint

and defends against it.

– Prosecution: A government body that bring a

criminal charge against a defendant who is accused

of breaking one of its laws.

– Precedent: Guideline for how all similar cases

should be decided in the future

Notes:

− The courtroom calendar is called a docket.

− only a handful of cases make it onto this

list.

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Notes: What Courts Do (cont.)

• Other Members of the Court

– Judge

– Jury

– Bailiff

– Stenographer

– Witness

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Notes:State Courts and Federal Courts• Jurisdiction – the power to hear a case

– Original Jurisdiction

• The authority to hear a case first

– Appellate Jurisdiction

• Appellate court- The authority to hear an appeal

– Appeal

» Asking a higher court review the decision

and determine if justice was done.

• Federal Cases– Those involving federal laws & appeals from State cases.

Cases involving the Constitution

Violation of Federal Law

Controversies between States

Disputes between people from different States

Suits involving the Federal Government

Cases involving Foreign Governments & Treaties

Cases based on Maritime Laws

Cases involving US Diplomats

The first four are of particular importance.

(CRASH)

Notes:The District Courts

• The “workhorse” of the federal court

system

– 94 District Courts

– 300,000 cases per year (criminal and civil)

– 80 percent of federal cases

– Between 1 and 28 judges may serve a

district court

– The trials have witnesses and juries

US DISTRICT COURT -

ANCHORAGE

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Notes:The Courts of Appeals

• Court of Appeals

– This court handles the appeals from the federal districts

– Often called Circuit Courts

– There are twelve regular Circuit Courts, with a thirteenth

one serving special federal courts and agencies of the

executive branch.

• Trials

– Three Judges who affirm or reverse the lower court’s

decision.

– No jury, no witnesses - a bench trial = 3+Judges

9th Circuit – San Francisco, CA

Notes:The Supreme Court

• Highest Court in the Federal system

– Purpose: to serve as the final court of appeals for

both the state and federal court systems.

• Other Special Federal Courts

– Court of Claims

– Court of Customs

– Court of Patent Appeals

– Tax Court

– (Crash)

Notes:Federal Court Judges

• Appointment

– Federal judges are appointed by the

President and approved by the Senate

– They serve life terms; can only be removed

by impeachment or resignation.

– Only nine judges are appointed to the

Supreme Court

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Civics: Government and

Economics in Action

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Notes:

− There are 8 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice

Chief Justice John Roberts

(First Chief Justice was “The

Honorable John Jay”)

(Founding Father and Writer

of the Federalist Papers)

Notes:The Justices of the Supreme Court• Qualifications

– None listed in the Constitution

• IN THEORY – you don’t need a law degree

• IN REALITY-The President selects justices from the

most respected and qualified judges, lawyers, and

legal scholars in the country.

– There have been 112 Justices; All but 6 of them

have been white men.

– Exceptions: Thurgood Marshall, Clarence

Thomas, Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader

Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan

Clarence Thomas sits on

the court today.

Had previously won important SC

case – Brown v. Bd. Of Education

She retired in 2006

Sonya Sotomayor Elena Kagan

Current Women Supreme Court Justices

Ruth Bader Ginsberg

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Notes:The Work of the Supreme Court

• Selecting Cases

– More than 8,000 requests are made per year, but only

about 100 cases are heard

• Hearing Arguments

– Attorneys submit briefs, and make verbal arguments

before the court

• Making a Decision

– The Justices vote and usually submit an opinion or

written statement explaining the reasons for the

decision.

Notes:Decisions

• Majority opinion

– Written to explain how the court has decided

the case

• Concurring opinion

– Written if agree upon final decision, but for

different reasons

• Dissenting opinion

– Written to explain why they disagree with the

opinion

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Notes:Influences on Judicial Decision Making

• Considerations:

– Laws

– The Constitution

– Precedents

– Personal preference

• Duties

– Be fair and impartial

– Respect precedent

– Try to determine the intent of the Framers

Landmark Cases

Marbury v Madison

– Established the precedent that the Supreme Court

has Judicial Review

• The power to overturn any law that the Court decides is

in conflict with the Constitution.

Civics: Government and

Economics in Action

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The most important

case of all!!!!

What happened Students wrote an article the principal would not

allow to be published in the school newspaper

DECISION Schools can filter or limit information that is

placed into a school newspaper.

This case allows school officials to have full control of school sponsored activities

Activities can continue “so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns

1st Amendment (1988)

What happened

2 students caught smoking in bathroom, sent to VP, asked to open purses, VP found rolling paper used for marijuana, asked students to dump out purses, found money, marijuana, and list of people owing her money

DECISION

Schools are only required to have “reasonable suspicion” to search students

4th Amendment (1985)

What happened

Students wore black arm bands protesting Vietnam War, they were suspended

DECISION

A student does not shed his rights at the door. Black armbands to protest the Vietnam War can be worn since they are not disruptive.

1st Amendment (1969)

What happened

Sandford lived in MO (a slave state) took Dred Scott to IL (a free state) and Scott said he was now free

DECISION

States cannot deprive a person of his right to property

5th Amendment (1857)

What happened

Plessy (1/8 of African decent) sat in white only train car, would not move when asked

DECISION

Established the concept of “separate but equal” in public facilities

14th Amendment (1896)

What happened

Mr. Brown wanted his daughter to attend the neighborhood school (she was black and the school was for whites)

DECISION

Schools were desegregated. Separate is unequal.Separate but equal has no place

Integrated schools

Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson

14th Amendment (1954)

What happened Gideon charged with crime, at that time in FL lawyers

only given for death penalty and insanity cases, he had no money to pay a lawyer and was found guilty

DECISION All accused persons are entitled to a lawyer, even if they

cannot afford one.

Right to Counsel

Person must have counsel provided, regardless of the charges filed against them

Gideon Rule

6th Amendment (1963)

What happened

Miranda arrested but not told his right to not confess to the crime, he signed a confession and was convicted

DECISION

A person must be read his or her rights before being arrested.

When Ernesto Miranda was arrested and questioned and signed a confession that listed that he had “full knowledge of his legal rights”, he was not made aware of his rights to counsel and the confession was illegally gained.

5th Amendment (1966)

What happened Police searched Mapp’s house with a fake warrant

and found illegal material

DECISION Illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in court.

Illegal Evidence and Due Process Clause

No illegal search and seizures applied to all states Before this rule not every state incorporated excluding

evidence gained through an illegal search

Exclusionary Rule

4th and 14th Amendment (1962)

What happened

School board required students to say a prayer at beginning of each day

DECISION

A school cannot require students to pray. This court case upheld separation of church and state.

Establishment Clause

Eliminated prayers in school

Students cannot be forced to recite a prayer because it violates their 1st Amendment right to freedom of religion

1st Amendment (1962)

What happened

Texas had a law against desecrating the Flag, Mr. Johnson burned a Flag in protest

DECISION

The Government cannot limit a citizen’s right to burn the US Flag

This case protected the rights of individuals to freedom of expression, even if in this case that expression is the burning of the American flag

1st Amendment (1989)

What happened/Decision

A state cannot take away a woman’s right to an abortion

4th Amendment (1973)

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Notes:A Changing Court

• Judicial Activism

– An effort by judges to take an active role in

policymaking by overturning laws relatively often.

• Judicial Restraint

– An effort by judges to avoid overturning laws and

to leave policymaking up to the other two branches

of the government.

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Notes:The Court and Other Branches of Government

• The President’s Power

– Appointment of judges

• The Power of Congress

– Confirmation of judges

• Citizen Participation