Judicial Branch Notes

JUDICIAL BRANCH – THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM

Name______________________________ Date_______________


1. The Federal Court System
¡ Articles of Confederation
ú Major Weakness – No Courts
ú Each State had own courts and laws



2. Article III of the Constitution
Created a ____________ Court
Congress can create inferior courts (courts of lower authority)
Judiciary Act of 1789 – created federal ___________ courts
Later in 1791 appeals courts were created



3. ____________ and ____________ Cases
There are _____ court systems in the US – ___________ and __________ courts
Criminal cases – cases in which ___________ decide whether people have committed crimes
Civil cases – cases in which two sides disagree over some issue


4. Federal Court Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction –
Federal courts have jurisdiction in the following areas:
The Constitution – a constitutional right has been violated


5. Federal laws and Federal crimes – kidnapping, bank robbery
Admiralty and Maritime law –

Controversies between states –




6. Disputes in which the US government is involved – the government can sue if someone does not live up to their part of a contract or a person/company can take the government to court if they do not believe the government lived up to their part of a contract.



7. Controversies between citizens of different states – if a person in Maine is cheated by a person from California and it is worth more than $50,000, then the __________ courts can intervene
Disputes involving foreign governments – any dispute between an American (US government, American company) and a foreign country


8. US ambassadors, ministers, and consuls serving in foreign countries – if an ambassador breaks an American law in the embassy, the federal courts will hear the case



9. Exclusive jurisdiction –


Concurrent jurisdiction –



10. District Courts
Lowest level of the _____________________
Are where trials are held and _____________ begin
Original jurisdiction – authority to hear cases for the first time
Only federal courts is where ______________ are held
Each district is a geographic area



11. Civil cases –

Constitution states – “such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed”



12. District Court Judges
Each district has at least ______
Each district court judge
- Decides procedures to be followed
- Explain the law involved in a case to the jury
- Decide on punishment/fine when the jury finds a defendant guilty
- Are paid
- Cannot have pay reduced during term in office


13. Other District Court Officials
Magistrate
Issues court orders
Hears preliminary evidence to determine whether the case should be brought to trial
Hear minor cases
US Attorney
Government’s lawyer
His/Her job to prove that a suspect has committed a crime
Do most of the trial work



14. Serving Subpoenas
Marshal
Arrests suspects
Delivers defendants to court
Serves subpoenas – court order requiring someone to appear in court
Clerks and Secretaries and other individuals help make judicial branch work as swiftly as possible



15. US Courts of Appeals
Also called federal appeals courts (are above district courts)
Jurisdiction – appellate jurisdiction
- Hear only cases which have gone to district courts or through federal regulatory agencies
- Can only be used if the law was not followed properly or if procedures were not followed properly
- Created to ease the work of ______________________
- There are 12 circuits or geographic areas



16. Appeals Court Judges
There are _____ to _____ per court
They do not preside over trials
No jury – only a panel of _________ judges hear arguments and review cases
They only rule if rights are protected and a fair trial was received



17. Three types of rulings
A. Uphold the lower courts verdict
B. Remand (return) the case for a new trial
C. Overturn the decision
Appeals courts’ decision is usually final
Very few cases reach the Supreme Court


18. Special Federal Courts
US ___________ – hears appeals dealing with federal tax laws
US Court of Federal Claims –
US Court of Military Appeals – appeals court for armed forces (after an individual has been court – marshaled)
US Court of International Trade –



19. The Power of the Supreme Court
Original jurisdiction
- Preside over trials in cases that involve diplomats from foreign countries
- Preside over trials where ___________sue each other (usually the Supreme Court allows a __________ court to hear this)


20. Appellate jurisdiction in all other cases – of over 6,000 appealed usually around 150 are heard
Pose significant legal or constitutional questions
Of great public interest or concern

Judicial Review –




21. Judicial Review
A.
B.
C.




22. Marbury v. Madison
Established judicial review in ___________
President John Adams made some midnight appointments; Marbury, who was appointed a justice of the peace, took James Madison to the Supreme Court for not carrying out President Adams appointments invoking the Judiciary Act of 1789)



23. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the majority opinion turning down Marbury’s claim and the three basic principles of judicial review were created:
- The Constitution is the supreme law of the land
- Where there is a conflict between the Constitution and any other law, the Constitution must be followed
- The judicial branch has the duty to uphold the Constitution and nullify or cancel any law in conflict with the Constitution



24. The power of judicial review has become an important check on any other branch

Checking the Courts Power
Congress can change laws so they are no longer in conflict
Congress can create a new amendment



25. Controversy and the Court
The Court has made people very MAD (they may even ask Congress to change a law to fix the problem)
1857 Dred Scott v. Sanford – ruling; the Constitution did not prohibit slavery in the territories (Slaves were not citizens and therefore could not sue in the federal courts)
Amendment 13 changed that



26. Supreme Court Justices
There are eight associate justices and one chief justice
No set formal qualifications
Informal qualification
- All have been lawyers
- Most have been judges
- Many have been public officials
- W.H. Taft was the only chief justice to have been President first




27. Appointment by the _____________ and approval by the ______________


28. The President tries to appoint judges who share the same ideology, but once appointed the have no obligation to follow the President’s line


29. Facts about the Supreme Court:
- Thurgood Marshall (1967) and Clarence Thomas (1991) were the first African Americans
- Sandra Day O’Connor (1981) and Ruth Bader Ginsberg (1993) were the first women