Chapter 8 the Judicial Branch

Chapter 8 The Judicial Branch Section 2 U.S. District Courts • District courts are the federal courts where trials are held and lawsuits are begun.  • All states have at least one. • For all federal cases, district courts have original jurisdiction, the authority to hear the case for the first time.  • District courts hear both civil and criminal cases.  • They are the only federal courts that involve witnesses and juries. U.S. Court of Appeals • People who lose in a district court often appeal to the next highest level–a U.S. court of appeals.  • Appeals courts review decisions made in lower district courts.  • This is appellate jurisdiction–the authority to hear a case appealed from a lower court. • Each of the 12 U.S. courts of appeals covers a particular geographic area called a circuit.  • A thirteenth appeals court, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has nationwide jurisdiction.  • Appeals courts do not hold trials.  • Instead, a panel of judges reviews the case records and listens to arguments from lawyers on both sides. • The judges may decide in one of three ways: uphold the original decision, reverse the decision, or remand the case–send it back to the lower court to be tried again. • Appeals courts do not decide guilt or innocence or which side should win a suit.  • They rule only on whether the original trial was fair and protected the person’s rights.  • Most appeals court decisions are final.  • A few cases are appealed to the Supreme Court. • One appellate judge writes an opinion that explains the legal thinking behind the court’s decision in the case.  • The opinion sets a precedent or model for other judges to follow in making their own decisions on similar cases. Federal Judges • Each district court has at least 2 judges.  • Each appeals court has 6 to 27 judges.  • The Supreme Court has 9 justices. • Presidents appoint federal judges, with Senate approval.  • They usually appoint judges who share their views.  • Because judges serve for life, presidents view their appointments as an opportunity to affect the country after they leave office. • As a senatorial courtesy, presidents submit their nominations for judge to the senators from the nominee’s state.  • If either senator objects, the president withdraws the name and nominates someone else.  2

• Once appointed, a judge can be removed only through impeachment. • Each district court has magistrate judges who do much of the judge’s routine work.  • They hear preliminary evidence and determine whether the case should go to trial.  • They decide whether accused people should be held in jail or released on bail. • Every federal judicial district also has a U.S. attorney–a government lawyer who prosecutes people accused of breaking federal laws.  • U.S. attorneys look into the charges and present the evidence in court.  • They also represent the United States in civil cases involving the government. • Every federal judicial district also has a U.S. marshal.  • Marshals make arrests, collect fines, and take convicted people to prison.  • They protect jurors, keep order in the court, and serve subpoenas ordering people to appear in court. Section 3 The Supreme Court Justices • The main job of the nation’s top court is to decide whether laws are allowable under the Constitution.  • The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction only in cases involving foreign diplomats or a state.  • All other cases come to the Court on appeal. • The Court chooses the cases it hears.  • In cases the Court refuses to hear, the decision of the lower court stands.  • The Court has final authority on cases involving the Constitution, acts of Congress, and treaties. • Eight associate justices and one chief justice make up the Supreme Court.  • After deciding a case, the justices issue a written explanation, called the Court’s opinion. • The president appoints Supreme Court justices, with Senate approval.  • The president’s decision may be influenced by the Justice Department, American Bar Association, interest groups, and other Supreme Court justices. • Supreme Court justices are always lawyers.  • A successful law career, political support, and agreement with the president’s ideas are factors in who gets appointed. Powers of the Court • The legislative and executive branches must follow Supreme Court rulings.  • Because the Court is removed from politics and the influences of special-interest groups, the parties involved in a case are likely to get a fair hearing. • The Court’s main job is to decide whether laws and government actions are constitutional, or allowed by the Constitution.  • It does this through judicial review–the power to say whether any law or government action goes against the Constitution. 3

• The Constitution does not give the Supreme Court the power of judicial review.  • The Court claimed the power when it decided the case Marbury v. Madison. • As President John Adams was leaving office, he signed an order making William Marbury a justice of the peace.  • The incoming president, Thomas Jefferson, refused to carry out the order.  • Marbury took his case to the Supreme Court. • In the Court’s opinion, Chief Justice John Marshall set forth three principles of judicial review:  • (1) The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.  • (2) If a law conflicts with the Constitution, the Constitution rules.  • (3) The judicial branch has a duty to uphold the Constitution.  • Thus, it must be able to determine when a law conflicts with the Constitution and nullify that law. • The power of judicial review serves as a check on the actions of the executive and legislative branches.  • Congress writes laws in general language.  • Through its rulings, the Supreme Court interprets the meaning of laws, helping the police and other courts apply them. Limits on the Courts’ Power • The Court depends on the executive branch and state and local officials to enforce its decisions. Usually they do.  • Congress can get around a Court ruling by passing a new law, changing a law ruled unconstitutional, or amending the Constitution. • The president’s power to appoint justices and Congress’s power to approve appointments and to impeach and remove justices serve to check the power of the Court.  • The Court cannot decide that a law is unconstitutional unless the law has been challenged in a lower court and the case comes to it on appeal.  • The Court accepts only cases that involve a federal question.  • It usually stays out of political questions. Section 4 How Cases Reach the Court • The Supreme Court conducts business each year from October until June or July. • Each month, the justices spend two weeks listening to oral arguments on cases and two weeks writing opinions and studying new cases.  • The Court receives most of its cases on appeal from a lower court, but sometimes a lower court asks for a ruling because it is not sure how to apply the law in a case. • Of the more than 7,000 applications each year, the Court agrees to hear fewer than 200.  • The Court accepts cases that four of the nine justices agree the Court should review.  • They usually select cases that involve important constitutional issues and cases that affect the entire nation.  • Accepted cases go on the Court docket, or calendar. 4

Steps in Decision Making • Each accepted case goes through five steps: written arguments, oral arguments, conference, opinion writing, and announcement.  • The lawyers first prepare a written brief that explains their side of the case.  • The justices study the briefs.  • Next, each side gets 30 minutes to present its case orally.  • Then the justices ask tough questions. • On Fridays, the justices meet privately to discuss the case.  • A majority vote decides the case.  • After the Court reaches a decision, one justice writes a majority opinion.  • It presents the views of the majority of justices.  • The opinion states the facts, announces the ruling, and explains the Court’s reasoning in reaching the decision. • The Court may also write a unanimous opinion when all the justices vote the same way.  • One or more justices who disagree with the majority may write dissenting opinions.  • A justice who votes with the majority, but for different reasons, may write a concurring opinion. • Finally, the Court announces its decision.  • Printed copies of the opinion go to news reporters.  • A copy is posted on the Court’s Web site. Reasons for Court Decisions • The law is supposed to be the most important influence on a justice’s decision.  • Justices consider how the language of the Constitution applies to the case.  • They rely heavily on precedents, following the principle of stare decisis–“let the decision stand.”  • By following precedents, courts make the law predictable and consistent. • At the same time, the law must be flexible to adapt to changing times.  • The justices can overrule outdated precedents.  • Social conditions also influence Court decisions.  • When social conditions change, the Court may make new interpretations of the law. • For example, in Plessy v. Ferguson, the Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment permitted racial segregation.  • However, by the 1950s, society’s views on segregation were beginning to change. • In 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, the Court ruled that school segregation violated the Fourteenth Amendment, overturning the precedent of “separate but equal.” • Justices’ views of the law and the role of the courts also influence their decisions. • Like all human beings, justices see the world based on their own life experiences. • Their personal views and relationships influence their decisions. Section 1: The Federal Court System • The Founders created the federal court system in Article III of the Constitution. This article establishes the Supreme Court.  5

• Over the years, Congress created the federal district courts and the appeals courts. Section 2: How Federal Courts Are Organized • Most federal court cases are held in U.S. district courts.  • People who lose in federal district courts may appeal to federal appeals courts. Section 3: The United States Supreme Court • The Supreme Court includes nine justices. All are appointed by presidents.  • An important job of the Supreme Court is to decide whether laws are permitted under the U.S. Constitution. Section 4: Deciding Cases at the Supreme Court • Every case the Supreme Court accepts goes through certain steps.