Judicial Branch

Front 1

Article 3 of the Constitution

Back 1

• Framers/ Federalists- Little time spent on writing Article 3 and it was believed that the Judicial Branch would pose little threat to tyranny (other two branches= stronger)
○ Least dangerous branch
○ Courts would be above the "fray of politics"

Hint 1

• Anti-Federalists- disagreed
○ Objected to life tenure (Federalist thought this would make courts less political
○ Feared the Judicial Brach had too much power because it could interpret the "supreme law of the land"

Front 2

How is the Judicial Branch Political?

Back 2

• Elected by President (to advance personal politics)
• Senators can confirm/deny nominees
• Case selection done by the Justices, often politically (interest groups seek out test cases to advance policies)

Front 3

The Compromise (for the Judicial Branch in the Constitution)

Back 3

• Left final choices to Congress
○ One Supreme Court
○ Congress establishes inferior courts
○ 8 reasons your case may be heard
○ (Section 2- appellate jurisdiction)

Marbury v. Madison- Judicial review

Front 4

State vs. Federal Court Systems

Back 4

• State Courts:
○ Hear the majority of cases/legal disputes
○ Criminal and civil cases heard at that level
• Federal Courts:
○ Have the jurisdiction to hear and decide on 8 specific areas of the law
○ Jurisdiction- the authority to hear and decide a case

Front 5

8 Reasons A Case is Heard in Federal Court

Back 5

1. The constitution
2. The Federal Laws broken
3. Admiralty and Maritime Laws
4. Dispute in which the U.S. Government is involved
5. Controversies between stated
6. Controversies between citizens of different states
7. Disputes involving foreign government
8. United States ambassadors, ministers, and consuls serving in foreign countries

Front 6

The Judiciary Act of 1789

Back 6

• Created three-tier structure of the Federal Court system
• Set size of Supreme Court

Judiciary Act of 1891- Circuit Courts became exclusively appellate courts

Front 7

Prestige of the Court

Back 7

• At first, a quorum of judges failed to show up to the first meeting of the Supreme Court
• Only decided one major case
• One associate justice of the court actually stepped down to become a state Supreme Court member
• Hampered by frequent changes in personnel, limited space, no clerical support, and no system to report decisions

The Marshall Court

Front 8

The Marshall Court

Back 8

• Brought respect to the courts
• Insisted on delivering a single opinion of the court
• Claimed "Judicial Review"

Front 9

What is Judicial Review

Back 9

• Power of the court to review acts of other branches of government and the states
• Can declare these acts unconstitutional
• Marbury v. Madison:
• Immediate effect limited power of the courts (said they could not issue writs and that this power was inconsistent with the Constitution)
• Because they turned to the courts, allowed Judicial Review to begin-- gave the courts exclusive power to interpret the Constitution

Front 10

Jurisdiction

Back 10

authority to hear and decide the issues in a case

Front 11

Original Jurisdiction

Back 11

authority to hear cases for the first time in the trial courts

Front 12

Appellate Jurisdiction

Back 12

power to heat a case on review- a case that is already heard

Front 13

District Courts

Back 13

• Only federal courts in which jury trials are held
• Federal courts where trial are held and lawsuits begin
• In 2003- 94 courts
• 290,167 cases heard per year
• Each federal judicial district has a U.S. attorney, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate

Jury- Guilty innocent Judge- Sentence

Front 14

Courts of Appeals

Back 14

• Losing in a case heard can appeal to the court of appeals
• Present structure comes from Judiciary Act of 1891
• 13 courts (11 numbered, 1 D.C.)
• 40,410 cases a year
• Hear cases in 3 judge panels
• Once heard, no longer automatic right to appeal- Supreme court is very selective

Front 15

How do they Rule

Back 15

• They rule only on whether or not the defendant's rights have been protected and on whether he received a fair trial
• Precedent: prior judicial decision that serves a rule for settling cases of a similar nature
• 3 ways to rule
a. Uphold courts verdict
b. Overturn court's verdict
c. Return to lower court for a new trial

Front 16

The Supreme Court

Back 16

• Reviews cases from the U.S. courts for appeals and state supreme courts
• Acts as final interpreter of the U.S. Constitution
• Since 1896, the court has had 8 associate justices and 1 chief justice
• Hear under 150 cases a year