Judicial Branch

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Gideon v. Wainwright

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Case was in 1963

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Gideon v. Wainwright: Supreme Court Ruling

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• In a unanimous opinion, the Court held that Gideon had a right to be represented by a court appointed attorney.
• The Court found that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of counsel was a fundamental right, essential to a fair trial.
• The Court stated that Mr. Gideon had the right to a lawyer because of the 14th Amendment’s rule ordering to protect each individual’s right to due process of the law.
• The Court ordered a new trial and a state-appointed lawyer for Mr. Gideon. He was eventually found not guilty.

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Gideon v. Wainwright: Future Impact on American History

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• A fair trial for a poor defendant could not be guaranteed without the assistance of counsel – 6th Amendment.
• Gideon v. Wainwright extended the 14th Amendment’s due process rule to all individuals accused of serious crimes, whether on federal or state charges.
• This decision greatly expanded the power of the 14th Amendment to protect individual rights against abuses by both the federal and state officials.

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Miranda v. Arizona: Date

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Case was in 1966.

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Miranda v. Arizona: Supreme Court Ruling

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ß The Supreme Court overturned this conviction.
ß The Court ruled the police had violated Miranda’s Sixth (6th) Amendment right, which grants the accused the right to legal counsel.
ß The Court ruled the police had violated Miranda’s Fifth (5th) Amendment right, which prevents suspects from testifying against themselves.
ß The Court ruled that because these Constitutional rights had been denied in Ernesto Miranda’s case, his confession could not be used against him. (underlined)

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Miranda v. Arizona: Future Impact on American History

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• The Court stressed to law enforcement agencies what must be explained to each person accused of a crime.
• #1. A person has a right to remain silent went being questioned.
• #2. An accused person has a right to a lawyer being present during questioning.
• #3. An accused person has a right to a lawyer even if that person cannot afford one.
• Today, it is standard police practice to read “Miranda Warnings” to a suspect at the time of arrest.

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Plessy v. Ferguson- Date

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This case was in 1896.

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Plessy v. Ferguson: History

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ß Jim Crow Laws: laws that legalized the separation of the races in Southern public facilities. These laws kept African Americans from enjoying the same services and rights as whites.
ß Separate railway stations & cars/buses
ß Separate schools/movie theatres
ß Separate hospitals/cemeteries
ß Separate restaurants/hotels/jobs/factories
ß Separate water fountains/bathrooms
ß Separate parks/playgrounds/swimming pools

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Plessy v. Ferguson: Supreme Court Ruling

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ß In 1883, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth (14th) Amendment protected citizens from discrimination by state governments but not private individuals.
ß This ruling allowed private companies, like railroads, to practice segregation.
ß Jim Crow laws in southern states, Homer Plessy was from a southern state.
ß Homer’s lawyer argued that his client’s 14th Amendment was violated. The 14th Amendment extended citizenship to all African Americans. It also said that no state could limit the civil rights of any citizen.

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Plessy v. Ferguson: Future Impact on American History

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ß The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was not unconstitutional as long as “separate but equal” facilities or services were provided to African Americans.
ß In practice, however, separate African American facilities were never equal to those of whites.
ß This ruling restored white supremacy in the South.
ß This “separate but equal” standard provided the basis for segregation of all types of public and private facilities until 1954.

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Dred Scott: Date

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This court case was in 1857.

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Dred Scott: History

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ß Dr. John Emerson joined the army as a surgeon. Emerson spent several years at a number of posts, including Illinois, Wisconsin Territory, and his home state of Missouri.
ß During all of these moves, Dr. Emerson had been accompanied by his personal servant, Dred Scott, a slave.
ß At St. Lous county cort accepted Scott’s position, but the Missouri Supreme Court overruled this decision and remanded Scott, his wife, and their child to slavery.
ß On appeal, the case finally went to the United States Supreme Court.

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Dred Scott: Supreme Court Ruling

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ß The Supreme Court declared that Scott had no legal right to sure because he was not a citizen of the United States.
ß Fee or slave, the Constitution did not consider African Americans citizens.
ß Scott had never ceased to be a slave and therefore was not a citizen, but property of his owner.

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Dred Scott: Future Impact on American History

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ß Because slaves were property, and property was protected by the Fifth Amendment in the Bill of Rights, Congress had no legal authority to deprive citizens of their property, including slaves, anywhere within the United States.
ß The ruling declared the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Missouri Compromise of 1820 unconstitutional.
ß For the future, Congress can not pass laws limiting slavery in the western territories.

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Brown v. Board: Date

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This court case took place in 1954.

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Brown v. Board: History

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n Every day, eight-year-old Linda Brown, an African American girl in Topeka, Kansas, rode five miles to school.
n Every day, Linda’s bus passed Sumner Elementary School, just four blocks from her home. When her father tried to enroll her in Sumner for fourth grade, the Topeka, Kansas, school authorities just said no.
n Schools for whites were usually new, well maintained, properly staffed, and amply supplied.
n Schools for blacks were usually single-room shacks with no toilets, a single teacher, and poorly supplied.
n If African American parents wanted their children to be warm in the winter, they had to buy their own coal.
n Thurgood Marshall, an attorney for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), represented five African American families who had decided to challenge segregation laws by filing lawsuits against their local school districts.
n Since Brown came first in the alphabet among the five suits brought against four different states, it was the name that was attached to the case that Marshall argued before the Supreme Court in 1953.
n Marshall argued that under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, segregated schools were not equal and discriminated against people of color.

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Brown v. Board: Supreme Court Ruling

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n The Supreme Court concluded that in the field of public education the doctrine of “separate but equal” had no place.
n “Separate education facilities are inherently unequal.”
n The Court went so far as to say that even if all the facilities in the schools were equal (which they weren’t), segregation would still be unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment because African American students might always feel inferior in separate facilities.
n The Supreme Court ruled that public school segregation based solely on race and color denied African American students the equal protection guaranteed by the 14th Amendment

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Brown v. Board: Future Impact on American History

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n The Supreme Court overruled the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, stating that segregated schools were unconstitutional because they “are inherently (by nature) unequal.”
n The Court called for schools to desegregate with “deliberate speed.”
n This case overturned the “separate but equal” concept upheld by the Court in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. All facilities/services used by both whites and blacks will eventually become segregated.

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Griswold v. Conn: Date

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This court case took place in 1965.

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Griswold v. Conn: Supreme Court Ruling

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Even though the Constitution does not specifically guard a persons right of privacy, it guarantees in the Bill of Rights zones that make rights of privacy. The 1st assemble and speech, 3rd, 4th- privacy in you home, 5th, and 9th amendments create the constitutional right to privacy in marital relations. Connecticut Law found unconstitutional

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Griswold v. Conn: Future Impact on American History

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The Supreme Court’s decision affected marital privacy because now people in marital relations have the right to their own privacy dealing with their marital relations. It affected the Fourth Amendment because they now truly have the right to their own persons because their marital relations are now a part of their privacy.

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Roe v. Wade: Date

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This court case took place in 1973.

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Roe v. Wade: Supreme Court Ruling

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By a vote of 7-2, the Court held that a woman’s right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy (recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut) protected by the Fourteenth (14th) Amendment.

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Roe v. Wade: Future Impact on American History

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The decision gave a woman total control over her pregnancy during the first trimester and defined different levels of states interest for the second and third trimesters. The laws of 46 states were affected by the Court’s ruling.

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What is the Supreme Courts duty?

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To interpret the law.

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The Supreme Court (Judicial Branch) can declare ______ unconstitutional.

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Laws from Congress

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How can Congress Check and/or Balance the Supreme Court?

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AMENDMENTS! The legislative Branch (congress) may propose Constitutional Amendments to overrule judicial decisions.

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Example:

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13th Amendment (1865) – abolished slavery in the United States. THE SUPREME COURT CANNOT DECLARE AMENDMENTS UNCONSTITUTIONAL!

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13th Amendment:

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1865
ß The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery.
ß Although some slaves had been freed during the Civil War, slavery was not abolished until the Thirteenth Amendment took effect.

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14th Amendment

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ß In 1833, the Supreme Court ruled that the Bill of Rights limited federal government but not the state governments. This ruling was interpreted to mean that states were able to keep African Americans from becoming state citizens; if African Americans were not citizens, then they were not protected by the Bill of Rights.
ß The Fourteenth Amendment gave citizenship to all African Americans in the United States.
ß It also said that no state could limit the civil rights of any citizen.
ß As a result, the amendment prohibited racial discrimination.

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15th Amendment

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ß The Fifteenth Amendment gave African American MALES the right to vote.
ß Ladies, what about you?
ß Not until the 19th amendment.

Front 32

What is the purpose of the Judicial Branch?

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The purpose of the Judicial Branch is to interpret the laws.
INTERPRETS
The Judicial Branch declares laws from the Executive and Legislative Branches constitutional or unconstitutional. – Checks and Balances

Front 33

Explain the purpose of the Judiciary Act of 1789.

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ß The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the Supreme Court, the highest court of the federal judiciary, and two levels of federal courts underneath it – the trial courts and the appellate courts.
The Judiciary Act also established the federal court system, the federal district courts, and the Office of the Attorney General.

Front 34

What is the name of the highest court in the land?

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The name of the highest court in the land is the Supreme Court.

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Supreme Court information:

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ß Decisions made by the Supreme Court are final! No appeals can be made.
ß The Supreme Court can decide not to hear a case. If that happens, then the decision made by a lower court would stand

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How long is the term of office for Supreme Court judge?

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ß The President is responsible for selecting justices; however, checks and balances require the Senate to confirm the appointment.
ß Justices can be removed only through resignation or impeachment.

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What kinds of cases are decided in federal courts? (List four)!

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ß Cases that require an interpretation of the Constitution.
ß Cases involving the United States, a state, or its citizens.
ß Cases involving federal laws and treaties.
ß Cases that concern a citizen of a foreign nation.

Front 38

The Constitution gives a very specific definition for the crime of treason. What is that definition?

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Treason: “Shall consist only in levying War against [the United States], or adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.”

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What is the minimum number of witnesses that must come forward to convict a person of treason?

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The minimum number of witnesses that must come forward to convict a person of treason is two.

Front 40

Define “Corruption of Blood”.

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“Corruption of Blood”: punishing the family of a person who had committed treason. It is forbidden by the Constitution. (not apart of definition)

Front 41

How many Justices on the Supreme Court?

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ß Nine members

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ß Why the odd number?

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ß Supreme Court cases are final! The decision can never result in a tie.

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Duties of the Chief Justice:

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ß Chief Justice – presides over the other eight members. He does vote. Delivers the oath of office for President Bush’s inauguration

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Northwest Ordinance of 1787

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ß Provided when 60,000 free people lived in a territory, then it could apply to Congress for statehood.
ß Prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory.
ß Five states created: Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan

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Missouri Compromise 1820

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ß Slavery was outlawed north of the 36˙30˙ north latitude of land purchased from the Louisiana Purchase.
ß Missouri entered the Union (statehood) as a slave state.
ß Maine entered the Union (statehood) as a free state.
ß Even number (#) of free states and slave states in Congress.