The Judicial Branch

1
The Judicial Branch

• Constitutional Guardians

2
Introduction

• Today, there are 51 court systems in the US (one
  for each state a separate federal system)
• 95 of all cases are heard in state court- only
  5 make it to federal court
• Under the Articles of Confederation, there was no
  federal court
• The Constitution established the Supreme Court
  and gave Congress the power to create all other
  federal courts

3
What is Jurisdiction?

• Jurisdiction- the authority of a court to hear a
  case
• There are 4 types of jurisdiction
• Exclusive- case can only be heard in a particular
  court
• Concurrent- state federal courts could both
  hear the case
• Original- a court is the first to hear a case
• Appellate- a court hears the case from a lower
  court on an appeal

4
Federal Courts can hear a case if

• The subject matter deals with the Constitution, a
  treaty, or a law passed by Congress
• The subject matter arising on the high seas or
  navicable waters of the US
• US Govt officials are involved
• An ambassador or foreign minister are involved
• A US citizen is suing a foreign govt
• One of the parties are from the same state where
  both claim land in a different state

5
Federal District Courts

• Federal Trial Courts of original jurisdiction
  hear both civil and criminal cases
• District Courts handle 80 of all federal cases
  (300,000 cases a year)
• 89 Federal District Courts nationwide that are
  divided into 12 regions (circuits)
• Over 600 judges preside over district courts

6
Federal Circuit Court

• Created by Congress in 1891 to reduce the work
  load of the Supreme Court
• Only has appellate jurisdiction
• They hear 55,000 cases a year
• Usually hear appeals from District Courts
• 12 of these courts nationwide
• Approximately 180 judges
• Judges usually hear cases in panels of three (en
  banc)

7
Supreme Court

• Made up of a Chief Justice and 8 Associate
  Justices (9 in total)
• Sometimes called court of last resort
• Has both original and appellate jurisdiction, but
  almost always hears cases on appeal
• 7 to 8,000 cases appealed to Supreme Court each
  year but they only hear a few hundred

8
Judges

• The president appoints federal judges and the
  Senate confirms the appointments
• Most judges are leading attorneys, scholars,
  professors, or state judges
• Terms
• Constitutional Court Judges- Life
• Special Court Judges- 15 years
• Pay
• Chief Justice 202,900
• Associate Justices 194,200
• Federal Circuit Court of Appeals judges 164,100
• Federal District Court Judges 154,700

9
More on the Supreme Court

• Cases arrive at the Supreme Court in 2 ways
• From one of 50 State Supreme Courts
• From one of the Circuit Courts of Appeals
• Once a case has arrived on the docket, the Court
  decides rather or not to hear it

10
Hear or no Hear?

• At least four justices must agree to hear a case
  before it is accepted
• Writ of Certiorari- directs lower court to send
  up record of the case for review (appealing to
  the Supreme court is asking for a writ of
  cert---most are denied)
• The Supreme Court will not usually hear a case
  unless it raises some important Constitutional
  question

11
Court Operation

• The Court considers cases in 2 week cycles from
  October to May
• Briefs are filed with the court that support each
  side of the case
• Sometimes, the court hears oral arguments (each
  side gets 25 minutes to speak)
• Justices meet in conference on Wednesdays and
  Fridays to consider cases
• It usually takes months for the court to reach a
  decision (sometimes they speed up the process)

12
Decision Time

• A decision is made by majority vote
• 3 Opinions are written
• Majority Opinion- The official written opinion of
  the court
• Concurring Opinion- A justice gives of different
  explanation of why he/she agrees with the
  majority
• Dissenting Opinion- Justice(s) give an
  explanation of why they disagree with the majority

13
Influences on Opinion

• Judicial Activism- a judge uses his/her opinion
  to promote desirable social ends (ex. Civil
  Rights, social welfare)
• Judicial Restraint- a judge should defer his/her
  opinion to the actions of other two branches
  (expect when actions are clearly unconstitutional)

14
Who makes up the Supreme Court?

• There are 4 justices considered to be
  conservatives on the Supreme Court
• From L to R- Chief Justice John Roberts (50 yrs
  old- appointed by GW Bush), and associate
  justices Antonin Scalia (66- Reagan)

15
Who, Part II

• From L to R-Associate Justices Samual Alito (55
  yrs old- appointed by GW Bush), and and Clarence
  Thomas (54- H.W. Bush)

16
Who else?

• There are 3 justices considered to be liberals on
  the Supreme Court
• From L to R- Associate Justices John Paul Stevens
  (82 yrs old- appointed by Ford), Stephen Breyer
  (64- Clinton) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (69-
  Clinton)

17
Who else, else?

• There are 2 justices considered to be swing votes
  on the Supreme Court
• From L to R- Anthony Kennedy (66- Reagan) and
  David Souter (63- H.W. Bush)

18
What are Special Courts?

• Special Courts- courts created by Congress to
  hear certain cases
• 8 of these have since been created

19
Some Special Courts

• US Court of Federal Claims- hears civil claims
  against the US Government
• US Tax Court- hears civil cases dealing with
  taxes
• US Court of Intl Trade- hears civil cases
  arising out of trade related laws
• Territorial Courts- Courts set up for US
  Territories (Guam, Puerto Rico)

20
Some more Special Courts

• Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims- hears
  appeals from decisions made by the Dept. of
  Veterans Affairs
• Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit- hears
  appeals from the Court of Intl Trade, Court of
  Federal Claims, and Court of Appeals for Veterans
  Claims
• Military Court- conducted by military (court
  martial)
• Court of Military Appeals- hears appeals from
  military court (civilian judges)