Download - The American Judiciary
THE AMERICAN JUDICIARY
The Judicial Branch
The role of the judicial branch is to interpret the laws Three levels of courts: Federal district courts: courts of original
jurisdiction and hear cases for the first time
Appellate Courts: courts of appellate jurisdiction have the power to review lower court decisions
The Supreme Court: the highest court in the U.S. and the court of last resort
The Supreme Court
9 justices: one chief justice and eight associate justices Justices are
nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate
Justices serve for life and can only be removed by impeachment
Judiciary Act of 1789
The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the jurisdiction of the court
JURISDICTION: the defined area of a court’s responsibility
How a Case Gets to the Court
First a case is tried in federal court This is a district court After the case is decided it may be appealed
The case is appealed to the appellate court The appellate court may take the case or reject the
case If the case is taken, once it is decided it may be
appealed The final level is the U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court may take or reject the case Once the Supreme Court issues a ruling on a case it
has taken for consideration, it is the final ruling
Marbury vs. Madison, 1803
William Marbury James Madison
Marbury vs. Madison
William Marbury was appointed to the federal courts by John Adams in 1801 Adams was about to leave office, so he
wanted to stack the court with supporters
The Secretary of State had to sign the commission
The commission was signed but wasn’t delivered
At midnight on March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson became president
The new Secretary of State, James Madison, refused to deliver the commission
Marbury’s Problem
Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall, was Thomas Jefferson’s cousin
Jefferson thought he had the case locked up and won… …but to his horror…
The Fateful Decision
In Marbury vs. Madison, the Supreme Court ruled: Marbury was entitled to his commission The Judiciary Act of 1789 was
unconstitutional because Congress cannot define the role of the court The Judicial Branch is an independent branch
of government The Supreme Court has the right to declare
acts and laws of Congress unconstitutional: this is called the power of JUDICIAL REVIEW
By the Way…
Judicial review is not in the United States Constitution…the Supreme Court’s biggest power was made up by John Marshall!
Please respond to the following question in your civics notebook: Why do you think having an independent
judiciary is important?