Judicial Branch Federal District Courts (94 Courts in 12 Districts)

Federal Appeals Court(12 Appeals Courts +1 Special Appeals Court)

Supreme Court(Highest and Final Court)

Federal Courts

Federal Courts Continued…

Analyzing Maps1. Which circuit covers the largest geographic

area?

2. District 3 is smaller than District 10. Why do you think this is so?

Judicial Branch Vocabulary• Jurisdiction: the authority to hear and decide a case• Exclusive Jurisdiction: only Federal Courts can hear Federal cases or only State

Courts can hear States Cases• Concurrent Jurisdiction: Both Federal and State Courts can hear a case when

both Federal and State Law was broken. • Original Jurisdiction: the authority to hear the case first. All Federal cases must

start in Federal District Courts.• Appellate Jurisdiction: the authority to hear a case that has been appealed from

a lower court.• Appeal: request the decision of a lower court be reviewed• Remanding: send a case back to a lower court to be heard again as part of an

appeal process.• Opinion: a detailed legal explanation of a court’s decision.• Precedent: a model of a similar court decision used as guidance in the decision

making of the court.

Federal Jurisdiction• Cases involving federal law• Cases beyond the authority of individual state • Cases appealed from State Supreme Courts• Federal Court Jurisdiction examples are…

– Constitutional Rights, – Federal Laws,– Disputes between States, – Citizens disputes from different States, – disputes against the Federal Government, – disputes against foreign governments and treaties, – Maritime Laws, – and disputes against US Diplomats from a foreign government.

Federal Judges• As in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution…– The President will appoint Federal Judges and the Senate

must approve his/her appointments.– There are no requirements set in the Constitution to

become a Federal Judge.– There is no “term limit” and Federal Judges hold their

office for life. The Framers wanted Judges to be unaffected from political pressures over job security.

– There are over 650 Judges in the Federal Court system. Each District has at least 2 Judges, each Appeals court has 6 to 28 Judges, and the Supreme Court has 9 Justices.

District Courts• 94 District Courts • First to hear a case involving a federal

crime (Kidnapping, Air pollution)• Witnesses are called, jury decides facts,

judge applies the law

Appeals Court• 12 Courts of appeal• Has no jury, calls no witnesses and

does not examine evidence• Panel of 3 judges decides if original

trial was fair

Appeals Court continued..

• 13th Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit• Nationwide jurisdiction to hear special cases– Such as patent violations or international trade

disputes• Court is located in Washington D.C.

U.S. Supreme Court• Final Court of Appeals• Decides if the U.S. Constitution was

violated

Supreme Court“The Constitution is what

we say it is”

Judicial Review• Most important power of the

Supreme Court• Gives the court final say over the

validity (Properness) of any law• It is not in the Constitution

Justices• No official qualifications• President usually picks from among

most respected judges, lawyers, and legal scholars• Senate Approves• Chief Justice $175,000• Associate Justices $167,000