t he j udicial b ranch chapter 18. p art 4 the supreme court
TRANSCRIPT
THE JUDICIAL BRANCHChapter 18
PART 4The Supreme Court
BASICS
Only court specifically created by the Constitution
Judicial Review The deciding if something is constitutional or not Marbury v. Madison
John Roberts• Chief Justice since 2005• Appointed by George W.
Bush• US Court of Appeals for
DC
Clarence Thomas•Associate Justice since 1991• Appointed by George H. W.
Bush• US Court of Appeals for DC
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
• Associate Justice since 1993• Appointed by Bill Clinton• US Court of Appeals for DC
Stephen Breyer• Associate Justice since
1994• Appointed by Bill Clinton• US Court of Appeals for
the 1st Circuit
Anthony Kennedy•Associate Justice since 1988• Appointed by Gerald Ford• US Court of Appeals for the
9th Circuit
Samuel Alito• Associate Justice since
2006• Appointed by George W.
Bush• US Court of Appeals for
the 3rd Circuit
Sonia Sotomayor• Associate Justice since
2009• Appointed by Barack
Obama• US Court of Appeals for
the 2nd circuit
Elena Kagan• Associate Justice since
2010• Appointed by Barack
Obama•Solicitor General of the US
Antonin Scalia• Associate Justice since
1986• Appointed by Ronald
Reagan• US Court of Appeals for
DC
JURISDICTION
Both appellate and original jurisdiction Most are appellate
2 types of cases can be heard as original jurisdiction Those in which the state is the party Those affecting ambassadors, or other public
ministers and consuls
THE RULE OF FOUR
How they choose cases to hear At least 4 of the 9 Justices must agree that the
case should be put on the docket Most cases reach the Supreme Court by
Writ of Certiorari An order by the court directing the lower court to
send up the record in a given case for its review Most writ are denied by the Supreme Court
HOW THE SUPREME COURT OPERATES
1. The Supreme Court accepts a case and sets a date 2 week cycles
Hear cases for two weeks and then recess to consider the cases for two weeks
Oral arguments Limited to 30 minutes Briefs: written documents filed before the oral
arguments
2. Solicitor General: The Attorney for the US
3. Conference Consider the Cases they heard Chief Justice in charge
4. Opinion After a vote and decision is made it is written in
the form of an opinion Chief Justice assigns who writes the courts
opinion
TYPES OF OPINIONS
Majority Opinion: This is the opinion of the court. The Ruling Precedents: examples for lower courts
Concurring Opinion: Add or emphasize a point from the Majority
Opinion Dissenting Opinion:
Written by those Justices who don’t agree with the Majority
YOU MUST KNOW DUE PROCESS
The Federal Government cannot deprive any person of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” 5th amendment
14th amendment puts the same restrictions on States and Local Governments
Due process is defined on a case by case basis
“It is better that ten guilty persons go free than that one innocent person be punished”
Any person who is suspected or accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty
To make sure this happens an accused person has a number of rights: Habeas Corpus Bills of Attainder Ex Post Facto Grand Jury Double Jeopardy Speedy and Public Trial Trial By Jury Right to an Adequate Defense Self -Incrimination