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?