The Judicial Branch

AP U.S. Government & Politics 2015

Judicial Branch …

• Interprets the laws! • What does that mean?

Courts

• Apply the law to specific cases/situations

Two Kinds of Disputes

• Criminal: a person is accused of breaking the law– Example: murder

• Civil: between two people or groups – Example: divorce, law suit

Two Parties

• Plaintiff: person bringing the complaint/ “wronged” party in civil case

OR • Prosecution: government charging accused

person in criminal case VS. • Defendant: person accused of breaking the law

(criminal) or person accused of causing complaint (civil)

Members of the Court

• Judge: apply laws to case and make final decision and/or sentencing

Jury

• citizens; hear the facts of the case • Chosen by voting registration, driver’s license, taxes• Excluded: criminals, over 70, ill, illiterate • Sent writ of venire facias (you must come) Types: • Grand Jury – felony; decide if enough evidence for

trial (indictment) • Trial – 12 people, unanimous verdict• Bench trial – no jury, judge decides

Interpreting the law

• A court decision may set a precedent• Guidelines for how future cases should be

determined• Stare decisis – rely on precedent to form opinion

on new cases • Examples: • Lemon v. Kurtzman (1970) created “Lemon Test”

precedent • Engel v. Vitale (1961) and Sante Fe v. DOE (1999)

Decisions:

• What does the law mean? • Is it constitutional (SCOTUS)? • Has a law been violated?

Can only interpret law when hearing a specific case; cannot interpret at will

The Court System

• Most legal cases, disputes and violations start at lower courts and are decided there

• Federalism: Federal courts hear cases related to federal law; state courts hear cases related to state law

Jurisdiction

• “authority” • Who has the authority to hear the case?

Original

• Authority to hear a case for the first time • Trial

Appellate

• Higher court reviews decisions to see if justice was served by lower court decision

• No “trial” … panel of judges/justices

Constitutional

• Article III• SCOTUS – only court specifically mentioned in

Constitution, all other courts created by Congress

• Judges can’t be fired, but can be impeached for “bad behavior”

• Appointed by President, confirmed by Senate

Federal Courts

• District: • Original jurisdiction• Criminal and civil cases• 94 districts• Just under 700 judges • 300,000 cases a year

Federal Courts

• Appellate: • No trial 3 judge panel • No new facts• 13 courts • 168 judges hear about

35,000 cases a year

Supreme Court

• “Court of last resort”• Precedents are binding • Original and appellate jurisdiction• Judiciary Act of 1789– Established federal court system– Set # of justices at 6, there are now 9 (since 1869)

• Marbury v. Madison judicial review • FDR: “courtpacking” tried to increase number of

justices to get SCOTUS to support New Deal

State Courts

• Highest state court/appeals (In Georgia, State Supreme Court)

• Lower state courts/trials (In Georgia, Superior courts then Intermediate Court of Appeals)

State courts handle cases involving: • divorce and child custody matter• probate and inheritance issues• real estate questions, and juvenile matters• most criminal cases, contract disputes, traffic violations, and personal

injury casesFederal courts hear cases involving: • the constitutionality of a law• cases involving the laws and treaties of the U.S.• ambassadors and public ministers• disputes between two or more states• admiralty law• bankruptcy cases.

Federal Courts

State Courts

Supreme Court Justices

Who are they? • John Roberts (C)• Anthony Kennedy• Ruth Ginsberg (L)• Samuel Alito (C)• Elena Kagan (L)• Antonin Scalia (C)• Clarence Thomas (C)• Stephen Breyer (L)• Sonia Sotomayor (L)

Sandra Day O’Connor

• 1st female justice• Conservative to moderate• 1981 – 2005 (nominated by Reagan,

succeeded by Alito) • Swing vote in many cases

Thurgood Marshall

• 1st African American justice• Served by 1967-1991• Nominated by LBJ, succeeded by Thomas • Lawyer for Brown v. BOE

Judicial Philosophies **

Judicial Activism = liberal• Court should play active role in determining

policies• Loose interpretation of Constitution• Should set precedents

Judicial Philosophies **

Judicial Restraint = conservative• Court should avoid political and social questions• Strict interpretation of Constitution• Should not seek to set precedents

** Conservative and liberal not set in stone for justices, necessarily. Ex: Affordable Care Act/Roberts

How are they chosen?

• President appoints, Senate confirms

Things the President considers…

• Political Ideology– Same party or ideology– Balance court (race, religion, region, gender)

• Policies– Will support policies of the President

• Judicial Experience– Previous judicial experience and past case decisions

• Litmus test– Ideological Purity test not too liberal or conservative– Key issues: Gay rights, abortion

• Acceptability– How controversial? – Will he/she uphold Constitution over personal beliefs?

The confirmation process

• After President nominates, Senate has to approve (majority)

• Confirmation hearing – nominees are asked questions about their personal life, career, finances

• Senate votes

Who influences nominations and confirmations?

• Interest Groups: support/oppose; lobbyists pressure senators

• American Bar Association: organization of attorneys; give ratings of justice nominees

• Current justices: support or oppose

Supreme Court

• Original Jurisdiction: • Between 2 + states• U.S. vs. State governments• US and foreign ambassadors • Constitutional issues ** this only makes up about 2-3 cases per year, most are appeals

Appellate Jurisdiction

• Writ of certiorari: order by SCOTUS for lower court to send up records in a given case for review

• Most involve serious constitutional issue or interpretation of federal act or treaty

Rule of Four

• SCOTUS clerk screens 9,000 petitions (writ of cert)

• Justices meet weekly to discuss petitions• If 4 of 9 agree to hear, it is placed on the

calendar • Only about 75 cases are granted a year

SCOTUS at work

• Solicitor General– Handles all appeals on behalf of US government – Controls case schedule – 4th ranking member in Justice Department – Current: Donald Verilli

Briefs

• Written statement arguing 1 side • Relevant facts, legal principles, and

precedents, as well as summary of lower court decisions

• “amicus curiae” = “friend of the court”– Submits brief because they want their opinion

heard (most are abortion/affirmative action)

Oral Arguments

• Lawyers have 30 minutes each to speak to justices

• Emphasize major points of brief

Conference • Justices meet in secret session to discuss and

vote. Chief Justice presides. Each justice gives opinion.

• Roberts likes debate so this part is important in current SCOTUS

Opinions

• After decision is made, justices writes formal opinion– Explains decisions and how they voted– Issues of the case, precedents, guidelines for future

cases• Three types: – Majority: decision of 5+– Concurring: voted with majority but for different

reasons than majority opinion – Minority/Dissenting: vote against (4 or less)

Factors that Influence SCOTUS decisions

1. Precedents: stare decisis (let the decision stand) • most SCOTUS cases are based on precedents

from earlier cases– Example: Baker v. Carr and Wesberry v. Sanders

• Sometimes precedents are overturned – Example: Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. BOE

Factors that Influence SCOTUS decisions

2. Judicial Philosophy • Judicial Activism or Restraint?

Factors that Influence SCOTUS decisions 3. Public Opinion • Independent Branch

– Appointed for life– Can’t decrease salary– Control own schedule (writ of cert) – Limited public access (no media, unless given permission)

• Still influenced though … – Appointed and confirmed, so their decisions and ideology matter– Constitution can be amended– Congress can change jurisdiction– Congress can change number of justices– Justices can be impeached– Sensitive to important issues of the nation (in other words, they’re

human too!)