Chapter 14 Reading Guide Learning Objectives 1. Define the key terms at the end of he chapter 2. Describe the role of specific justices in decision Brown v. Board of Education 3. Explain the concept of judicial review and how it was established in the case of Marbury v. Madison and other cases, including applications to state governments 4. Sketch the basic organization of the federal court system and identify the type of jurisdiction of each level of the courts 5. Explain the role of the federal district courts and federal appeals courts 6. Define and explain differences between criminal and civil law cases, statutory interpretation and common law 7. Describe two ways in which judges exercise a policymaking role 8. Outline the routes by which cases come to the Supreme Court or the federal courts 9. Describe the procedures used by the Supreme Court to decide cases 10. Explain ways in which justices, particularly the chief justice, influence court decisions 11. Describe the process of appointment to the federal judiciary, including the role of the American Bar Association 12. Evaluate the Supreme Court as an instrument of pluralist or majoritarian democracy identifying specific examples of each Chapter Outline I. II. National Judicial Supremacy a. Judicial review of other branches i. Marbury v. Madison (1803) 1. Involved a controversial series of last-minute political appointments and established judicial review ii. Judicial review 1. The power to declare congressional acts invalid of they violate the Constitution iii. Judicial review of state government iv. The exercise of judicial review The organization of courts a. Some court fundamentals i. Criminal and civil cases 1. Criminal cases a. Occurs because crime is a violation of public order 2. Civil cases a. Disputed claims to something of value ii. Procedures and policymaking 1. Plea bargaining III. IV. V. VI. a. Negotiating the severity and number of charges to be brought against the defendant b. The three-tier court structure i. U.S. District Court a. The bottom of the pyramid ii. The U.S. Court of Appeals a. The middle of the pyramid iii. The U.S. Supreme Court a. The top of the pyramid c. Precedents and making decisions i. Precedent a. Following a ruling, the decision becomes a basis for deciding similar cases in the future in the same way The Supreme Court a. Original jurisdiction b. Appellate jurisdiction c. Federal question d. The rule of four e. The Solicitor General i. Represents the national government before the Supreme Court, serving as the hinge between an administration’s legal approach and its policy objectives f. Decision making i. Judicial restraint 1. The people’s elected representatives, not judes, should make the laws ii. Judicial activism 1. Judges should not give deference to elected branches g. Judgment and argument h. The opinion i. Strategies on the court j. The Chief Justice Judicial recruitment a. The appointment of federal judges b. The “advice and consent” of Senate i. Senatorial courtesy 1. Forces presidents to share the nomination power with members of the Senate ii. The American Bar Association iii. Recent presidents and the federal judiciary iv. Appointments to the Supreme Court The consequences of judicial decisions a. Supreme Court rulings: implementation and impact b. Public opinion and the Supreme Court The Courts and Models of Democracy