Judicial Branch
Interpretation of laws
vocabulary
1. Jurisdiction
2. Exclusive
jurisdiction
3. Concurrent
jurisdiction
4. District court
5. Appeals court
6. Remand
7. Opinion
8. Precedent
9. Judicial review
10.Constitutional
11.Brief
12.Majority opinion
13.Concurring
opinion
14.Dissenting opinion
15.Unanimous
opinion
16.Stare Decisis
District Courts
Lowest level of the federal court system.
This is where most lawsuits begin.
Original jurisdiction: Authority to hear
cases for the first time.
Only courts with jury trials.
Each state has at least one district court.
90% of all court cases are in district
courts.
Court Officials
Judges: Decide procedure and punishment.
Appointed by the president and approved by the
Senate. They earn $162,100. No political pressure
because they can not be removed without reason.
Magistrate: Issue court orders and take care of pretrial matters. Appointed for eight years by federal
judges. They earn $149,132.
US Attorney: Prove that a suspect is guilty.
Marshal: Arrest suspects, brings defendants to court,
and serves subpoenas.
Subpoena: Order requiring a person to appear in
court.
Court of Appeals
Appellate jurisdiction: Hear only cases that
have been appealed from district courts.
Circuit: Geographic area an appeals court
has jurisdiction in.
There are twelve judicial circuits.
Circuit court judges
Each appeals court has from 6-27 judges.
They earn $171,800 a year.
A panel of at least three judges will hear
each case.
The court may:
1. Uphold the earlier ruling.
2. Overturn the decision.
3. Remand the case to a lower court for a
new ruling.
Some cases will be appealed to the
Supreme Court.
Review
1. What is the lowest level of the federal
court system?
2. Which is the only court with jury trials?
3. What is an order requiring a person to
appear in court?
4. What is appellate jurisdiction?
5. How many judicial circuits are there?
6. What are the 3 things a circuit court
judge can do with a case?
Supreme Court
Original jurisdiction involving diplomats
from foreign countries or when more than
one state is involved.
Appellate jurisdiction on everything else.
Normally hear cases that involve
constitutional questions or are of public
interest.
Decisions can not be appealed.
Supreme Court Justices
There are nine justices (1
chief and 8 associate).
Associate justices receive
$199,200 and the Chief
justice receives $208,100.
1967, Thurgood Marshall
became the first AfricanAmerican justice.
1981, Sandra Day O’Connor
became the first female
justice.
The Supreme
Court Justices
The Justices are
(front row from left)
Clarence Thomas,
Antonin Scalia,
John G. Roberts
(Chief Justice),
Anthony Kennedy,
Ruth Bader
Ginsburg; (back
row from left) Sonia
Sotomayor,
Stephen Breyer,
Sameul Alito and
Elena Kagan.
Chief Justice John
Roberts
Appointed by George W.
Bush
Senate Confirmation: 78-22
September 29, 2005–
present
DOB: January 27, 1955
Justice Antonin Scalia
Appointed by Ronald
Reagan
Senate Confirmation: 98-0
September 26, 1986–
present
DOB: March 11, 1936
Justice Anthony
Kennedy
Appointed by Ronald Reagan
Senate Confirmation: 97-0
February 18, 1988–
present
DOB: July 23, 1936
Justice Clarence
Thomas
Appointed by George H. W.
Bush
Senate Confirmation: 52-48
October 23, 1991–
present
DOB: June 23, 1948
Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsberg
Appointed by Bill Clinton
Senate Confirmation: 96-3
August 10, 1993–
present
DOB: March 15, 1933
Justice Steven Breyer
Appointed by Bill Clinton
Senate Confirmation: 87-9
August 3, 1994–
present
DOB: August 15, 1938
Justice Samuel Alito
Appointed by George W.
Bush
Senate Confirmation: 58-42
January 31, 2006–
present
DOB: April 1, 1950
Justice Sonia
Sotomayor
Appointed by Barack Obama
Senate Confirmation: 68-31
August 8, 2009–
present
DOB: June 25, 1954
Justice Elena Kagan
Appointed by Barack Obama
Senate Confirmation: 63-37
August 7, 2010- Present
DOB: April 28, 1960
Supreme Court Schedule
First two weeks of the month, they hear
arguments, discuss cases, and vote. They have
a two week recess where they decide what
cases to hear and write opinions on other cases.
They read briefs, arguments written by attorneys
Four out of nine justices must want to hear a case.
It is then placed on the docket, calendar.
The case must have two adversaries, opposing
sides.
Cases in the Supreme
Court
• Almost all cases reach the Supreme
Court on appeal.
• Writ of Certiorari: Directs a lower court
to send records for review.
• Lower courts sometimes ask the
Supreme Court to make a ruling.
Decisions and Opinions
Must have a majority vote to decide. (At least 6
judges must vote).
If there is a tie, the lower court ruling is upheld.
Marbury vs. Madison
• Midnight judges: John Adams appointed
several judges on his last night as President.
• James Madison became Jefferson’s
Secretary of State and was instructed to
withhold the commissions.
• William Marbury took the case to the
Supreme Court as a provision of the
Judiciary Act of 1789.
Do you remember???
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Opportunity cost
State revenue
Partnerships
Corporations
Monetary decisions
‘rust belt’ & ‘sun belt’
Comparative advantage
Pos. & neg. impacts on
GDP
9. Supply & demand curves
10. Business cycle
11. Federalist Papers
12. Federalism
13. Articles of Confederation
14. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
15. John Locke
16. Baron de Montesquieu
17. Declaration of
Independence
18. Types of government
19. “Consent of the Governed”
20. Types of democracy
21. Battle of Saratoga
22. Legislative Branch
23. Elastic Clause
24. Parts of the Constitution
25. Popular sovereignty
26. Marbury v Madison
27. McCulloch v Maryland
28. Plessy v Ferguson
29. Brown v Board of Ed
30. Dred Scott v Sanford
31. Executive Branch
32. Steps to become President