AP US Government
Judicial Branch
(Chapter 16)
Presentation Outline
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5)
Article III Constitution
Creation of the Federal Judicial System
Federal Court System
Courts of Appeals
The Supreme Court
1) Article III of the Constitution:
Judicial Branch
The courts serve as an
impartial forum for
resolution of disputes in
both civil and criminal cases.
Article III

Section I gave Congress the authority to establish other
courts as it saw fit.

Section II specifies the judicial power of the Supreme
Court and discusses the Court’s original and appellate
jurisdiction.
 Also specifies that all federal crimes, except those
involving impeachment, shall be tried by jury in the
state in which the crime was committed

Section III defines treason and mandates that at least
two witnesses appear in such cases.
Article III

Framers gave federal judges tenure for
life “with good behavior”
 Did not want judges to be subject to
the whims of politics, the public, or
politicians
 Hamilton argued in Federalist 78 that
the “independence of judges” was
needed “to guard the Constitution
and the rights of individuals.”
Article III

Some checks on judiciary include:
 Congress has the authority to alter the
Court’s jurisdiction.
 Congress can propose constitutional
amendments that, if ratified, can
effectively reverse judicial decisions.
 Congress can impeach and remove federal
judges.
 President (with advise and consent of
Senate) appoints federal judges
2) The Judiciary Act of 1789 and the
Creation of the Federal Judicial System

Established the basic three-tiered structure of the
federal court system
 District courts: at least one in each state, each staffed
by a federal judge
 Circuit Court: avenue for appeal
 Each circuit court initially composed of one
district court judge and two itinerant Supreme
Court Justices who met as a circuit court twice a
year
 Supreme Court size set in the Act – chief justice and
five associates
 Number of justices set to 9 in 1869
Judicial Review

Allows the judiciary to review the
constitutionality of acts of the other branches of
government and the states

Settled under Marbury v. Madison (1803) for
national government’s acts

Settled under Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816)
for state laws
The American Legal System

Trial courts
 Courts of original jurisdiction where a
case begins

Appellate courts
 Courts that generally review only findings
of law made by lower courts
Jurisdiction

Authority vested in a particular court to hear and
decide the issues in any particular case
 Original
jurisdiction: The jurisdiction of
courts that hears a case first, usually in a trial
 Appellate
jurisdiction: The power vested in
an appellate court to review and/or revise the
decision of a lower court
The American Legal System

Criminal law
 Codes of behavior
related to the
protection of
property and
individual safety

Civil law
 Codes of behavior
related to business
and contractual
relationships
between groups
and individuals
(typically disputes
over money or
property)
3) The Federal Court System

Constitutional courts
 Federal courts specifically created by the U.S.
Constitution or Congress pursuant to its
authority in Article III

Legislative courts
 Courts established by Congress for specialized
purposes, such as the Court of Military
Appeals
The Federal Court System

District Courts
 94 federal district courts staffed by 646 active
judges, assisted by more than 300 retired
judges
 No district courts cross state lines
 Every state has at least one federal district
court
 The most populous states have four. (CA,
TX, and NY)
Original Jurisdiction of Federal
District Courts

Involve the federal government as a party

Present a federal question based on a claim
under the U.S. Constitution, a treaty with
another nation, or a federal statute

Involve civil suits in which citizens are from
different states, and the amount of money at
issue is more than $75,000
District Courts

Each federal judicial district has a U.S.
attorney.
 This individual is nominated by the president
and confirmed by the senate.
 The attorney is that district’s chief law
enforcement officer.
 They have a considerable amount of
discretion as to whether they pursue criminal
or civil investigations or file charges against
individuals or corporations.
4) The Courts of Appeals

The losing party in a case heard and decided in a federal
district court can appeal the decision to the appropriate
court of appeals.

11 numbered circuit courts

Twelfth, D.C. Court of Appeals
 Handles most appeals involving federal regulatory
commissions and agencies

Thirteenth, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit
 Deals with patents and contract and financial claims
against the federal government
The Courts of Appeals
 Have
no original jurisdiction
 Try
to correct errors of law and
procedure that have occurred in the
lower courts or administrative agencies
 Hear
no new testimony
 Briefs submitted to them containing
legal written arguments in a case
The Courts of Appeals

Decisions of the court of appeals are binding on
only the district courts within the geographic
confines of the circuit

Decisions of the Supreme Court are binding
throughout the nation and establish national
precedents
 Reliance on past decisions or precedents to
formulate decisions in new cases is called
“stare decisis.”
Coverage of the Court of Appeals
(as of 2010)
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District of Columbia Circuit, John G. Roberts, Jr.
First Circuit, Stephen Breyer
Second Circuit, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Third Circuit, Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
Fourth Circuit, John G. Roberts, Jr.
Fifth Circuit, Antonin Scalia
Sixth Circuit, Elena Kagan
Seventh Circuit, Elena Kagan
Eighth Circuit, Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
Ninth Circuit, Anthony M. Kennedy
Tenth Circuit, Sonia Sotomayor
Eleventh Circuit, Clarence Thomas
Federal Circuit, John G. Roberts, Jr.
5) The Supreme Court
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Reviews cases from the U.S. courts of appeals and
state supreme courts (as well as other courts of last
resort)
Acts as the final interpreter of the Constitution
Ensures uniformity in the interpretation of national
laws and the Constitution
Resolves conflicts among the states
Maintains the supremacy of national law in the
federal system
8 justices and one chief justice
Relatively few support staff
 Clerks plus 400 staff members
How Federal Court Judges
Are Selected
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Often a very political process
Judges nominated by president and confirmed by
Senate
Can reflect the ideological stamp of the president
Senatorial Courtesy

A process by which presidents, when selecting district court
judges, defer to the senator in whose state the vacancy occurs
Who Are Federal Judges?

Typically they have held other political offices.
State court judge or prosecutor
 Most have been involved in politics
 White males tend to dominate

Appointments to the U.S. Supreme
Court

Nomination Criteria
Competence
 Ideology or Policy Preference

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Strict constructionist: an approach to constitutional
interpretation that emphasizes the Framer’s original
intentions
Rewards
 Pursuit of Political Support
 Religion
 Race, Ethnicity, and Gender

The Roberts Court

Conservatives
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Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Scalia, Alito
Liberals – Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan
Current Supreme Court
The Supreme Court Today:
Deciding to Hear a Case

8,159 cases were filed at the Supreme Court in
its 2009 term.
 82 argued, 73 signed opinions issued
 In
the 1940s, fewer than 1000 cases were filed
annually
 Today
many of the cases involve Bill of
Rights issues
Cases with Supreme Court
Jurisdiction
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All cases arising under the Constitution and laws or treaties
of the United States
All cases of maritime or admiralty jurisdiction
Cases in which the US is a party
Controversies between a state and citizens of another state
(later modified by the 11th Amend)
Controversies between two or more states
Controversies between citizens of different states
Controversies between citizens of the same states claiming
lands under grants in different states
Controversies between a state, or citizens of a state, and
foreign states or citizens
All cases affecting ambassadors or other public ministers
Supreme Court Today
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Court has two types of jurisdiction: Original & Appellate
Writ of certiorari
 A request for the court to order up the records from a
lower court to review the case
 Use the Rule of Four
Court controls its caseload through the certiorari process.
 All petitions for certiorari must meet two criteria:
 The case must come either from a U.S. court of
appeals, a special three-judge district court, or a
state court of last resort.
 Case must involve a federal question. This means
that the case must present questions of
interpretation of federal constitutional law or
involve a federal statute, action or treaty.
How Does a Case Survive the
Process?

Characteristics of the cases the Court accepts:
 The federal government is the party asking for
review through the Solicitor General
 The case involves conflict among circuit courts.
 The case presents a civil rights or civil liberties
question.
 The case involves ideological and/or policy
preferences of the justices.
 The case has significant social or political interest, as
evidenced by the presence of interest group amicus
curiae briefs.
Hearing and Deciding a Case
 Oral
7
Arguments
sittings, 2 weeks long
 Supreme
 Each
 Vote
Court Conference
Friday
and write Majority Opinion
Written Decisions of the Court
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Opinion of the Court
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Majority opinion – often written by senior member
Concurring Opinion

Agreed with Opinion of Court but not the reason
behind the decision
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Dissenting Opinion

Disagreed with Opinion of Court
Judicial Philosophy
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Judicial restraint:
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A philosophy of judicial decision making that argues courts
should allow the decisions of other branches of government
to stand, even when they offend a judge’s own sense of
principles
Judicial activism:
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A philosophy of judicial decision making that argues judges
should use their power broadly to further justice, especially in
the areas of equality and personal liberty (even if it affects
policy)