US Legal System and Court
Jurisdiction
Constitutional Regulations
Chapter 4 & 5- Interactive
Why study the US
Constitution?
“One thousand Americans recently took the
U.S. citizenship test as a part of an
experiment for Newsweek and The Daily
Beast. According to Newsweek, 10 questions
were chosen at random from a pool of 100
for the test, with six correct answers needed
to pass. After 38 percent failed, Newsweek
declared the ‘country's future is imperiled by
our ignorance.’ These are some of the
startling results that were published in the
May issue of Townhall Magazine.” May 2011
The Constitution of the
United States is unique
for two reasons:
1. It is the oldest written
national Constitution
2. It was the first to
include a government
based on the concept of a
separation of powers.
"Proclaim liberty throughout all the
land unto all the inhabitants thereof
- Lev. XXV, v. x. By order of the
Assembly of the Province of
Pensylvania [sic] for the State
House in Philada."
Liberty Bell Inscription
Allocation of Power
Legislative Power: “The Power
of the Purse” – Article I - Fiscal
and monetary power
Executive Power: “The Power of
the Sword” – Article II Armed
forces of the United States.
Administrative Agencies – An
Additional Executive Power –
Legislative
Investigative
Ad judicatory
Enforcement
Judicial Power – Article III
The Federal Judical System
United States Supreme Court
"The highest court in the land"
U.S. Courts of Appeals
12 Circuits
U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
Intermediate Courts of Appeal
(if any)
State Administrative Agencies
Courts of General Jurisdiction
Inferior Courts
Sample State Court System
State Supreme
Court
Appeal to US Supreme Court
State Appellate
Court
General Jurisdiction
Trial Court
Criminal Court
Civil
Court
Domestic
Relations
Probate
Court
Juvenile
Court
Small Claims
Court
Municipal
Court
Justice of
the Peace
Federal and State Court Jurisdiction
Exclusive Federal
Jurisdiction
Federal Questions
Admiralty Law
Antitrust Law
Bankruptcy Law
Concurrent Jurisdiction
Diversity of
Citizenship* Cases(Parties on one side of
the controversy are
citizens of a different
state than the parties of
another side)
Exclusive State
Jurisdiction
All Matters not subject to
federal jurisdiction
Patents
Copyrights
Suits against the US
Trademarks
Allows for clear process of law
without compromising the
judicial system.
*The word “citizenship” refers to a different state, not country.
Federal Court System
US Supreme
Court
US Courts of Appeal
for 11 circuits
and DC circuit
Many Federal
Administrative
Agencies
US District
Courts
(96 districts)
US Bankruptcy
Courts
US Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
US Tax
Court
US Claims
Court
US Court of
International
Trade
US Patent
and Trademark
Office
US Patent and Trademark Office
US Patent office home page
Patent Search
Application Forms
•
Virtual Tour of the US Supreme Courthouse
http://www.oyez.org/tour
http://www.oyez
.org/oyez/tour/st
reet-fromintroduction
INTRODUCING
THE
U.S. Supreme
Court Justices
CURRENT U.S. SUPREME
COURT JUSTICES
Chief Justice
Roberts
Former Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
(October 1, 1924 – September 3,
2005)
Chief Justice Roberts
Education: John Roberts Jr. is the seventeenth
and current Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.
He was a judge for the US Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Third Circuit and spent 14
years in private law practice. He held positions in
Republican administrations and in the US
Department of Justice and Office of the White
House Counsel.
Point of Interest: Roberts won his nomination
by a vote of 13-5. That’s an extremely
impressive margin. Roberts was confirmed by
the full Senate on September 29, passing by a
margin of 78 – 22.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_G._Roberts_Jr.
Point of Interest: Roberts was slated to take
the place of Sandra Day O’ Connor when she
retired. However, when Chief Justice William
Hubbs Rehnquist passed away, President
Bush quickly making provisions for Roberts to
take Rehnquist’s place.
Justice Stephen Breyer
CURRENT U.S. http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/breyer.bio.html
SUPREME COURT Stephen Breyer was born August 15, 1938, in San
JUSTICES
Francisco, California.
Education Harvard Law School, LL.B., magna cum
laude,
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States,
August 3, 1994 (nominated by President Clinton)
Recreation: Bicycling, jogging, cooking and reading.
Point of Interest: Both Souter and Breyer voted in
favor for private lands to be taken for public use. Both
justices are now in a quandary over their own personal
property being taken for public use.
CURRENT U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICES
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/ginsburg.bio.html
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born March 15, 1933, in
Brooklyn, New York
Education: Columbia Law School, LL.B. (J.D.) 1959,
Kent Scholar.
Nominated by President Clinton as Associate Justice of
the Supreme Court of the United States; took oath of
office August 10, 1993.
Note: Her views on reproductive rights, capital
punishment and affirmative action have given her a
reputation for being left of center politically.
CURRENT U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICES
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/kennedy.bio.html
Born July 23, 1936 in Sacramento, California.
Education: Harvard Law School, LL.B., 1961.
Nominated by President Reagan as Associate Justice of the
United States Supreme Court; took oath of office February
18, 1988.
Note: Since being on the high court he has frequently cast the
deciding vote, sometimes voting with liberals, sometimes
with conservatives.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/anthonykennedy#ixzz1CLn4gImC
CURRENT U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICES
Justice Antonin Scalia
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/scalia.bio.html
Born March 11, 1936 in Trenton, NJ.
Education: Harvard, LL.B., 1960
Nominated by President Reagan as Associate Justice of
the United States Supreme Court; took oath of office
September 26, 1986.
Note of Interest: Scalia has stated on numerous
occasions that the power of the Supreme Court is only
as effective as the laws created by Congress.
Justice Clarence Thomas
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/justices/stevens.bio.html
CURRENT U.S. SUPREME
Born June 23, 1948 in the Pinpoint community, near
COURT JUSTICES
Savannah, Georgia.
Education: Yale Law School, J.D., 1974.
Nominated by President Bush as Associate Justice of the
United States Supreme Court: took oath of office October 23,
1991.
Point of Interest: Charged with Sexual Harassment by Anita
Hill just prior his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1991.
Most recent point of interest, his opinion in the McDonald v.
City of Chicago (130 S.Ct. 3020; 2010),was written from a
strict interpretation of the Constitution favoring the 2nd
Amendment to stand alone rather than to be inducted into
the 14th Amendment.
CURRENT U.S. SUPREME COURT
• Birth, Residence, and Family
– Born 1950 in Trenton, NJ
JUSTICES
• Education
– Princeton University, A.B., 1972; Yale
Justice Samuel Alito
Law School, J.D., 1975
• Nominated by President Walker Bush as
Associate Justice of the United States
Supreme Court: 2006
• Point of Interest: When Roberts took the
appointment of Chief Justice, this left a
second position open for Associate
Justice. President Bush then nominated
Harriet E. Miers. Such criticism came
from the media, and both political
parties, that Miers withdrew her
nomination on October 27, 2005.
President Bush then nominated Samuel
Alito. There was far less questioning
about his credentials, and he was
confirmed by the full Senate.
http://www.oyez.org/media/sotomayor_oath
CURRENT U.S. SUPREME COURT
JUSTICES
Nomination:
– Sonia Sotomayor – managed an easy win
in her confirmation to the United States
Supreme Court in 2009. In cruising to a 6831 confirmation vote in the Senate, largely
along party lines, Sotomayor entered the
record book as the first Hispanic and the
David H. Souter
third woman to serve on the High Court.
Retired
Point of Interest:
– As President Barack Obama's first pick to
the Court to replace the retiring Justice
David H. Souter. Barack Obama said he
wanted: a Supreme Court nominee with a
"common touch."
Education . Attend Princeton University. She
graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta
Kappa, went on to Yale Law School
Justice Sonia
Maria Sotomayor
CURRENT U.S. SUPREME
COURT JUSTICES
Former Justice John Paul Stevens
•
Elena Kagan -- policy adviser in the
Clinton White House, dean of Harvard
Law School, and Solicitor General in the
Obama administration -- won approval
from the Senate on August 5, 2010 to
succeed Justice John Paul Stevens as an
associate justice on the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Justice Elena Kagan
The distinguished women
with one major thing in common…
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Justice Sandra Day O‘Connor
Justice Elena Kagan
• Gives “we the people” the
right to process of the law.
• Also called adjective law the
law governing the machinery
of the courts and the methods
by which both the state and
the individual (the latter
including societies, whether
incorporated or not) enforce
their rights in the several
courts. It prescribes the means
of enforcing rights or
providing redress of wrongs
and comprises rules relative to
jurisdiction, pleading and
practice, evidence, …
Procedural
Law
Cases and
Controversies
What determines a case not to
be considered?
1. Advisory Opinion –
consulting in nature – but
not a case.
2. Moot Case – no real issues
exist.
3. Lacks sufficient standing
4. Political Questions -
Note: For a matter to be tried it
must be “definite and
concrete in nature.”
Rights of the
Court
The Long Arm of the Law
Long Arm Statutes – “Most states have laws
called Long Arm Statutes. The purpose of these
statutes is to permit the state to exercise authority
over a person who drives on it’s roads.” It also
can have jurisdiction over a person who has
committed a crime in a state in which they
currently do not have residence.
The Long Arm of the Law
Choice of Laws: is the selection of which
jurisdiction's laws should be applied to a
particular incident.
Read The Case Regarding the “Choice of Laws
Case” between Julia and Karen. What do you
think should be done?
Providing Police Power:
 Police function to enforce the
laws of the land.
 They are on our streets and
highways to maintain
peace and status quo.
 They are there to protect the civil
rights of people.
Civil Rights: Laws that are
extremely important and have their
historical background in the first 10
amendments under Article VII of the
US Constitution fashioned in 1791.
(Read Appendix, starting with Article
VII of the US Constitution and ending
with Article XI [1798].)
Maximum Security – Where
Scott Peterson is kept
LEGAL TERMINOLOGY
MAKE SURE THESE ARE IN YOUR NOTES!
Legal Terminology 
• Plaintiff – Individual bringing the complaint
• Defendant – Respondent to that complaint
• Appellant – Party bringing the case forward to the Court of
Appeals
• Appellee – Party who “defends the decision of the lower
court.
• Justifiability – a case capable of a court’s decision
• Judicial Question – Questions that are proper for a court to
decide.
• Judicial Restraint – A judicial policy of refusing to hear
and decide certain types of cases.
• Standing to Sue - Plaintiff must have a stake in the
outcome of case
Legal Terminology Continued 
Make sure these words are in your notes:
• “Writ” – (Written) A writing issued by the court to
bring a party before a court or judge
Writ comes in the form of:
Summons
Body of Evidence
Writ of Assistance – or warrant
Writ of Coram Nobis – Latin for “Before
us” meaning “bringing attention of the
matter before the court.
• Habeas Corpus – “You have the body” –
Legal Terminology Continued 
Make sure these words are in your notes:
• Habeas Corpus – “You have the body” – known as
“the Great Writ” – obtaining judicial determination of
the legality of an individual’s custody.
• Due Process of Law – “Nor shall any state deprive any
person of life, liberty or property without the due
process of law.”
• Ex Post Facto Law – A law passed after an occurrence
or act, which retrospectively changes the legal
consequence of such act.
Legal Terminology 
• Service of Process – court papers being served
to an individual or corporation.
• Foreign Corporation – A corporation that had
its articles of incorporation approved in another
state.
In Personam Jurisdiction
• Personal jurisdiction is obtained by:
– Plaintiff
• by virtue of filing the suit
– Defendant
• by serving summons within the state
• by mailing summons
• by publication
• Party disputing jurisdiction may make a
special appearance
Legal Terminology 
• In Rem Jursidiction – Action taken against property –
The ability and authority for a court of take control of
an individuals or corporations land or property.
• Condemnation Proceeding – The ability of a court to
take land or property for public use or declare the
property forfeited.
• Attachment – Seizure of the defendants property
In Rem and Quasi In Rem
Jurisdiction
• In rem:
– Court has jurisdiction over the property of the
lawsuit
– Within the state borders
• Quasi in rem:
– Attachment jurisdiction
• Attach property located in another state
How to Find The Law
3d = Series #
15 CAL. 3d 162
Page #
15 = volume #
Cal = California Reports
Other Citations:
United States Reports
Federal Reporter
Supreme Court Reporter
Federal Supplement
Bankruptcy Reporter
National Reporter System
Computer Library Research Databanks:
Westlaw –
Nexis/Lexis – (Lexis – available through FCC Law Library)
Websites to View:
For more information on the
Supreme Court Justices:
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/s
upct/cases/judges.htm
Laws: http://www.alllaw.com
http://www.findlaw.com
http://www.oyez.org/oyez/fro
ntpage