APS Day 24 Agenda
Goal - To understand that the US court system is dual and that
the Constitution requires both the national and state
governments to approve changes to it.
Warm-up - Review of courts within our federal system – see p 2
– Identify: Adversarial system, dual system and three tiered
system, how the amendment process illustrates federalism
– Guess – what are the grounds for an appeal? What is an
appeal?
• Questions from homework?
• Amendment process – draw a diagram of how the Constitution
can be changed
• Defining additional terms p 3
• Gideon’s Trumpet – continue
– Answer questions p 4-8
Dual System
If question of
State law or
Constitution
If question of
Federal law or
Constitution
Courts of Original Jurisdiction
94 US District Courts – Trial Courts
Also US Claims court, Courts Martial,
Tax court, Maritime Court, Int’l Trade
and lots of administrative Courts
If question of
State law or
Constitution
If question of
Federal law or
Constitution
US Constitution
50 State Constitutions
US Congress – makes US laws
50 State legislatures– makes 50 state laws
US Courts interpret and apply US laws 50 State Courts interpret & apply 50 state laws
Court of Last Resort
If question of Federal 50 State Courts of Last Resort
law or Constitution 50 state Supreme Courts
1 US Supreme Court
Reviews lower court on both sides
Reviews lower state court. Opinions are final
opinions are final unless overturned by unless overturned by State Constitutional
Constitutional Amendment or another
Amendment or a USSC ruling
USSC ruling
Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction
50 State Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction
12 + 1 US Circuit Courts of Appeals 50 state Appeals Court systems
Reviews district court actions for:
like in PA –Commonwealth Court, Superior
Fair trial procedures
Court
Interpretation and application of law
Reviews lower court rulings for fair trial
Constitutionality of law
procedures, State Constitutionality
50 State Courts of Original Jurisdiction
50 state District Court systems – Trial
Courts – like in PA – Common Pleas,
Commonwealth Court, Orphan’s Court, Small
Claims Court, Traffic Court
Activism v Restraint
Judicial Activism – When a court issues a decision that goes far beyond
addressing the specific case at hand. The activist decision applies, through
the concept of precedent, to all other future cases throughout the country.
For all intents and purposes an activist court makes new law.
•How may judicial activism relate to the concepts of substantive
democracy, separation of powers and checks and balances?
Examples are: Miranda, Gideon, Brown
Judicial Restraint – When a court issues a decision that addresses the
specific case at hand, and only that case and its two sides. The restrained
decision usually follows one of two concepts.
Stare decisis (let the decision stand) This means that the court respects the
previous court decisions and won’t wholly overturn them.
Or legislative deference (respecting the law-making body and its
decisions) refusing to step on the powers of the legislature - the court may
strike down a law, but will not rewrite it – sending the decision to the
legislature to rewrite the law to conform to the court’s interpretation of the
Constitution. Usually, a restrained court does NOT make new law.
•How may judicial restraint relate to the concepts of substantive
democracy, separation of powers and checks and balances?
Examples are: Bush v Gore, Hamdi, Padilla, recent abortion cases
of State legislatures
vote to approve
amendment
- OR -
- OR conventions in
of
states vote for
amendment
1.
Criminal law – laws prohibiting wrongs committed against society
2.
Civil law – laws regulating actions that result in wrongs
committed by one party injuring another (torts) or breach of contract
3.
Plaintiff – complainer about their injury who brings a lawsuit
4.
Defendant – party who defends himself against the accusations
5.
Prosecutor – attorney representing “the people” in a criminal
case
6. Adversarial system – two sides argue, presenting their case, out
of this legal combat between two lawyers comes the truth
7.
Original jurisdiction – trial authority – hears evidence, weighs
evidence, determines truth, renders verdict, orders party to do
something
8.
District court – trial court – court of original jurisdiction
9.
Trial court – court of original jurisdiction
10. Appellate jurisdiction – Legal authority to hear an appeal.
Authority to review a lower court’s decision based on court procedures
not followed, law incorrectly applied, law incorrectly interpreted, or the
law being unconstitutional.
11. Courts of appeals – Courts that have appellate jurisdiction.
12. Supreme Court – court of last resort. There is no appeal of a
Supreme Court decision
13. Grand jury – jury of 16-23 people who determine if prosecution
has enough evidence to go to trial.
14. Indictment – formal Grand Jury accusation that defendant
probably committed a crime and that the prosecutor has enough
evidence to go to trial.
15. Petit jury – small jury of 6-12 people charged with weighting
evidence to determine a verdict.
16. Verdict – “to say the truth,” decision of a trial court that orders
one party in the case to do something
17. Evidentiary test – weighing evidence by the jury to determine
truth
18. Preponderance of the evidence – evidentiary test in civil cases
meaning more evidence on one side than the other
19. Beyond a reasonable doubt – criminal evidentiary test meaning
have very, very little doubt about guilt
20. Guilty – responsible for committing a crime
21. Acquittal – not guilty determined by unanimous decision by
criminal petit jury
22. Liable – legally responsible for harm caused to another
23. Negligent – legal determination that a person did not take the care
a reasonable person would take to prevent harm from occurring to
24. Appeal – request that a higher court review a lower court’s
decision based on procedures, application of law, interpretation of law,
or law unconstitutional
25. Dual system – federalism created two different sets of governments –
state and federal. Each government creates and enforces its own laws,
therefore, each needs a court system to adjudicate these laws. Thus there is a
federal court system, and there are 50 state court systems.
26. Writ of certiorari – court order fro the Supreme Court ordering
the lower court to “send up” the case for review.
27. Clerks – recent law school graduates who aid justices in
determining the merits of petitions for writ of cert. The clerks also help
do legal research and aid in drafting opinions of the court.
28. Conference – meeting of the 9 justices of the Supreme Court. The
conferences are usually held Wednesdays and Fridays. This is when the
Justices discuss which cases to hear, and how they will rule on each of
the cases they have already heard.
29. Rule of four – method by which petitions for writ of cert are granted.
After brief discussion of the merits of the case, a vote is taken in conference.
If four justices vote in favor, then the court will hear the case either with or
without oral argument.
30. Opinion of the court – Written decision of the court decided by a
majority vote of the Justices sitting to hear the case.
31. Concurring opinion – Written opinion of some Justices who agree with
the majority decision, but for different reasons.
32. Dissenting opinion– Written opinion of the minority Justices who
disagree with the majority opinion.
33. Majority – number greater than half. Usually 5 Justices.
34. writ of habeas corpus – court order (writ) ordering the jailor to bring
the prisoner to court for a fair judicial proceeding
35. in forma pauperis petition – request that the court pay court costs
because the petitioner is poor.
36. constitutional law - law made by courts through interpretation of the
constitution