FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM
Article III
OUTLINE
REFRESHER
SUPREME
COURT
NOMINATION
POWERS OF THE FEDERAL COURTS
Federal Courts
Supreme Court- Constitution
Lower federal courts- Congress
Jurisdiction when:
U.S. laws
treaties (foreign policy)
interpretation of Constitution
bankruptcy
Maritime laws (Somali Pirates)
• State Courts
• State Constitutions + laws
• Jurisdiction over state law
cases
Ambassadors
state governments
Interstate commerce (other kind?)
Concurrent Jurisdiction- Fort Knox robbery. Explain why.
Citizens involved are from different states and the dispute is more than $75,000. Explain why.
LOWER FEDERAL COURTS
1) Constitutional Courts (Article III)
• 94 district courts- civil, criminal federal
trials
• Grand Juries- indictment
• Petit juries- weigh evidence render
verdict
• 13 federal court of appeals
• 12 from their district + U.S. Tax Court,
District of Columbia, federal regulatory
agencies
• +1 nationwide jurisdiction- International
trade, U.S. Claims court, Court of
Veterans’ appeals
LOWER FEDERAL COURTS
2) Legislative (Article 1) federal courts
• Helps Congress exercise power
• Why not leave it all up to the
President?
• U.S. court of federal claim- person sues
government
• U.S. Tax Court- federal tax cases
• Territorial courts- civil/criminal Guam,
Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico
• Court of appeals for Armed Forcesappeals from military courts
• FISA court- secret- grants warrants to
eavesdrop on citizens and foreigners
suspected of terrorism
• FYI president appoints all federal
judges- consent of Senate
• Constitutional courts (listed below)serve for life
• District courts
• Court of appeals
• Supreme court
SUPREME COURT
• “The Supreme Court is like a referee on a football field. The Congress, the
President, the state police, and other government officials are the players.
Some can pass laws, and others can enforce laws. But all exercise power
within certain boundaries. These boundaries are set by the Constitution. As
the "referee" in the U.S. system of government, it is the Supreme Court's job to
say when government officials step out-of-bounds.”
SUPREME COURT
• Final authority
• Constitutional/Unconstitutional
• Acts of Congress
• Treaties with other nations
• Original Jurisdiction
• Cases involving representatives of
foreign governments, or when a
state is involved
• Most cases are appeals from lower
federal district or appeals courts or
state supreme courts.
• “The decisions of the Supreme Court
are made inside a white marble
courthouse in Washington, D.C.
Here the nine justices receive about
5,000 requests for hearings each
year. Of these the Court will agree
to hear fewer than 150. If the Court
decides not to hear the case, the
ruling of the lower court stands.”
SUPREME COURT
• 9 justices
• 1 Chief justice
• 8 associate justices
• Must issue an opinion explain the
decision
• Justices are also distributed among
12 circuits- handle special requests
for legal actions in their circuits.
WHO INFLUENCES THE PRESIDENTS
NOMINATIONS AGAIN?
• American bar association
• Sitting justices
• Self nomination
• Congressmen
• Political association
• Etc.
MARBURY V. MADISON
RECAP!
• The Constitution gives power to the
federal court if it involves:
• What?
•
•
•
•
•
Foreign affairs
More than 1 state
Congressional laws
Bankruptcy
Maritime (H20
• A result of Marbury v. Madison was
that judicial review was established.
What does that give the Supreme
court the right to do?
• Define laws as constitutional or
unconstitutional: that is not stated in
the Constitution
• Original jurisdiction
• Authority of a trial court to be first to hear
a case (district court)
• Appellate jurisdiction
• Authority held by a court to hear a case
that is appealed from lower court
• District-> court of appeals->lose->
supreme court
• P. 306 in your book
• What is the highest court to which a case
can be appealed?
• From which courts will the US. Supreme Ct
hear direct appeals?
• A: Highest state, court of appeals federal
circuit, us court of appeals for armed
forces (orange not federal court system)
SUPREME COURT PRECEDENTS
• Judge/Justices must wait for litigants
to bring an issue to court
• They do not answer general legal
questions-only cases involving
conflict between 2+ people
LANDMARK CASES
• Groups of 5
• McCulloch v. Maryland
• Gibbons v. Ogden
• Dred Scott v. Stanford
• Details of the case
• Background
• Ruling
• Reasons for ruling
• Due process case- Plessy v.
Ferguson
• Write a newspaper article that
reports on the effects of the ruling
• Debs v United States
• Or
• Brown v. Board of Education
• Draw a picture to explain the
effects of the ruling
FUN FACTOID
• English common law- innocent until
proven guilty
• Roman law- presumed guilty until
proven innocent
SUPREME COURT
• “The Supreme Court is the last resort
in all questions of federal law”;
setting precedent its prestigious, but
not everyone wanted the job of
justice. Several of George
Washington's nominations declined.
• 5 or less cases/year are original
jurisdiction meaning…
•
• Jurisdiction
• Woman arrested for breaking a
state law, claims due process (14th
amendment) violated, goes to
supreme court.
• They cannot rule on breaking state
law, only on if 14th amendment
rights were violated
SUPREME COURT
• Checks and balances
• Duties
• Congress sets wage + can remove impeachment for “treason, bribery
or other high crimes, and
misdemeanors.”
• Court’s opinion assigned to one of
the Justices who voted for it,
oversee 12 circuit courts (3 justices
have 2 districts)
• No judge ever impeached by house
(yes) + senate (no)
• Disqualify from participating in case
if they have personal or business
connections
SUPREME COURT
• Law clerks- “read all the appeals
filed with the Court and write
memos summarizing he key issues in
each case.”
• Background of Justices:
• 1-2 years then distinguished career
elsewhere
• “Justices have not been
representative of the general
population in social class,
background, gender or race.”
• Lawyer/legal experience
• Around 50 years old
• Is this beneficial or detrimental?
APPOINTING/ NOMINATIONS
• Presidents with strong support in
Senate are more likely to have
candidates approved.
• Whose Senate Majority leader
now…what does that mean then?