The Federal Courts
15
Video: The Big Picture
15
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IA_1/polisci/presidency/Edwards_Ch15_The_Federal_Court
s_Seg1_v2.html
Learning Objectives
15.1
15.2
15
Identify the basic elements of the
American judicial system and the
major participants in it
Outline the structure of the federal
court system and the major
responsibilities of each component
Learning Objectives
15.3
15.4
15
Explain the process by which judges
and justices are nominated and
confirmed
Describe the backgrounds of judges
and justices and assess the impact
of background on their decisions
Learning Objectives
15.5
15.6
15
Outline the judicial process at the
Supreme Court level and assess the
major factors influencing decisions
and their implementation
Trace the Supreme Court’s use of
judicial review in major policy
battles in various eras of American
history
Learning Objectives
15.7
15
Assess the role of unelected courts
and the scope of judicial power in
American democracy
Video: The Basics
15
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MED
IA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg2_Judiciary_v2.html
Nature of the Judicial System
 Participants in the Judicial System
15.1
Participants in the Judicial
System
 Litigants
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Actual disputes, no hypothetical cases
Standing
Class action suits
Justiciable disputes
 Attorneys
 Large profession; 1 million attorneys
 Not only for the rich anymore
 Groups
 Amicus curiae briefs
15.1
Linda Brown
15.1
15.1 In which type of case can the
defendant receive imprisonment as a
punishment?
a. Criminal
b. Civil
c. Class action
d. All of the above
15.1
15.1 In which type of case can the
defendant receive imprisonment as a
punishment?
a. Criminal
b. Civil
c. Class action
d. All of the above
15.1
Structure of the Federal
Judicial System
 District Courts
 Courts of Appeals
 Supreme Court
15.2
FIGURE 15.1: Organization of the federal
court system
15.2
District Courts
 Organization and jurisdiction

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91, at least one in each state
2-28 judges per court; 675 in total
Original jurisdiction only
Hold trials and impanel juries
One judge, occasionally 3
2% of criminal cases; 1% of civil cases
309,000 cases in 2010
Federal magistrates
15.2
Courts of Appeals
 Review district court decisions
 75% of 55,000 cases come from district
courts
 Review and enforce IRC orders
 12 circuits, serving at least 2 states
15.2
FIGURE 15.2: The federal judicial circuits
15.2
Courts of Appeals
 6-28 judges; 179 total
 3 judges per case; en banc occasionally
 Errors of procedure and law
 Set precedent
15.2
Supreme Court
15.2
 Unique responsibilities
 Resolving conflicts among states
 Maintaining national supremacy in law
 Ensuring uniformity in interpretation
 Composition
 8 associate justices; 1 chief justice
 Controls its docket
 80 cases/year
 Appeals must involve a substantial federal
question
FIGURE 15.3: How cases reach the Supreme
Court
15.2
TABLE 15.1: Sources of full opinions in the
Supreme Court, 2010-2011
15.2
15.2 How many cases does the
Supreme Court hear per year?
a. 100
b. 50
c. 80
d. 10,000
15.2
15.2 How many cases does the
Supreme Court hear per year?
a. 100
b. 50
c. 80
d. 10,000
15.2
Politics of Judicial Selection
 Lower Courts
 Supreme Court
15.3
Lower Courts
 Senatorial courtesy
 DoJ and FBI background checks
 Politics of judicial selection
 Interest groups increasingly active
 Partisan divide growing
15.3
Supreme Court
 Vacancies infrequent
 Chief justice vacancy unique
 Senatorial courtesy not relevant
 Partisan balance in Senate key
15.3
TABLE 15.2: Unsuccessful Supreme Court
nominees since 1900
15.3
Elena Kagan
15.3
15.3 How is the chief justice chosen?
15.3
a. Voted on by the other 8 justices
b. The most senior justice gets the position
c. Nominated by president, confirmed by
Senate
d. Picked by the Senate Judiciary
Committee
15.3 How is the chief justice chosen?
15.3
a. Voted on by the other 8 justices
b. The most senior justice gets the position
c. Nominated by president, confirmed by
Senate
d. Picked by the Senate Judiciary
Committee
Backgrounds of Judges and
Justices
 Backgrounds
 Criteria for Selection
 Background Characteristics and
Policymaking
15.4
Backgrounds
 Typical background
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White, male, lawyer
Diversity v. ideology
Older, 50s-60s
Protestant
Upper-middle class backgrounds
Prominent lawyer or judge
15.4
TABLE 15.3: Supreme Court justices, 2013
15.4
Swearing in of Sonia Sotomayor
15.4
Criteria for Selection
 Geography
 Religion
 Ideology/partisanship
15.4
Background Characteristics
and Policymaking
15.4
 What presidents expect v. what they get
 Disappointed ¼ of the time
 Diversity: More than a symbolic difference?
U.S. Supreme Court, 2013
15.4
15.4 What is the main criterion
presidents use to select judicial
nominees?
a. State where they are from
b. Religion
c. Race
d. Ideology
15.4
15.4 What is the main criterion
presidents use to select judicial
nominees?
a. State where they are from
b. Religion
c. Race
d. Ideology
15.4
Courts as Policymakers
 Accepting Cases
 Process of Decision Making
 Basis of Decisions
 Implementing Court Decisions
15.5
Accepting Cases
 First step in process
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10,000 appeals per year
Justices meet in conference once a week
Rule of four
Writ of certiorari
 Type of cases selected
 Civil liberties
 Discrepancies in interpretation of a law
 Solicitor general’s request
15.5
FIGURE 15.4: Obtaining space on the
Supreme Court’s docket
15.5
Process of Decision Making
 Oral arguments
 Briefs
 Amicus curiae briefs
 30 minutes for each side
 Opinion writing
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Chief justice assigns opinion, if in majority
Explain legal reasoning
Concurring opinion
Dissenting opinion
15.5
William Rehnquist
15.5
FIGURE 15.5: Supreme Court’s decisionmaking process
15.5
Basis of Decisions
 Principle of stare decisis
 Respect for precedent
 Overturning precedent
15.5
Basis of Decisions
 Why do justices disagree?
 Ambiguity and vagueness
 Judicial philosophy
 Originalism
15.5
Video: Thinking Like a
Political Scientist
15.5
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MED
IA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg4_Judiciary_v2.html
Implementing Court Decisions
 Judicial implementation
 Interpreting population
 Implementing population
15.5
Virgil Hawkins
15.5
Implementing Court Decisions
 Judicial implementation
 Consumer population
15.5
15.5 What principle governs judicial
decision making?
a. Stare decisis
b. Ex post facto
c. Amicus curiae
d. Quid pro quo
15.5
15.5 What principle governs judicial
decision making?
a. Stare decisis
b. Ex post facto
c. Amicus curiae
d. Quid pro quo
15.5
Explore the Simulation: You
Are a Supreme Court Clerk
15.5
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_longman_media
_1/2013_mpsl_sim/simulation.html?simulaURL=10
Courts and Public Policy:
A Historical Review
 John Marshall and the Growth of Judicial
Review
 The “Nine Old Men”
 The Warren Court
 The Burger Court
 The Rehnquist and Roberts Courts
15.6
John Marshall and the Growth
of Judicial Review
 Marbury v. Madison (1803)
 Judicial review
 Court has power to interpret Constitution
15.6
Video: In Context
15.6
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MED
IA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg3_Judiciary_v2.html
The “Nine Old Men”
15.6
 Controversy over New Deal legislation
 Conservatives on Court did not want federal intervention
in economy
 Struck down FDR’s legislation
 FDR’s court-packing plan
 Get Congress to expand Court
 Congress refused
 “Switch in time that saved nine”
The Warren Court
 Most active Court
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Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969)
Brown was one of his first cases
Expanded rights of defendants
Prohibited school prayer
15.6
The Burger Court
 More conservative Court
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Chief Justice Warren Burger
Roe v. Wade was one of its major decisions
Upheld affirmative action
Made Nixon turn over tapes
15.6
The Rehnquist and Roberts
Courts
 Even more conservative Courts
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Chief Justice William Rehnquist
Conservative appointees dominate
Chief Justice John Roberts (2005)
Bush v. Gore (2000)
Highly activist conservative Court
15.6
15.6 What power of the Court was
established in Marbury v. Madison?
a. Control of its docket
b. Original jurisdiction
c. Judicial review
d. Affirmative action
15.6
15.6 What power of the Court was
established in Marbury v. Madison?
a. Control of its docket
b. Original jurisdiction
c. Judicial review
d. Affirmative action
15.6
Understanding the Courts
 Courts and Democracy
 Scope of Judicial Power
15.7
Courts and Democracy
 Where do courts fit in a democracy?
 Judges not elected
 Judges hard to remove
 Judges are from elite backgrounds
15.7
“Silent majority”
15.7
Courts and Democracy
 Not as insulated as it seems
 Framers relied on insulation
 Court does follow public opinion
15.7
Bilingual education
15.7
Scope of Judicial Power
 Are the courts too powerful?
 Judicial restraint
 Defer to legislatures
 Judicial activism
 Protect minorities
15.7
TABLE 15.4: Supreme Court rulings in which
federal statutes have been found
unconstitutional
15.7
Video: In the Real World
15.7
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MED
IA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg5_Judiciary_v2.html
15.7 Why could a powerful federal
15.7
judiciary be a problem in a
democracy?
a. Judges are unelected
b. Judges are appointed for life
c. Judges are usually from elite backgrounds
d. All of the above
15.7 Why could a powerful federal
15.7
judiciary be a problem in a
democracy?
a. Judges are unelected
b. Judges are appointed for life
c. Judges are usually from elite backgrounds
d. All of the above
Explore The Judiciary:
Who Are the Activist Judges?
15.7
http://media.pearsoncmg.com/long/long_edwards_mpslgi
a_16/pex/pex15.html
Discussion Questions
15
Why do we say that judges make policy?
How does the Supreme Court make policy?
Is the Court’s policymaking role a problem
in a democracy? Why or why not?
Video: So What?
15
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IA_1/polisci/presidency/Edwards_Ch15_The_Federal_Court
s_Seg6_v2.html
Further Review:
On MyPoliSciLab
 Listen to the Chapter
 Study and Review the Flashcards
 Study and Review the Practice Tests
15