CHAPTER 11 AND 12
SUMMARY
How does the Constitution
define the powers of the
federal courts, and how are
the various courts related to
one another?
Lower Federal Courts: Constitutional courts
• Established by Congress under the provisions
of Article III of the Constitution
• Include federal district courts, federal courts
of appeals, and United States Court of
International Trade
Lower Federal Courts: Legislative courts
• Created by Congress under provisions in
Article I of the Constitution to help Congress
carry out its powers
• Include United States Tax Court, U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Armed Forces, Court of
Appeals for Veterans, and others
The Supreme Court
• Original jurisdiction in cases involving
representatives of foreign countries and certain
cases in which a state is a party
• Appellate jurisdiction in cases that are appealed
from lower courts of appeals or from a state’s
highest court, as well as certain cases from
federal district courts in which an act of Congress
was held unconstitutional
• Justices appointed by president with Senate
approval
Development of Supreme Court Power
• 1801–1883: Marshall Court extended power
of Supreme Court and strengthened federal
power over the states
• 1803: Marbury v. Madison established power
of judicial review
• 1953–1969: Warren Court adopted a more
liberal view on civil rights and public-policy
issues
How do cases come
before the Supreme
Court, and what factors
influence the decisions
the Court makes?
Getting Cases to the Court
• Most cases reach the Supreme Court as
appeals from lower court decisions. They
come to the courts in one of two ways:
– writ of certiorari—an order from the Court
to a lower court to send up the records on
a case for review.
– appeal—a request made to
review the decision of a
lower federal or state court.
Influences on Supreme Court Decisions
• Existing laws: Court interprets and applies laws to
individual cases
• Personal views of the justices: Political ideology
• Justices’ ability to work together
• Social forces and public attitudes
• Congress and the president: Judicial branch
works as part of the system of checks and
balances
Limits on the Court’s Shaping of Public Policy
• Types of issues: Court deals mostly with civil
liberties, economic issues, federal laws, and suits
against government officials
• Types of cases: Court hears only cases that meet
certain criteria
• Agenda: Generally can decide only cases that
come to it from elsewhere in the legal system
• Enforcement power: Court has limited ability to
enforce its rulings
How the Court Shapes Public Policy
• Judicial review: Court may decide whether
government laws are constitutional
• Interpreting the meaning of laws: Court takes the
general language of laws and applies it to
specific cases
• Overruling or reversing previous Court decisions
to reflect changing social values and laws
• VOCAB FOR BOTH--
Constitutional Courts (cont.)
• District courts use two types of juries in
criminal cases:
– A grand jury, which usually includes 16 to
23 people, hears charges against a person
suspected of having committed a crime.
• If a grand jury believes sufficient
evidence exists to bring the person to
trial, it issues an indictment—a formal
accusation charging a person with a
crime.
Constitutional Courts (cont.)
– A petit jury, which usually consists of 6
or 12 people, is a trial jury.
• Many appointed officials provide support
services for district courts, including:
– a U.S. attorney
– deputy clerks
– a U.S. magistrate
– bailiffs
– a bankruptcy judge
– a stenographer
– a U.S. marshal
Constitutional Courts (cont.)
• The courts of appeals may decide an
appeal in one of three ways:
– uphold the original decision;
– reverse that decision; or
– send the case back to the lower court to
be tried again.
Supreme Court Justices
• The Supreme Court is comprised of nine
justices: the chief justice of the United
States and eight associate justices.
• The Supreme Court’s duty involves them
in three decision-making tasks:
– deciding which cases to hear from
among the thousands appealed to the
Court each year;
– deciding the case itself; and
Supreme Court Justices (cont.)
– determining an explanation for the
decision, called the Court’s opinion.
• The chief justice’s duties include:
– presiding over sessions and
conferences at which the justices
discuss cases;
– assigning the writing of the Court’s
opinion to one of the justices who voted
for the ruling; and helping administer the
federal court system.
Appointing Justices
• Justices reach the Court through
appointment by the president with Senate
approval.
• Political considerations often affect a
president’s choice of a nominee to the
Court.
• Presidents prefer to nominate a candidate
whose political beliefs are similar to their
own.
Getting Cases to the Court
• Most cases reach the Supreme Court as
appeals from lower court decisions. They
come to the courts in one of two ways:
– writ of certiorari—an order from the Court
to a lower court to send up the records on
a case for review.
– appeal—a request made to
review the decision of a
lower federal or state court.
Supreme Court Caseload
Getting Cases to the Court (cont.)
• When justices accept a case, they decide
whether to ask for more information from
the opposing lawyers or to rule quickly on
the basis of materials already available.
• If the Court rules without consulting new
information, the ruling may be announced
with a per curiam opinion—a brief,
unsigned statement of the Court’s
decision.
Steps in Deciding Major Cases
• After the Court accepts a case, the
lawyers on each side of the case submit a
brief—a written statement setting forth the
legal arguments, relevant facts, and
precedents supporting one side of a case.
• Parties not directly involved in a case but
who have an interest in its outcome may
submit amicus curiae—or “friend of the
court”—briefs.
Steps in Deciding Major Cases (cont.)
• After briefs are filed, lawyers from each
side are given 30 minutes to present an
oral argument.
• A majority of justices must be in
agreement to decide a case, and at least
six justices must be present for a decision.
Tools for Shaping Policy
• As the Supreme Court decides cases, it
determines policy in three ways:
– judicial review
– interpretation of laws
– overruling or revising its previous decisions
• Judicial review—the Supreme Court’s power
to examine the laws and actions of local,
state, and national governments and to cancel
them if they violate the Constitution.
Steps in Deciding Major Cases (cont.)
• The Court issues four kinds of opinions:
– About one-third of the Court’s decisions
are unanimous opinions.
– A majority opinion expresses the views of
the majority of the justices on a case.
– One or more justices who agree with the
majority but do so for different reasons
write a concurring opinion.
– A dissenting opinion is the opinion of
justices on the losing side of the case.