February 11, 2016
Welcome
1. Please copy from Content Library “The Federal
Court System.”
2. Paste to Unit 5 Tab
3. You may begin Warm-up 71
February 11, 2016
Warm-up #71
A. Congress checks the power of the executive branch by
Override the President’s veto by 2/3s vote of both houses
B. List the three Constitutional requirements needed to run for
President
1. 35 years old
2. Native (Natural) Born Citizen
3. 14 Years a Resident of the U.S.
C. The candidate who wins a majority of the electoral votes will
become president is a function of the –
Electoral College
D. Identifying issues, making political contributions, and lobbying
government officials is the purpose of - (FF #92)
Interest Group
February 11, 2016
Notes Review
Please return to your notes “2. Civil and
Criminal Law”
1. Complete political cartoons
Civil or Criminal?
What type of case?
Criminal
How do you know?
There is a sentence given out
Civil or Criminal?
What type of case?
Civil
How do you know?
There is compensation awarded, not a
sentence
What term would describe the $15 million?
Compensation
What term would describe Papa Bear?
Plaintiff
February 11, 2016
Cinquain
Civil v. Criminal Trials
Cinquain (sing-cane) – a five line poem following a set pattern
Line 1: Single noun which is the subject of the
poem
Line 2: Two adjectives that describe the first
line
Line 3: Three action verbs (-ing)
Line 4: Four words that convey a feeling
Line 5: Single word that refers back to the first
line
What do you think you know about civil and
criminal cases?
Most federal cases are civil, not criminal.
Many federal cases are civil. For example,
a dispute between citizens of different
states goes to federal court. Most crimes
concern problems that the Constitution
leaves to the states to handle.
A case can be both civil and criminal.
For instance, in 1995 O. J. Simpson was prosecuted
for murder and found not guilty. In an entirely
separate case, Simpson was also sued civilly for
"wrongful death" by the victims' families. At the close
of the civil case, in 1997, Simpson was found "liable"
for the victims' deaths and ordered to pay millions of
dollars in damages.
Most civil cases are settled out of court.
All criminal cases go to trial.
Most civil AND criminal cases never go to
trial.
Let’s Look
at Some
Examples
of Civil and
Criminal
Cases…
Can you
decide which
cases are civil,
criminal, or
both?
The defendant attends an
arraignment.
Criminal
While out at a restaurant,
Adam slips on peanut
shells and breaks his leg.
Civil
The defendant must pay
compensation.
Civil
The defendant is questioned by the
prosecution.
Criminal
Jury
hears the
case.
Both
(or not, if it’s a
bench trial)
The U. S.
Supreme
Court
12 Appeals
Courts
94 District Courts
There are 94 federal judicial districts, including at
least one district in each state, the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico.
Each court has a judge and each may have
jury trials.
District Courts have original jurisdiction over
most federal cases which means they are
usually the first court to hear the case.
Most cases start in the District Court.
Many people work at the District Court level with different
responsibilities.
Magistrates issue court
orders such as
warrants & subpoenas.
They also hear
preliminary evidence
and set bail.
lawyer
The U.S. Attorney is the government’s _________
and represents the United States in court.
The U.S. marshal serves subpoenas, arrests
_________ and escorts ______________
suspects
defendants to
court.
Of course, there are
also many other
people involved in
making the court run,
such as clerks,
secretaries, bailiffs, …..
They can ask a higher court to hear their case and
that court is the U.S. Court of Appeals.
There are 12 Appeals Courts in the U.S. and each
one has a panel of three judges, but no jury.
They only have appellate jurisdiction over a given
circuit which means they only hear cases that
are being appealed.
They are never the first court to hear the case.
The Court of Appeals only decides if a defendant's
________
rights have been protected and if they received
a ______
fair trial.
Appellate judges do not decide on guilt or
innocence.
The judges can rule in three different ways.
In their decision, they can:
1. Uphold the lower court’s decision
which means the lower court was correct
and their decision stands.
2. Overturn the lower court’s decision
which means the lower court was not correct
and their decision is not valid.
3. Remand the case back to the lower court
for a new trial.
Is all hope
lost??
They can ask the highest court in the
land to hear their case –
The U.S. Supreme Court
Every state has its
own supreme court
but for the final say,
there is only
1
U.S. Supreme
Court!
The Supreme
Court has
nine
members
called
justices
and no jury.
This guy is John Roberts –
the Chief Justice. The other 8
are called Associate Justices
appellate
The Supreme Court usually has ____________
jurisdiction, meaning they usually hear cases that are
being appealed from the lower courts.
They only hear appeals that involve significant legal
constitutional issues.
or __________________

(HINT)
We have already said the Supreme
Court usually hears cases on appeal.
(it was on the last slide)
In some special cases, the Supreme Court does have
original jurisdiction and they are the first court
___________
to hear the case. These cases involve:
diplomats from other countries
or
when a state is involved
Now you can use the information you
have just learned to answer the
questions below the notes.
“I Am” Poem
I am a District Court
I wonder
I hear
I see
I am the Appeals Court
I pretend
I feel
I touch
I worry
I cry
I am the U.S. Supreme Court
I understand
I say
I dream
I try
I hope
I am