The Judicial Branch
Federal Courts
 The Supreme Court
Types of Law (Ch. 15 & 16)
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The Federal Court System
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Article III of the
Constitution
established the
Federal Court system
w/ the Supreme Court
as the final authority
on the law
Federal Court Cases
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Jurisdiction-a court’s authority to hear and
decide cases
Article III gives the federal courts jurisdiction
over 8 kinds of cases:
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Cases involving the Constitution
Violations of Federal laws
Controversies between states
Disputes between parties from different states
Suits involving the fed gov’t
Cases involving foreign gov’ts & treaties
Cases based on maritime laws (naval)
Cases involving U.S. diplomats
Types of Jurisdiction
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Exclusive jurisdiction-only
federal courts may hear &
decide a case
Concurrent jurisdiction-a
case may be heard in either
state or federal courts
Constitutional Courts
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Congress has created three types of lower
federal courts:
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Federal district courts
Circuit court of appeals
Federal appeals court
94 Federal District Courts
District courts-where trials
are held and lawsuits are
begun (at least 1 per
state, D.C., Puerto Rico,
Virgin Islands, Guam, N.
Mariana Islands)
1 judge & jury decide case
based on evidence
presented
District courts have original
jurisdiction-the authority
to hear a cases for the first
time
Federal Court Law Enforcement
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The law enforcement
branch for the US
District Courts are the
US Marshals
Marshals’ jobs:
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Deliver subpoenas
Track down fugitives
Protect judges and court
officials, jurors
Federal Court Attorneys
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US Attorneys work for
the fed gov’t as
prosecutors in criminal
cases and defense
attorneys for civil suits
Federal Magistrate Judges
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Officers of a federal district court (independent,
unbiased view of case according to the law)
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conduct initial proceedings in felony cases
(warrants, bail/bond hearings, subpoenas)
decide misdemeanor cases (traffic cases)
conduct many pretrial civil and criminal matters
decide civil cases with the parties’ consent (small
claims court under $5000)
Full-time magistrate judges serve eight-year terms
& can be reappointed by their district court.
Circuit Courts of Appeals
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The job of the appeals
court is to review
decisions made in lower
district courts
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Appellate jurisdictionauthority of the court to
hear a case appealed
from a lower court
Appeal-to review a case
to see if defendant
received due process
12 Circuit Courts of Appeals
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Each one covers a
particular geographic
area called a circuit
Roughly divided by
population
12th is a special
federal circuit of
appeals
Circuit Courts of Appeals
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Each court has three judges (majority rule)
Appeals courts do not hold trials. These courts
may decide an appeal in one of 3 ways:
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Uphold the original decision (you got a fair trial)
Reverse that decision
Remand the case (send the case back to the lower
court to be heard again)
Circuit Courts of Appeals
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When an appeals court
makes a decision, one
judge writes an opinion
(a detailed explanation of
the legal thinking behind
the court’s decision)
Precedent-a ruling that is
used as the basis for a
judicial decision in a later,
similar case
4 Legal System Principles
1. Equal Justice under the Lawevery person is entitled to full
protection of the law
regardless of wealth, ethnic
group, gender, or age
 Right to due process, trial by
peers, ability to sue in court,
fair punishment (5th through
8th amendments)
4 Legal System Principles
2. Due process of the lawlaw must be applied in
fair manner (5th & 14th )
 Procedural- the way the
law is administered to
avoid violating person’s
basic freedoms
4 Legal System Principles
3. Adversary systemarena in which
lawyers from
opposing sides
present their
strongest cases
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Prosecutor= state
Defense= defendant
4 Legal System Principles
4. Presumption of
Innocence- person is
innocent until proven
guilty
 Burden of proof falls on
the prosecution
 Innocence Project- Barry
Scheck
The Supreme Court
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Article III created
Supreme Court as
coequal branch of
govt with Congress &
president
Last resort in all
questions of law-final
decision
The Supreme Court
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Jurisdiction- both original (>1%) & appellate
(99%)
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Cases involving reps from foreign countries &
certain cases involving 2 or more states (original)
Cases appealed from lower cts & high state cts
Authority to rule on federal issue only
(Constitution/federal laws)
The Supreme Court
Criteria for cases heard
1. Only cases where decision will make a
difference in society (end segregation; right
to choose)
2. Person/group bringing case must have
suffered real harm (civil rights/$ loss)
3. Only cases that involve a substantial federal
question (constitutionality)
4. Court doesn’t deal with political questions
Powers of the Supreme Court
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Judicial review-the power of the
Supreme Court to say whether any
federal, state or local law or government
action goes against the Constitution
Advisory opinions- rule on a law or
action that has not been challenged
Limits on Supreme Court’s Power
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The President does not have to enforce the
court’s opinion
Congress can get around a court’s decision by
passing a new law or changing a law ruled
unconstitutional by the Court
Justices can be impeached
The court can only hear & decide those cases
that come to it
Supreme Court Justices
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Supreme Court justices- 9 justices
– 8 associates & 1 chief justice
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$208,100/yr assoc; $217,400/yr chief
Appointed by Pres & approved by
Senate
Can be impeached
Law degree, state or federal
judgeship (influential positions)
American Bar Association (ABA)Nat’l organization for lawyers-rates
qualifications of supreme ct
nominees- helps president make
decision
Supreme Court Justices
Duties Decide which cases to hear for the term
 Deciding the case itself
 Determining an explanation for the decision
 Each justice presides over 12 circuit courts of appeals
(request for special action)
 Extra duties-Nuremberg trials, Kennedy assassination
Law clerks- top law students aid the justices
 Read all appeals & summarize key issues
Supreme Court Case Procedures
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Supreme court term- 8 months (Oct-July) sits 2 weeks per
month & hears oral arguments
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On appeal- case heard when lower fed court or high state court
has ruled law unconstitutional
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Only about 10% come by appeal and most are dismissed
Writ of Certiorari- order from the supreme ct to lower ct to send
up records on a case for review
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7,500 cases appealed in 2004
@ 500 cases are decided upon
74 cases receive full hearings & written opinions
Over 90% of cases are rejected
Per Curiam opinion- brief unsigned statement of the court’s
decision
Brief- written statement sets forth the legal arguments, relevant
facts, & precedents supporting each side of the case.
Supreme Court Decisions
Opinions
 Unanimous- all vote the same way
 Majority- expresses views of the majority
 Concurring- agree with majority’s conclusions
but for different reasons
 Dissenting- disagree with the majority
5 factors shaping court decisions
1. Existing laws (Stare Decisis- “let the decision
stand”)
2. Justices’ personal views
3. Justices’ interactions with each other
4. Social forces & public attitudes
5. Congress & President
Amicus Curiae- “friend of the court” individuals or
group that have an interest in a particular
outcome of a decision (lobbying)
TYPES OF LAW
Due Process
Civil Law & Criminal Law
 Trials & Sentencing
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Due Process of Law
1. Federal Magistrate views evidence against a
suspect prior to grand jury, to see if it has
enough credibility to be taken to the grand
jury
2. The grand jury will deem that the suspect has
been indicted (formally accused of the
crime)
Due Process Cont’d.
3. Arrest- suspect is presented
w/ arrest warrant (probable
cause of a crime) & taken
into custody (danger to
themselves/others)
4. Booking- gather info about
suspect (fingerprints,
photo, ID)
Due Process Cont’d.
5. Arraignment takes place in
front of a judge
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Formally read the charges
being brought against the
suspect
Formally tell the evidence
against the suspect
Plead guilty or not guilty
Plea bargain (plead guilty to
a lesser crime to avoid a trial)
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Convicted & sentenced by judge
immediately!
Types of Trials
Civil trial- disputes between 2 or more individuals or
individual(s) & gov’t
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Usually seeking damages (money)
Plaintiff- person who brings charges in civil suit/gov’t
Defendant- person against whom the suit is brought
Criminal trial- charged with breaking federal/state law
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Prosecution- represents the federal/state gov’t to bring
charges (District Attorney)
Tax fraud, kidnapping, drug trafficking, murder,
Counterfeiting, mail fraud
Types of Juries
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Grand jury- 16-23 people that hear charges &
decide whether to person should be brought to
trial
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Indictment- formal accusation by the grand jury
charging a person with a crime
Petit jury- 6-12 people is a trial jury that weighs
evidence to determine guilt (criminal) or
responsibility (civil)
Trial
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Prosecution must “prove
guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt”
Defense pokes holes in
the prosecutions’ case by
providing a reasonable
doubt
All 12 jurors must agree
the defendant guilty
Verdicts
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Guilty- all 12 jurors agree crime was committed
Not Guilty- all 12 jurors agree there was
reasonable doubt (this is not innocence!)
Hung jury/Mistrial- jurors cannot agree on
guilty or not guilty (can be re-tried!)
Sentencing
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Sentencing is usually decided
by judge according to crime
(punishment fits crime)
Death Penalty- can be imposed by
jury or judge
 5 methods still used
 Lethal injection- most common
& primarily used if other
methods are determined
unconstitutional! (36 states +
fed gov’t & military)
 Gas chamber (5 states*) AZ,
CA, MD, MO, WY
 Electrocution (9 states*) AL,
AR, FL, IL, KY, OK, SC, TN, VA
 Hanging (2 states*) NH, WA
 Firing Squad (2 states*) OK, UT