The JUDICIAL BRANCH
The Court System in the United States
Creation of a National Judiciary
 Article III, §1, of the Constitution provides that "[t]he
judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in
one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as
the Congress may from time to time ordain and
establish." The Supreme Court of the United States
was created in accordance with this provision and by
authority of the Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789
(1 Stat. 73). It was organized on February 2, 1790.
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Source: http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/briefoverview.aspx
Judicial Review
 Judicial Review is the power to interpret laws, to determine
their meaning, and to settle disputes within the society.
 The power of Judicial Review was established by the Supreme
Court with Marbury v. Madison.
 It makes the Supreme Court the final authority on the
meaning of the Constitution.
Types of Law
 A Statutory law – law enacted by legislative body
 B. Common law – based on custom or court decision
 C. Constitutional law
 D. Administrative law- quasi judicial
 E. Criminal Law – plea bargains, public defenders,
voluntary defenders, pro bono
 F. Civil Law – laws related to
ordinary, private matters
Types of Courts
 A. Constitutional courts – Supreme Court, Courts of
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Appeals, the District Courts and the Court of
International Trade
B. Legislative courts – Congressional courts
C. Civil/Criminal courts
D. Original jurisdiction
E. Appellate jurisdiction
The Supreme Court
http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/briefoverview.aspx
The Federal Court System
Florida Court System
Selection of Federal Judges
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Senatorial Courtesy and Judicial Appointments:
A. Senate Judiciary Committee
B. race, party, sex
C. ideology
D. judicial activism/judicial restraint
E. longevity, tenure
F. “Litmus” test
G. Judicial experience
Courts as Policymakers
 New Deal Era
 The Warren Court (1953 – 1969)
 The Burger Court (1969 – 1986)
 The Rehnquist and Roberts Courts (1986 – present)
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Parties to Suits
Plaintiff
Defendant
Appellant
Appellee
Types of Juries
Grand Jury – Indictment
Petit Jury – decides guilt
or innocence
Appeal Procedure
 Petition of certiorari, request for Supreme Court review
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(approximately 10,000 requests)
Discuss the list in conference, review denied in 98% of all
requests
Rule of four puts a case on the docket (approximately
100 cases per year)
Preparation of briefs
Oral argument
Conference
Opinion – majority, minority, dissenting, concurring
Assignments of opinion – seniority/role of Chief Justice
Landmark Supreme Court Cases
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Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
Engle v. Vitale
Escobedo v. Illinois
Gideon v. Wainwright
Mapp v. Ohio
Miranda v. Arizona
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Roe v. Wade
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services
Tinker v. DesMoines
Miller v. California
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971)
Civil Liberties
Bill of Rights
First Amendment
Establishment Clause – “Lemon Test,” Lemon v.
Kurtzman
 The Free Exercise Clause
 Freedom of Expression
• Clear & Present Danger Test
• Symbolic Expression
• Obscene Material
 Press
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 The Second Amendment – the “true” meaning?
 Fifth Amendment
 Sixth Amendment
 Eighth Amendment
 Ninth Amendment – Privacy
 The “Slavery” Amendments – 13th, 14th, 15th
Civil Rights
 Equality of Outcome v. Equality of Opportunity
 Barriers to Civil Rights – poll tax, racial segregation,
separate-but-equal
 Civil Rights Movement: NAACP, Brown v. Topeka
Board of Education, Martin Luther King, Jr. and
Civil Disobedience, Malcolm X, the Black Panters
 Civil Rights Act of 1964
 De Jure v. De Facto Segregation
Extension of Civil Rights
 Native Americans
 Women, 19th Amendment, Equal Pay Act of 1963,
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and Title VII, Defeat of the ERA
1990 Americans with Disabilities Act
Aegism
The Gay Rights Movement
Affirmative Action