Federal Court System
SSCG 16
SSCG 6
Ch.11
Ch. 12
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Federal courts are generally
created by the United States
Congress under the
constitutional power described
in Article III.
These courts are much more
independent of Congress and
the President.
Article III requires the
establishment of a Supreme
Court and permits the
Congress to create other
federal courts, and place
limitations on their jurisdiction.
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Jurisdiction is the
authority to hear
certain cases.
Federal courts have
jurisdiction in cases
that involve United
States laws, treaties
with other countries,
or interpretations of
the Constitution.
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There are three main
types of judicial
jurisdiction: Personal
jurisdiction is an authority
over a person, regardless
of their location.
Territorial jurisdiction is
an authority confined to a
bounded space, including
all those present therein,
and events which occur
there. Subject Matter
jurisdiction is an authority
over the subject of the
legal questions involved
in the case.
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Federal courts use 2 types of
juries: grand jury and petit
jury.
Grand jury has 16 – 23
people and hears evidence
against the accused. If they
think there is enough
evidence, they pass an
indictment – a formal
accusation charging the person
with a crime.
The petit jury has 6 – 12
people and is a trial jury. They
find the accused guilty or
innocent. In some states, they
pass sentence on the
convicted.
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The 94 U.S. judicial
districts are organized
into 12 regional circuits,
each of which has a
United States court of
appeals.
A court of appeals hears
appeals from the district
courts located within its
circuit, as well as appeals
from decisions of federal
administrative agencies.
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The United States district
courts are the trial courts of
the federal court system.
Within limits set by Congress
and the Constitution, the
district courts have jurisdiction
to hear nearly all categories of
federal cases, including both
civil and criminal matters.
Every day hundreds of people
across the nation are selected
for jury duty and help decide
some of these cases.
There are 94 federal judicial
districts, including at least one
district in each state, the
District of Columbia and Puerto
Rico. Three territories of the
United States have district
courts that hear federal cases,
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In addition, the Court of
Appeals for the Federal
Circuit has nationwide
jurisdiction to hear
appeals in specialized
cases, such as those
involving patent laws and
cases decided by the
Court of International
Trade and the Court of
Federal Claims.
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The United States
Court of Appeals for
the Federal Circuit was
created by Congress with
passage of the Federal
Courts Improvement Act
of 1982 making the
judges of the former
courts into circuit judges.
It is housed in
Washington, D.C.
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The United States
Court of Appeals for
the Armed Forces
exercises worldwide
appellate jurisdiction over
members of the United
States armed forces on
active duty and other
persons subject to the
Uniform Code of Military
Justice.
Statistics show that the
court only reviews
approximately 10 percent
of all court-martial
convictions
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The United States
Court of Appeals for
the Armed Forces The cases before the
court may only be
reviewed upon a granted
petition for review, by
certificate from an
individual service Judge
Advocate General, a
sentence of death, a
petition for extraordinary
relief or a writ appeal
petition.
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The United States Tax
Court specializes in
adjudicating disputes over
federal income tax, generally
prior to the time at which the
formal tax assessments are
made by the Internal Revenue
Service.
The Tax Court is the only
forum in which taxpayers
outside of bankruptcy may do
so without having first paid the
disputed tax in full.
Tax Court judges are appointed
for a term of 15 years, subject
to removal for cause.
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The United States Court of
International Trade
replaced the old United
States Customs Court .
The Court has nine Judges,
of whom no more than five
can be of the same political
party, as well as Senior
Judges.
The Court possesses limited
subject matter jurisdiction,
meaning that it may hear only
cases involving particular
international trade and
customs law questions.
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The United States Court of
Federal Claims hears nontort monetary claims against
the U.S. government.
It hears claims for money that
arise from the United States
Constitution, federal statutes,
executive regulations, or an
express or implied in fact
contract with the United States
Government.
Judges serve for 15-year terms
and are eligible for
reappointment. The sixteen
judges of the court are
nominated by the President
and confirmed by the Senate.
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Federal courts are also given
jurisdiction when certain
people are involved. Examples
are: (1.) ambassadors and
other representatives of
foreign governments; (2.) 2 or
more state governments; (3.)
the U.S. government or one of
its agencies; (4.) citizens who
are residents of different
states; and (5.) citizens who
are residents of same state but
claim lands under grants of
different states.
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Courts may have
jurisdiction that is
concurrent (shared).
Concurrent jurisdiction
exists in a case involving
people from different
states in a dispute. In
such a case , a person
may sue in either federal
or state court.
If the person being sued
insists, the case is heard
in federal court.
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The United States Judiciary
Act of 1789 was a landmark
statute adopted on September
24, 1789 in the first session of
the First United States
Congress establishing the U.S.
federal judiciary.
Article III, section 1 of the
Constitution prescribed that
the "judicial power of the
United States, shall be vested
in one Supreme Court", and
such inferior courts as
Congress saw fit to establish.
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The Supreme Court of the
United States is the highest
judicial body in the United States.
It consists of the Chief Justice of
the United States and eight
Associate Justices, who are
nominated by the President and
confirmed with the of the Senate.
Once appointed, Justices
effectively have life tenure,
serving "during good Behaviour“,
which terminates only upon death,
resignation, retirement, or
conviction on impeachment.
The Court meets in Washington,
D.C. in the United States Supreme
Court building. The Supreme
Court is primarily an appellate
court, but it has original
jurisdiction over a small range of
cases
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The Constitution specifies that
the Supreme Court may
exercise original jurisdiction in
cases affecting ambassadors
and other diplomats, and in
cases in which a state is a
party.
It considers cases based on its
original jurisdiction very rarely;
almost all cases are brought to
the Supreme Court on appeal.
In practice, the only original
jurisdiction cases heard by the
Court are disputes between
two or more states.
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John Marshall shaped
American constitutional law
and made the Supreme Court
a center of power.
Marshall established that the
courts are entitled to exercise
judicial review, the power to
strike down laws that violate
the Constitution.
He repeatedly confirmed the
supremacy of federal law over
state law and supported an
expansive reading of the
enumerated powers.
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Marbury v. Madison,
formed the basis for the
exercise of judicial review in
the U.S. under Article III of the
Constitution.
Marbury v. Madison was the
first time the Supreme Court
declared something
"unconstitutional," and
established the concept of
judicial review in the U.S. (the
idea that courts may oversee
and nullify the actions of
another branch of
government).
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Fletcher v. Peck
(1810), was one of
the first cases in
which the Supreme
Court ruled a state
law unconstitutional.
It is the earliest case
of the Court asserting
its right to invalidate
state laws conflicting
with the Constitution.
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Dartmouth College v.
Woodward, (1819), was a
case dealing with the
application of the Contract
Clause of the United States
Constitution to private
corporations. (The state of
New Hampshire converted the
school from a private to a
public institution.)
Contracts, no matter how they
were procured (in the case of
Fletcher v. Peck, a land
contract had been illegally
obtained), cannot be
invalidated by state legislation.
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McCulloch v. Maryland,
(1819) –
Established the following two
principles:
The Constitution grants to
Congress implied powers for
implementing the
Constitution's express powers,
in order to create a functional
national government.
State action may not impede
valid constitutional exercises of
power by the Federal
government.
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Dred Scott v. Sandford ruled
that people of African descent
imported into the United States
and held as slaves, or their
descendants — whether or not
they were slaves — were not
protected by the Constitution and
could never be citizens of the
United States.
It also held that the United States
Congress had no authority to
prohibit slavery in federal
territories.
The Court also ruled that because
slaves were not citizens, they
could not sue in court.
Lastly, the Court ruled that slaves
— as private property — could
not be taken away from their
owners without due process.
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The Slaughter-House
Cases, (1873) was the first
United States Supreme Court
interpretation of the relatively
new Fourteenth Amendment to
the Constitution.
It is viewed as a pivotal case
in early civil rights law, reading
the Fourteenth Amendment as
protecting the "privileges or
immunities" conferred by
virtue of the United States
citizenship to all individuals of
all states within it.
The 14th Amendment, partially
overturned the Dred Scott
decision.
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Plessy v. Ferguson,
(1896), upheld the
constitutionality of racial
segregation even in
public accommodations
(particularly railroads),
under the doctrine of
"separate but equal".
"Separate but equal"
remained standard
doctrine in U.S. law until
its repudiation in 1954.
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Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka,
(1954), overturned earlier
rulings going back to Plessy v.
Ferguson in 1896, by declaring
that state laws that established
separate public schools for
black and white students
denied black children equal
educational opportunities.
As a result, de jure racial
segregation was ruled a
violation of the Equal
Protection Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment of the
United States Constitution.
This victory paved the way for
integration and the civil rights
movement.
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Gideon v. Wainwright,
(1963), the Supreme
Court unanimously ruled
that state courts are
required under the Sixth
Amendment of the
Constitution to provide
counsel in criminal cases
for defendants who are
unable to afford their own
attorneys.
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Miranda v. Arizona (1966) -
The Court held that statements
made in response to
interrogation by a defendant in
police custody will be
admissible at trial only if the
prosecution can show that the
defendant was informed of the
right to consult with an
attorney before and during
questioning and of the right
against self-incrimination prior
to questioning by police, and
that the defendant not only
understood these rights, but
voluntarily waived them.
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United States v. Virginia,
(1996), is a case in which the
Supreme Court of the United
States struck down the Virginia
Military Institute's longstanding male-only admission
policy.
The high court effectively
struck down any law which
"denies to women, simply
because they are women, full
citizenship stature — equal
opportunity to aspire, achieve,
participate in and contribute to
society."
How do they decide which cases to
hear?
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The Supreme Court
decides to hear a case on
three major factors. (1.)
Whether it was an appeal
by the federal court and
is in conflict with the
decisions of other circuits,
(2.) the general
importance of the case,
and (3.) whether the
lower court's decisions
may be wrong in light of
the Supreme Court's
opinions.
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A petition for a writ of
certiorari is the
documentation sent to
the Supreme Court of the
United States to request
that they review a case.
A writ of certiorari ( L.,
"to be informed") is
issued from any appellate
court to a lower court
requesting more
information about a case
- seeking judicial review.
How do they decide a case?
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Once the Supreme Court
accepts a case, (1.) the
lawyers give the Court a
written copy of the trial court
proceedings, called the "record
on appeal."
(2.) Then they write lengthy,
detailed documents – called
"briefs" – arguing their points
and providing legal support for
them.
Next, (3.) the attorneys
typically argue the merits of
their cases orally before the
Supreme Court. The Court
considers these briefs and
arguments in researching and
deciding the cases.
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The Supreme Court
can transfer the case
back to the court of
appeals, affirm the
trial court’s decision,
reverse the trial
court's decision or
remand (send) the
case back to the trial
court for further
proceedings.
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The philosophy of
judicial activism is the
charge that judges are
going beyond their
appropriate powers and
engaging in making law
and not merely
interpreting it.
Judicial activism is a
critical term used by
some to describe judicial
rulings are based more
upon the judge's personal
bias than by existing law.
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Judicial restraint is a
philosophy that upholds
the tenets of democracy
by meeting a
responsibility to limit
power in deference to
policy governed by
constitutional law.
Judicial restraint
encourages judges to
limit the exercise of their
own power - judges
should hesitate to strike
down laws unless they
are obviously
unconstitutional.