The Role and Origin of the Federal Court System
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Chapter 7 The Judicial Branch
Lesson 1: Federal Courts Pages 218-222 Vocabulary (4) 1. dual court system 2. jurisdiction 3. exclusive jurisdiction 4. concurrent jurisdiction
Role of the Federal Courts • In civil cases, • courts use the law to settle civil disputes. • both sides come before a court. • Each side lays out its view. • The court applies the law to the facts that have been presented. • Then it decides in favor of one side or the other. • A civil dispute is a conflict between: • two private parties (people, companies, or organizations) • a private party and the government • the U.S. government and a state or local government Federal courts decide criminal and civil cases that involve federal laws.
Origin of the Federal Court System • Under the Articles of Confederation, the country had no national court system. • Each state had its own laws and courts. • Citizens were not guaranteed equal justice in all the states. • To solve these problems the Founders decided to create a federal judiciary. • Article III of the Constitution created a national Supreme Court. • It gave Congress the power to set up a system of lower courts.
Origin of the Federal Court System • Congress set up two kinds of lower federal courts: district courts and circuit courts. • District courts heard minor civil and criminal cases. • They served as the trial courts for specific geographic areas. • Circuit courts took more serious cases and heard appeals from the district courts. • An appeal is when a person asks a higher court to review a case. • In 1891, Congress made circuit courts solely courts of appeals.
Dual Court System • Each state also has laws and a court system. • The state courts and federal courts exist side by side. • This gives our country a dual court system. • The federal courts get their powers from laws passed by Congress. • The state courts get their powers from state constitutions and laws. • The federal courts make sure citizens in every state are treated the same. • Each person is presumed, or thought to be, innocent until proven guilty. • To make sure all citizens have equal justice, the Constitution gives every accused person the right to a public trial. • If the accused cannot pay for a lawyer, the court will provide one.
Origin of the Federal Court System • The district courts at the lower level are trial courts. • The circuit courts in the middle are appeals courts. • The Supreme Court, the court of final appeal, is at the top. District Court Trial Courts 3 Supreme Court ________________ Circuit Courts Appeals Courts _________________ 2 1
Jurisdiction • Most court cases involve state laws and are tried in state courts. • The Constitution gives federal courts the power to hear certain kinds of cases, however. • The authority to hear and decide a case is called jurisdiction. • In most of these areas, federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. • Only federal courts can decide on these cases. • Other cases are under the state court jurisdiction.
Lesson 2: The Federal Court System Pages 223-228 Vocabulary (8) 1. original jurisdiction 2. appellate jurisdiction 3. ruling 4. opinion 5. precedent 6. litigant 7. tenure 8. subpoena
The Lower Courts • The federal court system has three levels. • District courts are at the lowest level. • These courts have what is called original jurisdiction. • This is the authority to hear cases for the first time. • Most federal cases begin in a U.S. district court. • There are 94 district courts. • Every state has at least one. • District courts hold both civil and criminal trials. • Juries listen to witnesses and decide guilt or innocence based on evidence. • People who lose a case in district court may appeal it to a federal appeals court. • This means they can ask a higher court to review and possibly change the result of the trial.
Rulings • Appeals courts do not have trials. • Judges make the decisions, called rulings. • Three or more judges review each case. • They listen to the lawyers’ arguments. • Then they meet and vote on how to rule. • They can choose to do the following: • uphold, or keep the original decision made by the district court • reverse the district court’s decision • remand the case • To remand the case means to send the case back to the lower court to be tried again.
Opinions • Appeals court judges do not decide guilt or innocence; rather, they rule only on whether the trial was fair. • Appeals court rulings may be appealed only to the Supreme Court. • When an appeals court makes a ruling, one judge writes an opinion for the court. • The opinion explains the legal thinking behind the court’s decision and is an example to be followed by other judges. • Such an example is called a precedent. • A precedent does not have the force of law, but it is a powerful legal argument.
Principles of the Legal System • Since early in the nation’s history, the federal courts have followed certain guiding ideas. • Judges or justices cannot decide a question of law by seeking out a lawsuit. • They have to wait for litigants to file lawsuits. • Litigants are people involved in a lawsuit. • The principle of precedent is another guiding idea.
Federal Judges • Federal judges make the final decisions in the federal court system. • There are more than 650 federal judges in the district courts. • Each district court has at least two judges. • Each appeals court may have between 6 and 28 judges. • The U.S. Supreme Court has nine judges, called justices.
Lesson 3: The Supreme Court Pages 229-234 Vocabulary (3) 1. judicial review 2. constitutional 3. nullify
Jurisdiction and Duties • The United States Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. • All other courts must follow its decisions. • The Supreme Court is also the final authority in all cases involving the Constitution, acts of Congress, and treaties with other countries.
Jurisdiction and Cases • The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in only two kinds of cases. • It can hear cases that involve diplomats from other countries. • It can also hear cases that involve disputes between states. • In all other cases, the Supreme Court hears appeals from lower courts. • Each year thousands of cases are appealed to the Supreme Court. • The justices choose the ones they will hear. • After deciding a case, the Court issues a written opinion. • When the Court refuses to hear a case the decision of the lower court stands.
Qualifications of Justices • The Constitution does not list any specific requirements for a Supreme Court justice. • Before joining the Court, many justices were lawyers, educators, or lower court judges. • Supreme Court justices have their jobs for life.
Powers and Limits • A key power of the Supreme Court is the power of judicial review. • This is the power to review any federal, state, or local law or action to see if it is constitutional. • The Court may decide that a law or action is unconstitutional. • In that case the Court has the power to nullify, or cancel, that law or action.
Lesson 4: Supreme Court Procedures and Decisions Pages 236-241 Vocabulary (8) 1. writ of certiorari 2. docket 3. caseload 4. brief 5. stare decisis 6. concurring opinion 7. dissenting opinion 8. unanimous opinion
Court Procedures • The Supreme Court meets each year for about nine months. • Each term begins the first Monday in October and ends in the summer. • Sometimes special sessions are called to handle a serious matter. • The Supreme Court carefully chooses the cases it will hear. • The justices also look for cases that deal with real people and events. • They look for cases that affect the whole country, rather than one person or group.
Caseload • Almost all cases reach the Supreme Court on appeal from a lower court. • Most appeals come to the Court as a petition, or request, for a writ of certiorari. • The justices receive about 10,000 petitions, or requests, for writ of certiorari each term. • Of these, the Court accepts 75 to 80 cases. • The Court accepts a case when four of the nine justices agree to do so. • The accepted cases go on the Court docket, or calendar of cases to be heard. • The number of cases handled in a period of time is called the caseload.
How the Court’s Rulings Are Made • First, the lawyers for each side in a case write a brief. • A brief is a written document that explains one side’s position, or point of view, on the case. • The two parties study each other’s briefs and then give a second brief to the Court. • The second brief is shorter and answers the arguments made in the first brief by the other side. • Then, justices study the briefs and ask questions. • Next, each side is given 30 minutes to present oral arguments before the Court. • The justices then meet to make decisions about the cases. • The meetings are secret. • No official records are kept. • At least six justices must be present to vote on a ruling. • A majority vote decides a case.
Factors Influencing Decisions • Justices are guided by a principle called stare decisis. • In Latin this means “let the decision stand.” • In other words, follow precedent. • However, the law must also be able to change with the times. • The Supreme Court has the power to overturn outdated decisions. • In Brown v. Board of Education, the Court overturned an earlier decision that supported segregation laws. • In that case, the Supreme Court changed its interpretation of the law to reflect changes in society.
Writing Opinions • When the Court has reached a decision, one justice writes the opinion for the majority stating the facts of the case and gives the ruling. • The Court’s written opinion sets a precedent for the lower courts to follow. • Sometimes a justice agrees with the majority decision but for different reasons. • They write a concurring opinion. • Justices might also disagree with the majority decision. • They write a dissenting opinion. • Sometimes all the justices vote the same way. • Then the Court issues a unanimous opinion. • After the opinions are drafted, the justices review it and comment on the draft. • The justice writing the opinion takes their comments into account as he or she revises the opinion. • Once the draft is final the Court announces its decision.
