Chapter 10

StudyBlue printing of Chapter 10 html, body, div, span, applet, object, iframe, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, p, blockquote, pre, a, abbr, acronym, address, big, cite, code, del, dfn, em, font, img, ins, kbd, q, s, samp, small, strike, strong, sub, sup, tt, var, b, u, i, center, fieldset, form, label, legend, table, caption, tbody, tfoot, thead, tr, th, td { margin: 0; padding: 0; border: 0; outline: 0; font-size: 100%; background: transparent; } body { line-height: 1; } blockquote, q { quotes: none; } blockquote:before, blockquote:after, q:before, q:after { content: ''; content: none; } /* remember to define focus styles! */ :focus { outline: 0; } /* remember to highlight inserts somehow! */ ins { text-decoration: none; } del { text-decoration: line-through; } /* tables still need 'cellspacing="0"' in the markup */ table { border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0; } /* end RESET */ .header { min-width:800px; } .logo { padding:6px 20px 2px 20px; margin:0; font-size:25px; font-weight:bold; color:#808285; position:relative; border-bottom: 1px solid #c5c5c5; } .logo-blue { color:#70adc4; } .logo-desc { font-weight:normal; font-size:19px; color:#cccccc; margin-top:50px; position:absolute; display: none; } .back-button { position:absolute; top:20px; right:20px; font-size:13px; line-height:25px; color:rgb(0,175,225); font-weight:normal; } .back-button a { color:rgb(0,175,225); } .instructions { padding:0; margin:0; width:100%; position:relative; color:rgb(100,100,100); } .step-holder { border-left:1px solid #ededed; margin-left:20px; } .steps { padding:15px 0; float:left; width:24%; border-right:1px solid #ededed; text-align:center; } .steps-01 { } .steps-02 { } .steps-03 { } .steps-04 { } .label { padding:5px 10px; } .print-button { } .print-button a { background-color:rgb(0,175,225); color:white; line-height: 19px; padding:9px 8px 5px 30px; font-size:14px; text-decoration:none; background-image: url(images/printer.png); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: 7px 50%; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px; } .print-button a:hover { background-color:black; } .theNote .content { width: 8.0in !important; margin: 5px auto; padding:20px; background-color:white; } .theNote .header { border-bottom: 1px dashed #C8C8C8; font-size: 17px; padding: 0 0 10px; line-height: 19px; color: #00ADE1; min-width:500px; } .theNote .body { font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 10px 0; } .theNote{ padding:6px 0; clear:both; background-color: rgb(200,200,200); } .theNote h3{ color: rgb(100,100,100); } .theNote h1, .theNote h3{ background-color:white; padding:2px 20px; width:8.0in !important; margin: 0 auto; font-size: 15px; } .theNote h1{ padding-top: 10px; font-size: 15px; } .theNote h1:first-child{ font-size: 20px; } .theNote h3 { font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; } #options { border: 3px double #ccc; padding: 5px 12px; margin: 10px 50px 10px 20px; float: left; } #info { border-top: 1px solid #ccc; padding-top: 5px; font-style: italic; } li { margin: 5px 10px 5px 25px; } ul li { list-style: disc; } ol li { list-style: decimal; } img { border: 0; } table { clear: both; width: 100%; border: 1px solid #c5c5c5; border-width: 1px 0; margin: 0; page-break-after: always; } table#page { page-break-after: auto; } td { text-align: center; font-size: 12px; border-bottom: 1px dashed #c5c5c5; height: 1.75in; width: 50%; padding-left: 15px; } .leftside { border-right: 1px solid #cccccc; padding: 0 15px 0 0; } .bottom td { border-bottom: none; } .clearfix { clear:both; line-height:1px; height:1px; } img { max-width:80%; max-height:150px; margin:20px; } @media print {.header { display: none; } .content .header{ display:inherit; } table { border: 1px dashed #bbb; border-width: 1px 0; } .theNote{ background-color:white; } } The Judiciary Judicial Review- - Allows the judiciary to review acts of the other branches of government and the state. Judiciary Act of 1789-- established the basic three-tiered structure of the federal court system. --> BOTTOM: Federal district courts (At least one in each state) --> NEXT circuit courts (if unhappy with the verdict in the district court can appeal their case to the circuit courts.) Originally composed of one district court judge and two Supreme Court justices who met as a circuit court twice a year, now solely focus on finding of the lower courts. ---> TOP Supreme Court of the United States (six-- chief justice plus five associate justices.--> five members in 1801--> expanded to nine in 1869) Marbury Vs. Madison: Adams appointed judges to share his political ideology. Marbury files suit against Madison (secretary of state) because he wouldn't file his appointment. Question of did the court have the right to tell the President what to do, Supreme Court was the final interpreter of the Constitution. Established Judicial review by finding that the congressional statue extending the Court's original jurisdiction was unconstitutional. Chisholm V. Georgia( 1793): The justices interpreted the Court's jurisdiction under Article 3 section 2, to include the right to hear suits brought up by a citizen against a state in which did not reside. Justice James Wilson denounced notions of state independence, state sovereignty and state supremacy. trial courts: litigation begins. appellate courts: generally review only findings of law made by trial courts. Jurisdiction: authority to hear and decide the issues in that case. Original jurisdiction: refers to a court's authority to hear disputes as a trial court; facts of the case. Appellate jurisdiction : refers to a court's ability to review and/or revise cases already decided by a trial court. Generally a panel of three judges, review legal procedures to make certain that the law was applied properly to the issue presented in the case opposed to reviewing factual record. Criminal law: The body of law that relates to the protection of property an individual safety. Civil law : the body of law that regulates the conduct and relationships between individuals or groups. Involve lawsuits filed to recover something of value, whether it is the right to vote, fair treatment, or monetary compensation for an item or service that cannot be recovered. Constitutional courts : District courts, court os appeal and the Supreme Court are all called this. Article 3 of the constitution established them or authorized Congress to establish them. Judges who preside over these are nominated by the President, they serve lifetime terms as long as they engage in "good behavior". Legislative courts: Set up by Congress, under its implied powers for special purposes. EXAMPLES: U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and U.S. territorial courts (hear federal cases in the territories). District courts : federal trial courts. Currently there are 94 federal district courts. Never cutes across state lines. Every state has at least one and the bigger popular states such as California, Texas and New York each have 4. These are where the bulk of the judicial work takes place in the federal system. CASES MUST: 1.) Involve the federal government as a party. 2.) Present a federal question based on a claim under the U.S. constitution, a treaty with another nation, or a federal statue. Can involve criminal or civil law. 3.) Involve civil suits in which citizens are from different states and the amount of money at issue is more than 75,000. Court of Appeals: The losing party in a case heard and decided in a federal district court can appeal the decision to the appropriate court of appeals. Intermediate appellate courts in the federal system designed in 1789 to hear appeals from federal district courts. 11 courts of appeals. Appeals from criminal and civil cases and from administrative agencies. Brief: A document containing the legal written arguments in a case filed with a court by a party prior to a hearing or trial. Submitted by lawyers. Precedents : Established in the Supreme Court, a prior judicial decision that serves as a rule for settling subsequent cases of similar nature. Stare decisis : The reliance on past decisions or precedents to formulate decisions in new cases. Supreme Court: Often the center of highly controversial issues that have yet to be resolved successfully in the political process. It reviews cases from the U.S. courts of appeals and state supreme courts and act as the final interpreter of the U.S. Constitution. 8 associate justices and one chief justice who is nominated by the president specifically for that position. 400 staff members over all in this court. Senatorial courtesy: Process by which presidents generally defer selection of district court judges to the choice of senators of their own party who represent the state where the vacancy occurs. Nomination criteria: President's often look within their circle of friends or their administration to fill a vacancy. Six criteria is important : competence (prior judicial experience), ideology or policy preferences (share their political preferences, appointed due to political goals in mind), rewards (close friends), pursuit of political support (appointing people to gain approval ratings.), religion (usually protestant recently mostly catholic), and race and gender . Confirmation process: Senate approves all nominees to the federal bench. Investigation-- personal and professional background. Senate Judiciary Committee asks each nominee to complete a lengthy questionnaire detailing previous work, judicial opinions written and etc. Lobbying by interest groups-- Active in Supreme Court nominations. Senate committee hearings and senate vote-- Senators ask nominees probing questions. Senate Judiciary Committee makes a recommendation to the full Senate. writ of certiorari: a request for the Supreme Court to order up the records of the lower courts for purposes of review. Rule of Four: At least four justices vote to hear a case. Role of Clerks: Assist each justice, Typically are selected from top graduating classes of prestigious law schools. Spend most of their time researching material, reading and summarizing cases and helping justices write opinions. Influence which case gets a second look. Most justices have 4 clerks. Solicitor General : appointed by the President, is the fourth-ranking member of the Department of Justice and is responsible for handling nearly all appeals on behalf of the U.S. government to the Supreme Court. Amicus curiae-- "friend of the court" may file briefs or even appear to argue their interests orally before the court Conflict among the court of appeals: One reason justices take cases, justices want consistency throughout the federal court system. Conflicts usually occur when important civil rights or civil liberties questions arise. Oral arguments: Take place once a case is accepted by the Court for full review and after briefs and amicus briefs are submitted on each side. Justices hear them from the beginning of the term until early April. Limited to immediate parties in the case. Chief justice sits in the middle the remaining nine justice sit from left to right in seniority positions. Each attorney allowed one half hour to present their case. Only opportunity for the public and press to observe the workings of the Court, assures lawyers that the justices have observed the parties arguments, forces lawyers to focus on arguments believed important by the justices. The conference and the vote : The justice with the least seniority acts as the doorkeeper for the other eight, each individual justice discusses his case in order of his or her seniority on the Court, with the most senior justice speaking next. Majority opinion: Majority of judges or justices agree on reason. Dissenting opinion : Doesn't agree with court rule. Plurality opinion: of 5 of 5/4 decisions, only 3 have reason for ruling that way. consenting opinion : Give my consent but different reasoning. pur curiam opinion: "For the court" 5/4 decision, all agree, voted same way, but all for different reasoning. Judicial restraint: argue that courts should allow the decisions of other branches to stand, even when they offend a judge's own principle. Judicial activism: A philosophy of judicial decision making that posits judges should use their power broadly to further justice. Strict constructionists : interpret the Constitution as it was written and intended by the Framers. Models of Judicial decision making : Behavioral characteristics--- social background differences such as childhood experiences, religious values, education, earlier political and legal careers and etc influence how a judge evaluates the facts and legal issues presented in any given case. The attitudinal model--- Holds that the Supreme Court justices decide cases according to their personal preferences towards issues of public policy. The strategic model- - Argues that justices temper legal doctrine and their own policy beliefs with concerns about how other internal and external variables will affect and be affected by their decision. Prospective thinkers who act to achieve and preserve their policy and personal goals over the long term. Supreme Court decisions: Public opinion can act as a check on the power of the courts and as an energizing factor for justices. The way the court rules can highly affect Public Opinion of the court. Judicial implementation: Refers to how and whether judicial decisions are translated into actual public policies affecting more than the immediate parties to the lawsuit. Must act to show they understand the original decision, must follow court policy and the consumer population must be aware of the rights that a decision grants or denies them.