APS Day 24 AgendaAPS Day 24 AgendaGoal - To understand that the US court system is dual and

that the Constitution requires both the national and state governments to approve changes to it.

Warm-up - Review of courts within our federal system – see p 2– Identify: Adversarial system, dual system and three

tiered system, how the amendment process illustrates federalism

– Guess – what are the grounds for an appeal? What is an appeal?

• Questions from homework?• Amendment process – draw a diagram of how the

Constitution can be changed• Defining additional terms p 3 • Gideon’s Trumpet – continue

– Answer questions p 4-8

US ConstitutionUS Congress – makes US lawsUS Courts interpret and apply US laws

50 State Constitutions50 State legislatures– makes 50 state laws50 State Courts interpret & apply 50 state laws

Dual System

Courts of Original Jurisdiction94 US District Courts – Trial CourtsAlso US Claims court, Courts Martial, Tax court, Maritime Court, Int’l Trade and lots of administrative Courts

50 State Courts of Original Jurisdiction50 state District Court systems – Trial Courts – like in PA – Common Pleas, Commonwealth Court, Orphan’s Court, Small Claims Court, Traffic Court

Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction12 + 1 US Circuit Courts of Appeals Reviews district court actions for:Fair trial proceduresInterpretation and application of lawConstitutionality of law

50 State Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction50 state Appeals Court systems like in PA –Commonwealth Court, Superior CourtReviews lower court rulings for fair trial procedures, State Constitutionality

Court of Last Resort1 US Supreme Court Reviews lower court on both sides opinions are final unless overturned by Constitutional Amendment or another USSC ruling

50 State Courts of Last Resort50 state Supreme CourtsReviews lower state court. Opinions are final unless overturned by State Constitutional Amendment or a USSC ruling

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Activism v RestraintJudicial Activism – When a court issues a decision that goes far beyond addressing the specific case at hand. The activist decision applies, through the concept of precedent, to all other future cases throughout the country. For all intents and purposes an activist court makes new law.

•How may judicial activism relate to the concepts of substantive democracy, separation of powers and checks and balances?

Examples are: Miranda, Gideon, BrownJudicial Restraint – When a court issues a decision that addresses the specific case at hand, and only that case and its two sides. The restrained decision usually follows one of two concepts. Stare decisis (let the decision stand) This means that the court respects the previous court decisions and won’t wholly overturn them. Or legislative deference (respecting the law-making body and its decisions) refusing to step on the powers of the legislature - the court may strike down a law, but will not rewrite it – sending the decision to the legislature to rewrite the law to conform to the court’s interpretation of the Constitution. Usually, a restrained court does NOT make new law.

•How may judicial restraint relate to the concepts of substantive democracy, separation of powers and checks and balances?

Examples are: Bush v Gore, Hamdi, Padilla, recent abortion cases

- OR - - OR -

1.      Criminal law – laws prohibiting wrongs committed against society

2.      Civil law – laws regulating actions that result in wrongs committed by one party injuring another (torts) or breach of contract

3.      Plaintiff – complainer about their injury who brings a lawsuit

4.      Defendant – party who defends himself against the accusations

5.      Prosecutor – attorney representing “the people” in a criminal case

6.      Adversarial system – two sides argue, presenting their case, out of this legal combat between two lawyers comes the truth 

7.      Original jurisdiction – trial authority – hears evidence, weighs evidence, determines truth, renders verdict, orders party to do something 

8.      District court – trial court – court of original jurisdiction

9.      Trial court – court of original jurisdiction

10.  Appellate jurisdiction – Legal authority to hear an appeal. Authority to review a lower court’s decision based on court procedures not followed, law incorrectly applied, law incorrectly interpreted, or the law being unconstitutional. 

11.  Courts of appeals – Courts that have appellate jurisdiction.

12.  Supreme Court – court of last resort. There is no appeal of a Supreme Court decision 

13.  Grand jury – jury of 16-23 people who determine if prosecution has enough evidence to go to trial. 

14.  Indictment – formal Grand Jury accusation that defendant probably committed a crime and that the prosecutor has enough evidence to go to trial. 

15.  Petit jury – small jury of 6-12 people charged with weighting evidence to determine a verdict.

 

16.  Verdict – “to say the truth,” decision of a trial court that orders one party in the case to do something 

17.  Evidentiary test – weighing evidence by the jury to determine truth 

18.  Preponderance of the evidence – evidentiary test in civil cases meaning more evidence on one side than the other 

19.  Beyond a reasonable doubt – criminal evidentiary test meaning have very, very little doubt about guilt 

20.  Guilty – responsible for committing a crime 

21.  Acquittal – not guilty determined by unanimous decision by criminal petit jury 

22.  Liable – legally responsible for harm caused to another 

23.  Negligent – legal determination that a person did not take the care a reasonable person would take to prevent harm from occurring to another

 

24.  Appeal – request that a higher court review a lower court’s decision based on procedures, application of law, interpretation of law, or law unconstitutional 

25.  Dual system – federalism created two different sets of governments – state and federal. Each government creates and enforces its own laws, therefore, each needs a court system to adjudicate these laws. Thus there is a federal court system, and there are 50 state court systems. 

26.  Writ of certiorari – court order fro the Supreme Court ordering the lower court to “send up” the case for review.

27.  Clerks – recent law school graduates who aid justices in determining the merits of petitions for writ of cert. The clerks also help do legal research and aid in drafting opinions of the court. 

28.  Conference – meeting of the 9 justices of the Supreme Court. The conferences are usually held Wednesdays and Fridays. This is when the Justices discuss which cases to hear, and how they will rule on each of the cases they have already heard. 

29.  Rule of four – method by which petitions for writ of cert are granted. After brief discussion of the merits of the case, a vote is taken in conference. If four justices vote in favor, then the court will hear the case either with or without oral argument.

30.  Opinion of the court – Written decision of the court decided by a majority vote of the Justices sitting to hear the case. 

31.  Concurring opinion – Written opinion of some Justices who agree with the majority decision, but for different reasons. 

32.  Dissenting opinion– Written opinion of the minority Justices who disagree with the majority opinion. 

33.    Majority – number greater than half. Usually 5 Justices. 

34.    writ of habeas corpus – court order (writ) ordering the jailor to bring the prisoner to court for a fair judicial proceeding 

35.    in forma pauperis petition – request that the court pay court costs because the petitioner is poor. 

36. constitutional law - law made by courts through interpretation of the constitution