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Judicial Branch
Chapter 11: The Federal Court System
JOB OF THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
To interpret laws
Types of Courts
• Inferior
Supreme
Jurisdiction
authority to hear a case
State courts have jurisdiction over cases involving state laws.
Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases involving ______________ laws.
Federal JurisdictionHow do you know (if it’s a federal case)?
What it’s about• US laws • Treaties• Interpretation of the
Constitution (Monroe v. Madison)
• Maritime law (shipping)
Who’s involved• Ambassadors • Citizens of different states• State vs. state• US government
Types of Jurisdiction
original
appellate
concurrent
Hears a case first
Hears a case on appeal
Shared between federal and state
Supreme Court (original and appellate)
94 District Courts (original, most trial cases)
Special Courts (Tax Court, Territorial Courts, etc.)
Appeals from State Supreme Courts
12 Appeals Courts (appellate)
LIFETHE TERM OF A FEDERAL JUDGE
HOW CAN A FEDERAL JUDGE BE REMOVED?
Impeachment by Congress
A check (and balance)
Supreme Court
Has _______ members
Each judge is called a __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
The chief justice is John R______________.
Judicial Review
• The power to declare a law or court case to be unconstitutional
• Established in M________ vs. M_________• Most cases [are, are not ] about
Constitutionality, but they get more press.
Supreme Court Jurisdiction
•Original When foreign governments or a State is involved
MOST cases are on appeal.•Appellate
Types of Courts
• Inferior
Supreme
Inferior Courts
Constitutional Courts• Article __ __ __ courts
• __ __ __ __ __ courts*
Special Courts* • Article __ Courts
• Deal with the ___________ powers of Congress
• Ex: US Tax Court, US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, Territorial Courts, Courts of District of Columbia
• *Legislative courts
• (94) District Courts*at least 1 per state
District Courts hear 80 % of federal cases.
• Criminal cases • Civil cases
Supreme Court Decisions
Chapter 12
A term begins in
October
During the term, each month
The first 2 weeks• They “sit” and listen to
__________ arguments.
The second 2 weeks• They do paper work during
their “ __ __ __ __ __ __ .”
The number of cases per yearHow many are appealed
to the Court
• About 9,000
How many are heardby the Court
• About 100
Rule of Four
• 4 justices must agree to hear a case
Briefs
• Written documents read by judges before the case
Oral Arguments
Lawyers may talk before the Court for only 30 minutes.
• When a red light comes on, they have to stop immediately.
Opinion
• Written statements about a case
• The ___________ opinion is in favor of the winning side.
• The concurring opinion is from a justice who is in the majority but for a different reason.
• The ___________ opinion comes from justices who disagree.
Precedent
Judges quote (cite) similar cases from the past.
Issues before the Court
Foreign affairs
Civil liberties
Economic issues
Due process