PLS 121: American Politics and GovernmentPLS 121: American Politics and Government

American PoliticsAmerican Politicsand Governmentand Government

The Structure of the Judiciary

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Quick Review

• Statute Law

• Common Law

• Judicial Review

• Judicial Restraint

• Judicial Philosophy

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Court Types and Purposes

• Court of Original Jurisdiction

• Court of Appeals

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Court Types and Purposes

• Court of Original Jurisdiction– Constitutional Guarantee

– Where your case is first heard

– Jury trial or Bench trial

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Court Types and Purposes

• Court of Original Jurisdiction

• Court of Appeals– Statutory Guarantee

– Second hearing

– Bench trial

– Not on facts, only on procedure

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The Court System

• Federal Courts

• State Courts

• Military Courts (Courts Martial)

• Municipal Courts

• Administrative Courts

• Other Courts

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Administrative Courts

• Agency Courts – Federal or State

• Determine if the person is following agency rules

• Does not determine if the rules are appropriate

• The agencies are administrative entities in the executive branch– Environmental Protection Agency

– Bureau of Land Management

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Municipal Courts

• Local courts– Traffic Court

– Small-Claims Courts

– Divorce Court

– County Courts

• Interpret and apply local laws

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State Courts

• Three levels:– Courts of Original Jurisdiction

• Questions of facts

• Jury or Bench Trial

– Courts of Appeals

• Questions of procedure

– Supreme Court

• Questions of State Constitutionality

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Federal Courts

• Three levels:– Courts of Original Jurisdiction

• (a.k.a. Court of First Instance)

• Questions of facts

• Jury or Bench Trial

– Courts of Appeals

• Questions of procedure

– Supreme Court

• Questions of State Constitutionality

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US Federal District Courts

• Courts of Original Jurisdiction

• How many district courts are there? – There are 89 districts in the 50

states.

– District courts also exist in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

– In total there are 94 U.S. district courts.

– The number of judgeships allotted to each district is set forth in law (Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133).

US Federal District Courts

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USFDC – Juries

• How are jurors selected?– A random selection of citizens’

names from voters lists or combined voters and drivers lists

– Because random selection is required, individuals may not volunteer for service

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USFDC – Juries

• Requirements for being a juror:– Citizen of the United States

– At least 18 years old

– Resident for a period of at least one year within the judicial district

– Able to read, write, and speak English

– Mentally and physically able

– Without a felony conviction

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USFDC – Juries

• In addition, the Jury Act lists three groups that are always exempt from federal jury service: – members of the armed forces on

active duty

– members of professional fire and police departments

– “public officers” of federal, state or local governments, who are actively engaged in the performance of public duties

• Why these exceptions?

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USFDC – Process:Arraignment

• The US Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure state: – “...arraignment shall...[consist of

an] open...reading [of] the indictment...to the defendant...and calling on him to plead thereto. He shall be given a copy of the indictment...before he is called upon to plead.”

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USFDC – Process:Arraignment

• Possible Pleas:– Guilty

– Not Guilty

– Nolo Contendere (No Contest)

• Defendant neither admits nor disputes the charge

– Alford

• Defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence, but admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty

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USFDC – Process: Grand Jury

• Grand Jury– Determines whether there exists

reasonable cause or probable cause

– Defendant and counsel are absent

– Acquittal or Indictment returned by the jury

• However:– State courts tend to use a

preliminary hearing instead of a grand jury trial

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USFDC – Process: Petit Jury

• This is what we think of when we think of a trial– Guilty or Not Guilty returned by the

jury

• NOT Innocence

• Judge serves as a referee:– Makes sure the correct procedures

are followed

– Makes sure only proper evidence is admitted

• Issues of jury nullification

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US Federal Courts of Appeals

• Courts of Appeals

• Does not rule on the facts of the case

• Rules only on procedures followed by the Court of Original Jurisdiction (District Courts)

• Bench trials options:– Tribunals

– En banc

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US Federal Courts of Appeals

• Defendants not found Guilty or Not-Guilty

• Judgment passed on the trial, not the parties

• Process: – Briefs submitted

– Amicus Curiae statements submitted

– Judges read these and determine if they have questions

– Decision handed down with rationale

US Federal Courts of Appeals

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US Federal Courts of Appeals

– 1 Boston, MA 6– 2 New York, NY 13

– 3 Philadelphia, PA 14

– 4 Richmond, VA 15

– 5 New Orleans, LA 29

– 6 Cincinnati, OH 16

– 7 Chicago, IL 11

– 8 St. Louis, MO 13

– 9 San Francisco, CA 28

– 10 Denver, CO 12

– 11 Atlanta, GA 12

– DC Circuit 12

– Federal Circuit 12

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The Federal Circuit (Appeals)

• Other Federal Appellate Courts– United States Court of Federal Claims

– United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

– United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

– United States Board of Appeals and Interferences of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

– Boards of Contract Appeals (for government contracts)

– United States Merit Systems Protection Board (federal employment and employment benefits)

– United States International Trade Commission

– United States Court of International Trade

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US Supreme Court

• Determines Constitutionality of Laws and Executive Orders

• Create a coherent body of common law among the Federal appellate courts

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US Supreme Court

• To get on the docket:

• Petitioning for a writ of certiorari.– This results in 7500+ writs

annually

• Culling the cases– Clerks brief all certs

– Justices discuss those that interest them

– Rule of Four used to determine further action

– Cases either decided summarily or heard en banc

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US Supreme Court

• Three extraordinary writs:– Writ of Habeas Corpus

• Prisoner be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not the prisoner is being imprisoned lawfully

– Writ of Mandamus

• Directing someone, most frequently a government official, to perform a specified act

– Writ of Prohibition

• Mandates the inferior court to cease any action over the case

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US Supreme Court

• Term:– First Monday of each October until

June or early July of the following year

• Sittings and Recesses:– Alternating periods of

approximately two weeks

– Justices hear cases and deliver rulings during sittings; they discuss cases and write opinions during recesses