T H E F E D E RA L C O U RT S Y S T E M

THE JUDICIARY

JOHN MARSHALL

JUDICIAL REVIEW

FEDERALIST PAPERS (# 78)

• “Judges…(are) the best expedient which can be devised in any government, to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws.”

• -Alexander Hamilton, 1788

AMERICAN LAW HAS ENGLISH TRADITIONS

• English Common Law• William Blackstone, “Commentaries on the Laws

of England, 1765-1769”

AMERICA’S DUAL COURT SYSTEM

State Courts

• Each of the 50 states has its own system of courts.• Most cases are heard

in these courts.

Federal Courts

• The national judiciary spans the country with more than 100 courts.• Article III of the

Constitution established a Supreme Court and allowed Congress to create the lower courts.

THE SUPREME COURT

2014 U.S. SUPREME COURT

• Chief Justice, John G. Roberts, Jr. (Bush/2005)• Antonin Scalia (Reagan/ 1986)• Anthony Kennedy (Reagan/ 1988)• Clarence Thomas ( GHW Bush/ 1991)• Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Clinton/ 1993)• Stephen Breyer (Clinton/ 1994)• Samuel Alito, Jr. (Bush/ 2006)• Sonia Sotomayer (Obama/ 2009)• Elena Kagen (Obama/ 2010)

THE LOWER/INFERIOR COURTS

The Constitutional Courts

• Federal Courts formed under Article III to exercise the “judicial power of the United States.”

• District Courts (trials)• Courts of Appeals• Court of International Trade

The Special Courts

• Special courts created by Congress to hear cases arising out of some of the expressed powers of Congress.

• Tax court; Appeals Ct (Vets)

• Court of Fed. Claims• Territorial Courts• Court of Appeals (Mil)• Courts of Dist. Of Columbia

FEDERAL JURISDICTION

• Is there a “federal question?” (case is based on either the U.S. Constitution, a treaty, or federal law)• Is there diversity of citizenship?• Is there “standing to sue? Is there justiciable

controversy? (not hypothetical or academic)

WHICH CASES REACH THE SUPREME COURT?

• There is no absolute right of appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court carefully decides which cases to hear.• If a legal question had been decided differently in

a lower court, it might need resolution by the highest court.• If a lower court’s ruling conflicts with a previous

SC decision.• Can the issue have significance beyond the

parties of the dispute?

SOURCES OF AMERICAN LAW

• The U.S. Constitution• State Constitutions• Statutes• Administrative regulations

HOW DOES A JUDGE DECIDE?

• Facts of the case• Relevant precedent• The text of the Constitution• Judicial Philosophy

JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS:PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

HISTORIC APPOINTMENTS: SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR

THE WARREN COURT

BUSH V. GORE, 2000