THE FEDERAL

COURTSJudiciary – The “cornerstone” of our democracy

Judicial Review

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Allows the courts to rule on the

constitutionality of laws or actions

All federal courts

Federal Court System

Step 1 – DISTRICT COURTS

94 US Dist. – Hear 342,000 cases/yr

Trial by jury (only federal court with jury)

Step 2 – APPEAL (CIRCUIT) COURTS

13 Courts of Appeal – Hear 61,000 cases/yr

Panel of 3 judges, sometimes more

No cases start here, review district court decisions

(IL, IN, and WI in the 7th circuit)

Federal Court System

Step 3 – US Supreme Court

2009 – Argued 84 cases, decided 71 (@8,000 reviewed)

Hear appeals – writ of certiorari

Rule of 4 – 4 justices needed to agree to hear a case

Chief Justice John Roberts

Types of Opinions

When an opinion is written (a decision), it often takes

months and many drafts

Majority Opinion – the decision of the court

Has the force of law; precedent for future cases

Concurring Opinion –

justices who agree for other reasons can give their

opinion

Dissenting Opinion –

justices who disagree with the opinion write their side

http://sunnylandsclassroom.org/Asset.aspx?Id=15

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Implementation

“John Marshall has rendered his decision;

now let him enforce it!” – Andrew Jackson

“All deliberate speed” – Chief Earl

Warren

10 years after Brown only 1% of

Southern schools were desegregated

Court must rely on other branches,

states, and officials to enforce its ruling

Public Influence on Justices

No:

not elected, appointed by Prez & serve for life

Yes:

Appointed by Prez, Prez was elected…judges

chosen because of prez bias

aware of public opinion

decisions that flagrantly go against public opinion

will not be implemented (Plessy v. Ferguson?)

Conservatism vs. Liberalism

Justices are supposed to be “above politics”

However, they do have personal ideologies

EX. – CJ Earl Warren (1953-69) and CJ

Warren Burger (1969-1986) were very

liberal

CJ William Rehnquist (1989-2005) and CJ

John Roberts (2005-?) swing conservative

Checks on the SC

President appoints all judges

Congress must confirm appointed judges

Congress may alter the structure of the court system (# of courts and justices)

Congress has the power to impeach judges

Congress may “rewrite” or amend statutory law

Congress may amend the Constitution if the Courts find a law unconstitutional

Ex. Income tax originally found unconstitutional so Congress added 16th amendment

Constraints on the Power of Federal Courts

1. Precedent & Stare Decisis

2. Adversarial system – decision must be made

between 2 choices, and court can’t bring up an

issue

3. Justiciable dispute – must judge actual situations,

not hypothetical situations

4. Political question – absence of law to rule on a

case and the court calls on the Congress to create

law

Ex. – gay marriage – equal protection?

Judicial and Political Philosophy

Liberal

Leans to the left on public policy

and would vote Democrat

Conservative

Leans to the right on public policy

and would vote Republican

Judicial Activism

Judges should interpret law loosely, using their power to

promote their preferred political and social goals. Judges are

said to be activists when they are likely to interject their own

values in court decision

Judicial Restraint

Legislators, not judges, should make the laws. Judges are said

to exercise judicial restraint when they rule closely to statutes

and previous cases when reaching their decisions. They follow

the “original intent” of the framers.

Freedom Order

Equality

Freedom