Unit 2

• Magna Carta

• Feudal system – Lords, Vassals, knights, duty of fealty (loyalty) – enfeoffment – feudal grants of land - Fief is received (land) accompanied by formal acts of homage and fealty (certain hand-holding ceremony) in return for fealty (loyalty) to the King – homme in French comes from the word homage – to pay homage/owe loyalty to . …

• Feudal Oath: “The tenant must state: ‘I become your man for the tenement which I hold of you and ought to hold, and I will bear faith to you of life and limb and earthly honor, and I will bear faith to you against all men, saving the faith due to the lord the King and his heirs. . . . This you hear, my lord N., that I will bear faith to you of life and limb, body and chattels and earthly honor, so help me God and these holy relics.’”

• King represents God on earth – the dispenser of earthly power – all owe him allegiance

• Magna Carta – • England had long-standing customs re: private property, criminal

procedure, and the scope of the King’s power (early jury procedure – inquest required in investigation of certain crimes – indicting, or charging jury – t/k/a “grand jury.”)

• King John, to the lords, had not respected these customs. Class input?

• Nobles banded together – all nobles except 7 knights joined them. Forced John to sign Magna Carta, which codified the customs. John pretended to agree to the Charter – it was signed after negotiations and after the nobles made it clear they would ransack and destroy every castle and property in the Kingdom if it was not.

• Feudal System – Middle Ages• Court conducted in Latin and French• Assize, seizure, fief – fee simple – fee simple

with entailment, tenancy, forfeiture, • Common Law -

• Renaissance• Elizabethan Age – exploration, Slave trade,

• Enlightenment• Locke – blank slate – we know by experience,

by the senses, • Hobbes – man’s life without a social contract

is “nasty, brutish and short.”• Rousseau – the Social Contract

• Colonization• North America• South America• Africa• Caribbean Islands• India• Trade in coffee, cocoa, spices, cotton

• Independence• Haiti• France• United States• France

• Federal System http://www.uscourts.gov• Jurisdiction – subject-matter and personal• 13 judicial circuits, each with a court of appeals.

The smallest court is the First Circuit with six judgeships, and the largest court is the Ninth Circuit, with 28 judgeships. A list of the states that compose each circuit is set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 41. The number of judgeships in each circuit is set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 44.

• There are 89 districts in the 50 states, which are listed with their divisions in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Sections 81-144. 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. Some states, such as Alaska, are composed of a single judicial district. Others, such as California, are composed of multiple judicial districts. The number of judgeships allotted to each district is set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133.

• A civil action is commenced by the filing of a complaint. Parties instituting a civil action in a district court are required to pay a filing fee pursuant to Title 28, U.S. Code, Section 1914. The current fee is $350. Complaints may be accompanied by an application to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning that the plaintiff is incapable of paying the filing fee. Proceedings in forma pauperis are governed by Title 28, U.S. Code, Section 1915.

• Supreme Court justices, court of appeals judges, and district court judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate, as stated in the Constitution. The names of potential nominees often are recommended by senators or sometimes members of the House who are of the President's political party. The Senate Judiciary Committee typically conducts confirmation hearings for each nominee. Article III of the Constitution states that these judicial officers are appointed for a life term. The federal Judiciary, the Judicial Conference of the United States, and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts play no role in the nomination and confirmation process.

• How are new judgeships created? • Court of appeals and district court judgeships are created by legislation that must

be enacted by Congress. New judgeships were last created in July 2003, under Public Law 107-273, which established 15 new district court judgeships. The Judicial Conference (through its Judicial Resources Committee) surveys the judgeship needs of the courts every other year. A threshold for the number of weighted filings per judgeship is the key factor in determining when an additional judgeship will be requested. Other factors may include geography, number of senior judges, and mix of cases. The Judicial Conference presents its judgeship recommendations to Congress. Return to Top

• Q: What are the qualifications for becoming a federal judge? • The Constitution sets forth no specific requirements. However, members of

Congress, who typically recommend potential nominees, and the Department of Justice, which reviews nominees' qualifications, have developed their own informal criteria.

• State Courts• About the Courts in Illinois http://www.state.il.us/court• The Supreme Court, highest tribunal in Illinois, has seven justices, elected from judicial districts for a term of 10

years. Three justices are elected from the First District (Cook County), and one from each of the other four districts. The Supreme Court has general administrative and supervisory authority over all courts in the state. This authority is exercised by the Chief Justice with the assistance of the Administrative Director and staff appointed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court hears appeals from lower courts and may exercise original jurisdiction in cases relating to revenue, mandamus, prohibition or habeas corpus.

• The Appellate Court hears appeals from the Circuit Courts. There are five districts of the Appellate Court, and Judges are elected for 10-year terms. Cook County, which comprises the 1st District, has 18 Appellate Judges. The remaining 101 counties are divided into four districts that elect six Judges each. Additional Judges are assigned by the Supreme Court to the Appellate Court, temporarily, on a showing of need. Elgin is the seat of the 2nd District; Ottawa, the 3rd; Springfield, the 4th, and Mount Vernon, the 5th.

• The Unified Trial Court in Illinois is the Circuit Court comprised of Circuit and Associate Judges. The state is divided in 23 judicial circuits, each having one Chief Judge elected by the Circuit Judges. The Chief Judge has general administrative authority in his or her circuit, subject to the overall administrative authority of the Supreme Court. Circuit Judges may hear any case assigned to them by the Chief Judge. Associate Judges may not preside over criminal cases in which the defendant is charged with an offense punishable by imprisonment for one year or more (felonies), unless approval is received from the Supreme Court. Circuit Judges are elected for a term of six years; Associate Judges are appointed by the Circuit Judges in accordance with Supreme Court rules for a four-year term.