Unit 6 Review

Judicial Branch and Civil Liberties

Judicial Branch

• The Common Law Tradition– Precedence– Stare decisis

• The Judiciary in the Constitution– Creates only the Supreme Court– Allows judges to serve for life in good behavior– Outlines the Supreme Court’s original and appellate

jurisdiction– Defines treason

Judicial Branch

• Judicial Review– Marbury v. Madison

• Structure of the Federal Court System– Constitutional Courts

• District Courts• Courts of Appeal

– Legislative Courts• Court of Claims• Court of International Trade• Tax Court• Court of Military Appeals

Judicial Branch

• Participants in the Judicial System– Litigants (must have standing to sue)

• Plaintiff• Defendant• Criminal law• Civil law• U.S. is involved in 2/3 of the cases brought to

federal court• Class action suit

Judicial Branch

– Lawyers• Solicitor General• Public defenders

– The Jury– The Audience– The Judges

• Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts– Dual court system– Dual Sovereignty

Judicial Branch

• The Selection of Judges– The Nomination Process

• Lower Courts– Senatorial Courtesy

• Supreme Court– Senate Confirmation– Selection Criteria

• Political Ideology• Party and personal loyalties• Acceptability to the Senate• Judicial Experience• Race and gender• The Litmus Test

Judicial Branch

• How the Supreme Court Works– Selection of Cases

• Writ of certiorari• Cert pool• Rule of four

– Briefs and Oral Arguments• Amicus curiae

– The Conference– Opinions

• Majority• Dissenting• Concurring

Judicial Branch

– Implementing Court Decisions• Judicial Implementation

• The Courts and Democracy– Popular Influence– Conservatism and Liberalism

• Constraints on the Power of the Federal Courts– Adversarial system– Justiciable dispute– Political Questions– Presidential Checks– Congressional Checks

Judicial Branch

• Policy-Making Power– Judicial restraint

• The Constitution is not an empty bottle…it is like a statue and the meaning doesn’t change

– Judicial activism• We are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is

what the judges say it is

Civil Liberties

• Declaration of Independence• Constitution

– Writ of habeas– No bills of attainder– No ex post facto laws– Trial by jury– Protection for citizens as they move among the states– No titles of nobility– Use of the crime of treason– No religious oaths for holding office– Guarantee of republican government for all states

Civil Liberties

• The Bill of Rights• Other Sources of Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

– 14th Amendment• Privileges and Immunities clause• Due process clause• Equal protection• Selective Incorporation

– Begins with Gitlow v. NY

– Court Decisions• Judicial Review

Civil Liberties

– Legislative Action• Civil Rights Act of 1964• Voting Rights Act of 1965• Americans with Disabilities Act

• First Amendment Liberties– Freedom of religion

• Establishment clause– Lemon v. Kurtzman

• Free exercise clause– Reynolds v. U.S.

Civil Liberties

– Freedom of speech• Free speech vs. National Security

– Schenck v. U.S.» Clear and present danger test

• Restrictions on Free Speech– Libel– Obscenity– Symbolic speech

– Privacy Rights• Griswold, Roe, Webster cases

Civil Liberties

• Rights of Due Process– Procedural due process– Substantive due process– Property Rights

• Eminent domain

– 4th Amendment search and seizure• Freedom from unreasonable search and seizure• Exclusionary rule• Mapp v. Ohio

– 5th Amendment rights• Miranda v. Arizona

Civil Liberties

– 8th amendment rights• Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment

– Furman v. Georgia

– Right vs. Right