The Judicial BranchArticle III

Forming a Judicial Branch• Under the Articles of Confederation

there was no national court system.• Article III of the Constitution is a bit

vague.– However, it does create the Supreme Court

and gives Congress the power to create lower courts.

– Judiciary Act of 1789 created the Judicial structure that for the most part has remained in tact today.

At the Local Level

The Supreme Court

– Supreme Court- 9 judges for life so long “good behavior” – appointed by President, confirmed by Senate

– Can only be removed if impeached (treason, bribery, high crimes, misdemeanors)

– Two of the current nine were appointed by President George W. Bush:

• Chief Justice Roberts + Samuel Alito

The Power of the Judicial Branch

• Founders gave the courts some independence from Congress and President

• Most important job of Supreme Court + Judicial Branch– Deciding constitutionality of laws and other

actions of government – Called Judicial Review (not mentioned in Constitution)- Marbury Vs. Madison

– Judicial Review ensured that the Supreme Court had the final authority to interpret the meaning of the Constitution

What does Judicial Review Mean for the

Judicial Branch?• It established the Judiciary branch

as an equal partner in government.(Remember the Constitution, Article III, was very vague on what their powers should be)

• Since 1803 the Supreme Court and other courts have used judicial review in thousands of cases

Judicial Interpretation Examples

Loose Constructionist: an example of this would be the |universal health care]] bill. This came from the idea that the framers wrote the constitution to be broad and flexible to address the newer generations.

Strict Constructionalist: The health care bill will give the national government a large amount of authority over the countries medical fields and “dead” constitution interpreters would say that this specific power was never written into the constitution and therefore should be left to the states and the people of the country.

Originalism: the framers intended for Congress to have far narrower authority to regulate interstate commerce than the modern court has allowed.

Almost Painless Guide to the Judicial Branch