supreme court

IN GENERAL, DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT AN INDIVIDUAL SHOULD HAVE A RIGHT TO HAVE A REGISTERED HANDGUN AT HOME?

If you agree-

If you disagree…

WOULD YOU FAVOR OR OPPOSE A BAN IN YOUR STATE ON ABORTIONS PERFORMED LATE IN THE TERM OF A PREGNANCY (PARTIAL-BIRTH)?

If you favor-

If you oppose-

DO YOU AGREE THAT CORPORATIONS SHOULD BE ABLE TO SPEND THEIR PROFITS ON TV ADS INFLUENCING VOTERS IN ELECTIONS?

If you agree…

If you disagree-

SHOULD NONCITIZENS SUSPECTED OF TERRORISM AND DETAINED IN U.S. MILITARY PRISONS BE ABLE TO CHALLENGE THEIR DETENTIONS IN THE U.S. CIVILIAN COURT SYSTEM?YES…

NO…

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT APPLY THE DEATH PENALTY FOR A PERSON CONVICTED OF RAPING A CHILD?

YES…

NO....

SHOULD A STATE BE ALLOWED TO SENTENCE TO LIFE IN PRISON A PERSON UNDER 18 CONVICTED OF BURGLARY?

Yes…

No…

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

Sesame Street

SOURCES OF AMERICAN LAW

Common Law As a way to unite the country under Norman rule, 11th

century English Kings established courts. Courts used Year Books as a way to record important

decisions from year to year. Judges used these Year Books as a guide for similar cases

This judicial process has evolved over time but is essentially the same today and is known as “common law”.

CIVIL LAW VS. CRIMINAL LAW

Laws can be classified in two ways: Civil Law

Cases between persons or between citizens and their government ex: business contracts

The object of these cases is to obtain compensation – usually money

Criminal Law Deals with crimes committed against the public as a whole. The government seeks to impose a penalty on a person

suspected of violating a criminal law. Ex: robbery of a gas station or murder

ESTABLISHMENT OF JUDICIAL BRANCH

Article III of the Constitution Marbury v. Madison

1st time the Supreme Court declared something "unconstitutional”

Established the concept of judicial review in the U.S. Idea that courts may oversee and nullify the actions of

another branch of government Helped define the “checks and balances of

the American form of government.

STRUCTURE OF FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM

3 Tiered U.S. district courts

Trial courts Testimony by each side, Jury or Judges decide on result

U.S. courts of appeals Appellate courts (aka: circuit court of appeals)

13 appellate courts located in judicial circuits throughout the country

Do not hear testimony or examine evidence. Instead, they review the lower courts decision and determine if mistakes were made.

U.S. Supreme Court

SUPREME COURT

Top of the Judicial Branch in the Federal Government.

Final say in all matters dealing with the United States Constitution.

9 Justices on Supreme Court

Justices hold office during good behavior On the court until they

die or retire

SUPREME COURT

Generally Supreme Court hears fewer than 100 cases per year

How do you bring a case before the Supreme Court?Writ of Certiorari

Order sent by Supreme to a lower court requesting record of the case in question

Remember Gideon?

SUPREME COURT

Opinions Written on Case: Unanimous Opinion:

All of the judges agree and one opinion for court is written

Majority Opinion: Opinion written when only

most judges are in agreement Concurring Opinion:

Written when justice wants to emphasize specific point

Dissenting Opinion: Written when one justice

disagrees with majority decision

JOHN ROBERTSChief Justice Appointed by

George W. Bush.Took his seat on

High Court on 9/25/05.

Graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law

Born 1/27/55Right leaning….

CHIEF JUSTICE DUTIES ROBERTS COURT Chancellor of the

Smithsonian Non-judicial Leads the Judicial

Conference of the US- makes

court rules Gives Oath of Office at

Presidential inaugurations

Pretty conservative Non-judicial Generally seen as

pro-free speech Recently challenged “protects speech that it likes,

allows regulation of speech it disfavors”

Snyder v. Phelps- ruled in favor of Westboro, Phelps (2010)

SAMUEL ANTHONY ALITO JR.Associate Justice.Appointed by

George W. BushTook his seat on the

High Court on 1/31/06.

Graduate of Princeton and Yale Law.

Born 4/1/50Right leaning…

ANTONIN SCALIAAssociate JusticeAppointed by Ronald

Reagan.Took his seat on the

High Court on 9/26/86.

Graduate of Georgetown and Harvard Law.

Born 3/11/36.RIGHT leaning….

ANTHONY KENNEDYAssociate JusticeAppointed by Ronald

Reagan.Took his seat on the

High Court on 2/18/88.Graduated from

Stanford and Harvard Law.

Born 7/23/36.Moderate….

CLARENCE THOMASAssociate JusticeAppointed by

George HW Bush.Took his seat on

the High Court on 10/23/91.

Graduate of Holy Cross and Yale Law

Born 6/23/48.RIGHT leaning….

RUTH BADER GINSBURGAssociate JusticeAppointed by

William Clinton.Took her seat on

the High Court on 8/10/93.

Graduate of Cornell and Columbia Law.

Born 3/15/33.LEFT leaning….

STEPHEN BREYERAssociate Justice.Appointed by

William Clinton.Took his seat on

the High Court on 8/3/94

Graduate of Stanford and Harvard Law.

Born 8/15/38.LEFT leaning….

ELENA KAGANAssociate Justice.Appointed By

Barack Obama.Took her seat on

the High Court on 8/7/10.

Graduate of Princeton, Oxford and Harvard Law.

Born 4/28/60.Left leaning….

SONIA SOTOMAYOR Associate Justice Appointed by Barack

Obama Took her seat on the

High Court on 9/08/2009.

Graduate of Princeton and Yale Law

Born 6/25/1954. Left leaning….

RELATIONS WITH THE EXECUTIVE

Obama’s 2010 SOTU Criticized the Supreme Court Alito seen frowning, mouthing “not true” Roberts commented- “one branch of government

standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court…while the court, according to the requirements of protocal, has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling.

AVERAGE DEMOGRAPHICS

Wealthy, upper class Not Sotomayor, ThomasHighly educated, experiencedNo age limitReligious differencesUsually white males

MORSE V. FREDERICK, 2007

2002: Olympic Torch Relay Alaskan 18 y.o. Joseph Frederick- BONG HITS 4 JESUS banner across the street from his

high school. HS Principal Morse suspended him 10 days

Frederick- sues a civil rights lawsuit- constitutional right of free speech violated.

1. Suit dismissed by federal district court Tinker precedent- defined student rights

2. 9th Court of Appeals reverses- said his speech rights WERE violated. Can school regulate off-school speech? No!

Several groups filed amici curiae in support of Frederick (the student) ACLU Center for Individual

Rights, National Coalition against Censorhip, Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Also some Christian right groups (if schools banned “offensive” speech they could ban religious speech if administrators disagree)

School board petitioned to the Supreme Court- 3. SC decides to hear the case in 2006. The school board-

School message is anti-drug Student argues-

Torch relay not school sponsored Did not step on school property before unrolling the

banner The message was purely humorous Did not disrupt anything.

Supreme Court- School officials did NOT violate 1st Amendment. School speech should apply- his speech was

at a school event Speech promoted illegal drug use A principal can legally restrict this speech

(based on other precedents) Ruling: First Amendment does not prevent

educators from suppressing student speech ad a school-supervised event that promotes illegal drug usage

Lawyer: This is a case about free speech. Roberts: This is a case about money. Your

client wants money from the principal personally.

Dissent- Justices John Paul Stevens,

Souter, Ginsburg- Violence to the 1st Amendment Cannot regulate speech because it

refers to drugs Cannot use censorship Brought up legalizing marijuana

“surely our national experience with alcohol should…suggest that it would be better to tax and regulate marijuana than to persevere in a futile effort to ban its use entirely.”