Do Now:Grab today’s Agenda (9:3) and complete the questions in Part II. You

will need the Internet to complete.

Independence and Review

• Judicial Independence• Judicial Review

Judicial Independence

Section “Article III Judges”• Name the three types of Article III judges.• Supreme Court Justice (?)

Judicial Independence

Section “Article III Judges”• Name the three types of Article III judges.• Supreme Court Justice (Article III, Section 1)• Appellate Judges (?)

Judicial Independence

Section “Article III Judges”• Name the three types of Article III judges.• Supreme Court Justice (Article III, Section 1)• Appellate Judges (Article III, Section 2, Clause 2)• District Judges (?)

Judicial Independence

Section “Article III Judges”• Name the three types of Article III judges.• Supreme Court Justice (Article III, Section 1)• Appellate Judges (Article III, Section 2, Clause 2)• District Judges (Article III, Section 2, Clause 3)

• How do Article III judges get their jobs?• Nominated by the President• Confirmed by the Senate

• For how long do Article III judge serve?• For life

Judicial Independence

Section “The Appointment Process”• In which Article of the U.S. Constitution will you find the requirement

for the appointment process?• Article II, Section 2. Clause 2• “…he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,

shall appoint… Judges of the supreme Court…”

• The job of appointing and confirming the nominees begins with the ?

Judicial Independence

Section “The Appointment Process”• In which Article of the U.S. Constitution will you find the requirement

for the appointment process?• Article II, Section 2. Clause 2• “…he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate,

shall appoint… Judges of the supreme Court…”

• The job of appointing and confirming the nominees begins with the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose members meet with and investigate the nominees to make sure they are good candidates for the position.

Judicial IndependenceWhat is judicial independence?• The practice of protecting the courts from the influence of the other branches and from public

opinion.What three factors are given for how this is guaranteed? List each factor and explain how each contributes to independence.• Federal judges are appointed instead of being elected. This frees judges from having to run for

election, raise money, and take a partisan stand on issues. Thus, once appointed, they don’t have to please their constituents to try to gain reelection, and can simply do their job.

• Federal judges serve a life term. The life term provides job security, and allows appointed judges to do what is right under the law, because they don’t have to fear that they will be fired if they make an unpopular decision.

• Federal judges can’t have their salary reduced. This security allows judges to decide each case strictly in terms of the legal issues in front of them, no matter how unpopular their decisions may be.• Congress sets the salary of judges in the federal system. This salary can be raised but cannot be decreased once

the judge has taken office.• The salary of a federal judge is roughly equal to that of a member of Congress.

Judicial Independence

Section “Checks and Balances”• What are two ways the power of judges is checked?• Impeachment• Judicial Code of Conduct

Application• Look up the definition of the word INTEGRITY.• The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

• Why is INTEGRITY an important quality for a judge to possess?

Judicial Independence

Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist No.79 warned it would be a bad idea to put the courts under the leadership of Congress. He felt this would jeopardize the independent nature of the courts. Use this reasoning to explain how the principles of SEPARATION OF POWERS helps to ensure an independent judiciary.

Judicial Independence

Reviewing Judicial Independence• Judicial independence is essential to a working judicial system.• The court and judges are independent from public opinion because they are

not elected.• The courts and judges are independent from the other two branches:• They can’t be removed in times of good behavior• Their salary can’t be reduced by the president or Congress

• Because the courts and judges are independent, they are free to make decisions according to the law, even if those decisions might be unpopular.• Federal judges are bound by the law, and by a strict code of ethics, which

provides guidance for judges in maintaining their independence.

Judicial Review

Election of 1800• The Election of 1800 put incumbent

President John Adams, a Federalist,

Judicial Review

Election of 1800• The Election of 1800 put incumbent

President John Adams, a Federalist, against Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican.

Judicial Review

Election of 1800• The Election of 1800 put incumbent

President John Adams, a Federalist, against Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican.• The Democratic-Republican not only

won the White House, but they also won Congress. However, inauguration back then wasn’t until March 4 (compared to today’s January 20th – 20th Amendment)

Judicial Review

“Midnight Judges”• So in their attempt to retain control

of at least one branch – judicial – Congress, which was still Federalist, created 100 new judicial positions.• Judges need to first be nominated by

the President. Since Adams was a Federalist, he nominated Federalist judges.• Judges then needed to be approved by

the Senate. Since the Senate was still Federalist, they approved Adams’ judges.

Judicial Review

“Midnight Judges”• And all this had to be done before March 4!• The act creating the judges passed

February 13, 19 days before inauguration day.• In those 19 days, President Adams

quickly nominated and the Senate quickly confirmed those judges.• Commissions were then sent out as soon

as possible. These commissions officially assigned to the judges their positions.• The last three commissions were signed

on March 3.

Judicial Review

“Midnight Judges”• As soon as Jefferson took the oath of office,

Judicial Review

“Midnight Judges”• As soon as Jefferson took the oath of office,

he instructed his Secretary of State James Madison to not release those last three commissions from going out.

Judicial Review

“Midnight Judges”• As soon as Jefferson took the oath of office,

he instructed his Secretary of State James Madison to not release those last three commissions from going out.• One of those commissions belonged to

William Marbury. So he sued.

Judicial Review

Writ of Mandamus• Article III Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution describes the federal

judiciary as one Supreme Court and lower courts to be created by Congress.• The Judiciary Act of 1789 established (among other things):• The number of Supreme Court justices to six• 13 judicial districts• Office of Attorney General (which would later be the Department of Justice)• Granted the Supreme Court the power to issue writs of mandamus

Judicial Review

Writ of Mandamus• A writ of mandamus is a judicial order to any government official to

do or not do something specific, to which they were otherwise obliged under the law to do.• So Marbury filed his case directly to the Supreme Court (since the

Judiciary Act of 1789 gave this power directly to the Supreme Court) – limited jurisdiction – to issue a writ of mandamus against Madison to release his commission.

Judicial Review

Chief Justice John Marshall• On the surface, Marshall had two options:

• Grant Marbury the request and issue the writ• Deny Marbury the request

• The problem with either of those options is that both make the Supreme Court look weak:• Marshall knew that Jefferson would instruct Madison

to ignore the decision, thus making the Court look weak.

• People would think that Marshall denied the writ because he feared Jefferson, still making the Court look weak.

• The Supreme Court at this point in American history was not very strong. However, at the very least, Marshall did not want to make the Court weaker. At most, he wanted to strengthen the Court.

Judicial Review

Marbury v. Madison (1803)• Marshall reviewed the Judiciary Act of 1789 that granted the Supreme

Court the power to issue the writ of mandamus.• In this, Marshall discovered a problem: Where in the Constitution does it

say that Congress can change (increase or decrease) the power of the Supreme Court?• Therefore, that portion of the Judiciary Act was declared unconstitutional.• So even if Marshall wanted to grant the writ, he could not.• This established judicial review, the power to declare actions of both the

legislative and executive branch unconstitutional. This strengthened the power of the Court.

Conclusion

• Judicial independence is a core concept of the American judicial system. It allows the judicial system to function outside of politics and public opinion.• Judicial review establishes the power of the federal courts to review

any acts of government and determine its constitutionality.