the federal court system the judiciary. john marshall
TRANSCRIPT
T H E F E D E RA L C O U RT S Y S T E M
THE JUDICIARY
JOHN MARSHALL
JUDICIAL REVIEW
FEDERALIST PAPERS (# 78)
• “Judges…(are) the best expedient which can be devised in any government, to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws.”
• -Alexander Hamilton, 1788
AMERICAN LAW HAS ENGLISH TRADITIONS
• English Common Law• William Blackstone, “Commentaries on the Laws
of England, 1765-1769”
AMERICA’S DUAL COURT SYSTEM
State Courts
• Each of the 50 states has its own system of courts.• Most cases are heard
in these courts.
Federal Courts
• The national judiciary spans the country with more than 100 courts.• Article III of the
Constitution established a Supreme Court and allowed Congress to create the lower courts.
THE SUPREME COURT
2014 U.S. SUPREME COURT
• Chief Justice, John G. Roberts, Jr. (Bush/2005)• Antonin Scalia (Reagan/ 1986)• Anthony Kennedy (Reagan/ 1988)• Clarence Thomas ( GHW Bush/ 1991)• Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Clinton/ 1993)• Stephen Breyer (Clinton/ 1994)• Samuel Alito, Jr. (Bush/ 2006)• Sonia Sotomayer (Obama/ 2009)• Elena Kagen (Obama/ 2010)
THE LOWER/INFERIOR COURTS
The Constitutional Courts
• Federal Courts formed under Article III to exercise the “judicial power of the United States.”
• District Courts (trials)• Courts of Appeals• Court of International Trade
The Special Courts
• Special courts created by Congress to hear cases arising out of some of the expressed powers of Congress.
• Tax court; Appeals Ct (Vets)
• Court of Fed. Claims• Territorial Courts• Court of Appeals (Mil)• Courts of Dist. Of Columbia
FEDERAL JURISDICTION
• Is there a “federal question?” (case is based on either the U.S. Constitution, a treaty, or federal law)• Is there diversity of citizenship?• Is there “standing to sue? Is there justiciable
controversy? (not hypothetical or academic)
WHICH CASES REACH THE SUPREME COURT?
• There is no absolute right of appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court carefully decides which cases to hear.• If a legal question had been decided differently in
a lower court, it might need resolution by the highest court.• If a lower court’s ruling conflicts with a previous
SC decision.• Can the issue have significance beyond the
parties of the dispute?
SOURCES OF AMERICAN LAW
• The U.S. Constitution• State Constitutions• Statutes• Administrative regulations
HOW DOES A JUDGE DECIDE?
• Facts of the case• Relevant precedent• The text of the Constitution• Judicial Philosophy
JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS:PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
HISTORIC APPOINTMENTS: SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR
THE WARREN COURT
BUSH V. GORE, 2000