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Origins of the Federal
Judiciary
n Constitution
n Article III n Constitution only creates the Supreme Court n Congress has power to create lower federal courts
n First Congress
n Anti-Federalists – did not want lower courts n Federalists – wanted lower courts
Origins of the Federal
Judiciary (continued)
n Broad Types of Courts
n Constitutional Courts
- District Courts
- Appellate Courts n Legislative Courts
- Specialty Courts (Tax courts)
Structure of the U.S. Court
System
n U.S. District Courts
n Principle trial courts n At least one district court in each state n 94 district courts n Single judges
Structure of the U.S. Court
System (continued)
n U.S. Court of Appeals
n Appeals from the District Courts n 11 Circuits, plus Washington, DC n 3 judge panel, Majority vote n Opinions – written by judges and explains why they voted a certain way
Structure of the U.S. Court
System (continued)
n U.S. Court of Appeals
n Majority opinion (Opinion of the Court) – Explains rationale for majority vote n Minority opinion (dissenting opinion)
- Explains rationale for minority vote n Concurring opinion – An opinion that agrees with the majority, but for different reasons.
Supreme Court
n Court of last resort
n 9 members called justices
n Chief Justice – presiding officer
n Nominated by President, confirmed
by Senate, (majority vote)
n Life tenure
How the Supreme Court
Operates
n Filing Briefs
n Written legal arguments favoring one side of the case n Friends of the Court (amicus curiae)
- groups or individuals filing briefs but not directly involved in the case
n Oral Arguments
n Oral defense of your side
How the Supreme Court
Operates (continued)
n Conference
n Discuss the cases
n Voting
n Justices sometimes vote opposite their beliefs to influence the opinion
How the Supreme Court
Operates (continued)
n Opinions
n If in the majority, Chief Justice assigns responsibility for writing majority opinion n If not, senior justice in the majority assigns responsibility n Chief Justice may switch from minority to majority to influence opinion
Judicial Decision Making
n Legal and Government Constraints
n Jurisdiction
- Does the court have the power to rule
n Values and Ideology
n Bring personal belief to the decision
n Influence of Public Opinion and
Interest Groups
n Pressure from President and Congress n Pressure from Public
Judicial Policy Making
n Judicial Activism (Activist Approach) n Philosophy arguing that judges should interpret the Constitution to reflect current conditions and values. (Policy making) n Judicial Restraint (Strict Constructionism) n Philosophy that judges should interpret the constitution based on the framers’ intent.
Phases of Court Activism
n I. National Supremacy & Slavery (Nation v. State) n Supremacy of the Nation v. States n Resolved by the Civil War n II. Government and the Economy n Conservative court over turned attempts to regulate the economy n III. Government and Political Liberties n Civil Rights/Women's Rights
