Chapter16

American Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy, and Citizenship Chapter Sixteen Judiciary

Chapter Sixteen: Learning Objectives
Explain why courts are so influential in the United States
Describe the argument for judicial review, a power not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution

Describe the structure and functioning of the federal court system
Explain how the Supreme Court hears and decides cases
Explain how the federal courts determine what kinds of cases they will hear

Summarize how the Supreme Court has affected government and politics throughout American history
Describe the key issues and arguments in the debate over judicial activism

Explain how the American people or their elected officials have tried to check the power of the federal courts
Discuss how the Supreme Court contributes to deliberative democracy in the United States

Introduction
Why are the courts so influential?
Because judges exercise judicial review
Should justices practice judicial activism or follow strict construction by looking at the original intent of the founding fathers?

Introduction Petteway, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

Constitutional and Legal Foundations: The Case for an Independent Judiciary
As Montesquieu argued, courts need to be independent of legislatures and executives if the lives and property of citizens were to be secure.
While in the Articles of Confederation, there was no separate judiciary; the Constitution corrected that.

Constitutional and Legal Foundations: Constitution of 1787
Article III of the Constitution set forth an independent federal judiciary.
The federal judiciary has both original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction .
Franz Jantzen, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

Constitutional and Legal Foundations: Judiciary Act of 1789
Judiciary Act of 1789
Established district courts (U.S. District Courts)
Established circuit courts (U.S. Courts of Appeal)

Constitutional and Legal Foundations: Judiciary Act of 1789 Source: www.law.syr.edu/media/documents/2008/2/IntroCourts.pdf, accessed August 7, 2009.

Constitutional and Legal Foundations: Judicial Review
The practice of judicial review by the Supreme Court began with Marbury v. Madison (1803).
The use of judicial review has been controversial throughout American history.

Constitutional and Legal Foundations: Trial by Jury
Trial by jury is another important principle of the American legal system.
In Article III, trial by jury is guaranteed in federal criminal cases and the Seventh Amendment extends that right to federal civil cases.

The Structure and Functioning of the Federal Court System
Federal court system structure
District Courts
Courts of Appeal
Supreme Court

District Courts
Trial courts that hear criminal and civil cases
Federal prosecutor is the United States Attorney
Plaintiff brings the suit, defendant is one sued
Charges proved beyond a reasonable doubt

Myths and Misinformation
The Meaning of “beyond a reasonable doubt”
These words are not in the Constitution, but construed as an important element of due process.
What does that concept really mean?

Courts of Appeal
Hear cases on appeal from district courts
Appellant files brief, states legal error
Appellee files brief , defends lower court decision
Oral arguments held before judges

Supreme Court
Nine justices on the Court (number set in 1869)
Led by chief justice
No constitutional requirements to be a justice

Supreme Court
Hears cases on appeal by a writ of certiorari
Rule of four to determine which cases to hear
Amicus curiae briefs are one way for the Court to be influenced by outside parties

Supreme Court decisions
Opinion of the Court
Majority opinion
Dissenting opinion
Concurring opinion
When drafting decisions, justices rely on precedents and case law .

International Perspectives
The International Criminal Court
The ICC was created to prosecute “genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.”
Over 100 nations have ratified the treaty that established the ICC, but not the U.S.

Special courts
These courts have been created to deal with issues such as bankruptcy, international trade and customs and claims against the United States.

Determining if a controversy exists requires considering four characteristics
Standing
Ripeness
Mootness
Political questions

The Courts and American Politics
How has the Supreme Court influenced American politics throughout its history?
The foundations for national power
Race and reconstruction
Limiting the power of the government to regulate the economy

Deferring to the political branches on economic matters
The rights revolution
The expansion of the remedial powers

The growing importance of state supreme courts
The courts and the 2000 presidential election

The Continuing Debate Over Judicial Activism
How much should the Supreme Court influence public policy?
Should the modern Court base its constitutional interpretations on the “original intent,” or “original meaning,” of the Constitution?

The debate at the founding
Concerns over Court’s ability to interpret Constitution
Judiciary was developed to be too weak to encroach on legislative power
Legislature could impeach and remove judges

The debate recurs
Opposition to power of judicial review continued
Challenge to national supremacy upheld by Court
Court set forth its own ideas about economic
policy and segregation issues

The modern debate
Concern that justices relying on “extra-constitutional values”
Desire by some for justices to practice theory of originalism
Debate over original intent and original meaning

Checking the Courts
Justices are encouraged to exercise judicial self-restraint .
How do judges exercise restraint?
Through the cases they choose to hear
Through practice of stare decisis

Checking the Courts
Seven ways courts have been checked
Revising the laws
Amending the Constitution
Limiting the jurisdiction of the courts

Checking the Courts
Changing the size of the Supreme Court
Impeaching and removing judges

Checking the Courts
Refusing to enforce judicial decisions
Choosing certain kinds of judges

The Supreme Court and Deliberative Democracy
Judges put a lot of effort into their decisions which inform the political deliberations of the nation.
Justices must use reason and logic to influence other political actors.
Theodor Horydczak, Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court and Deliberative Democracy
How are the courts different?
Courts do not represent public opinion
Justices typically have less expertise than other branches in specific policy areas
Courts don’t decide how to achieve common good through broad policy judgments

Deliberation, Citizenship, and You
Empathy and the task of judging
Should empathy or compassion be qualities we seek in judges?
Why or why not?

Summary
Through judicial review, courts have an significant impact on many issues
Federal judiciary insulated from politics
Few cases reach the Supreme Court
Courts may influence deliberative democracy through opinions

Chapter16

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