The U.S. Supreme Court Structure, organization, and function.

1. THE UNITED STATES
SUPREME COURT
Montgomery College – Rockville
Intro to Human Communication (SP 108)
Nancy Yanira Muñoz Martinez – Presentation
Nov. /2013

2. The Federal Court System
 The United States has a dual court system
 State Courts
 Federal Courts
 Each of the 50 states, as well as the
District of Columbia, has its own
independent system of courts
 Overall, there are 52 court systems in the
country


3. A Typical State Court System
 State system very similar to federal system
 Courts of general jurisdiction have three tiers:
 Bottom tier – trial court (geographically based)
 Middle tier – appellate courts
 Top tier – state supreme court

4. Specialized National Courts. Subject-Matter
Jurisdiction.
 United States Bankruptcy Courts
 Bankruptcy cases cannot be filed in state court.
 Each of the 94 federal judicial districts handles bankruptcy matters.
 United States Tax Court
 Addresses disputed with federal taxes.
 United States Court of International Trade
 Jurisdiction over cases involving international trade and customs
duties
 Specialized Federal Courts and the War on
Terrorism
 The FISA Court
 Alien Removal Courts

5. The federal System Court

6. U.S. Courts of Appeals and U.S. District
Courts

7. The Supreme Court of the U.S.

8. The U.S. Supreme Court at the top of
Federal Court System.
 The Supreme Court consists of 9 justices -1
chief justice and 8 associate justices-.
 The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction (1)
involving ambassadors or states suing other
states.
 Trial jurisdiction only in rare instances. (Art. III,
Section 2).
 Most of the Court’s work is as an appellate
court.
 (1) jurisdiction (the power of a court to hear and decide
cases)

9. The Supreme Court at Work
 Types of cases:
 Freedom of speech
 Right to bear arms
 Finance
 Capital punishment
 Rights of criminal suspects
 Affirmative action
 Abortion
 Property rights
 Sexual harassment
 States’ rights
 Pornography
 Religious freedom

10. Kinds of The Supreme Court decisions
 The Supreme Court has almost complete
discretion in deciding what cases to review. In a
year more than 9.000 petitions are received, but
are accepted fewer than 100 for full hearing and
decision.
 The Supreme Court decisions could be:
• Affirms the lower court decision. So, this one
enforces its original decision.
• Reverses the lower court ruling, the original
decision is void (declare null, revoke).
• Remands a case –sending back to the original
court with instructions to retry it under
proceedings consistent with the Court’s opinion.
E. G. Case Miranda Vs. Arizona.

11. 1. Supreme Court Rulings as De Facto Law
 Precedent
 Decisions rendered by the Supreme Court have an
even broader impact because all courts in the
nation are obligated to follow precedents set by the
high court.
 Federal and state level laws cannot oppose
Supreme Court Rulings
 Brown VS. Board
 Roe VS. Wade
 Lawrence VS. Texas

12. 2. The Power of judicial review
 Division of powers is part of our system of
checks and balances. Essentially, each branch of
government has the constitutional authority to
check the other two branches. The Federal
judiciary can exercise a check of the actions of
the other branches through its power of judicial
review.
 The Constitution does not actually mention
judicial review. Rather the Supreme Court
claimed the power for itself in Marbury vs.
Madison. In that case decided in 1803, Chief
Justice John Marshall held that a provision of a
1789 law affecting the Supreme Court’s
Jurisdiction violated the Constitution and was
thus void (declared null).

13. The Power of judicial review
 Marshall declared: “It is emphatically the
providence and duty of the judicial department to
say what the law is…If two laws conflict with each
other, the courts must decide on the operation of
each…So if a law be in opposition to the
Constitution…the Court must determine which of
this conflicting rules governs the case. This is the
very essence of judicial duty…”
 With its use of judicial review, the Supreme Court
has evolved from its early days into a court of
great power that has at times angered Presidents
and Congress.

14. The Power of judicial review-
Concept
 According to the Article III of the U.S. Constitution there
is only one National Supreme Court, which interpret the
Constitutional law. That is, the rights and duties of
Americans.
 When the Court interprets a constitutional law, or actions
undertaken by the other branches of the Government
through judicial review’s power, it is basically “making
the law”.
 In the U.S. judges and justices play a major role in
government. U.S. judges have the power to decide on
the constitutionality of laws or actions undertaken by the
other branches of government.

15. 3. The Courts as Policy-makers
 E.G. Nothing in the Constitution or its Aments specifically
states that we have a right of to privacy.
 The Supreme Court, through various decisions, has
established such a right by deciding that it is implied by several
constitutional amendments. The Court has also held that this
right of privacy includes a number of specific rights, such as
the right to have an abortion.
 So then, Judges and justices play a crucial role in American
society since their decisions can affect lives of millions of
Americans because of the nature of the Supreme Court’s
decisions, mandatory for all, and its expanding role in choosing
cases with great public policy implications such us civil
liberties, civil rights, environmental protection, immigration
issues, taxpayers, and so forth, which have increased notable
a judicial power.

16. Conclusion.
 Today, we have learned not only the structure and
organization of the Federal Court System but also the
main reasons why the Supreme Court of the U.S.
have lead to increase its power so that their decisions
affect greatly million people lives and the actions
undertaken by the other branches of government.
 That is why some criticism this extent power, as Hugo
L. Black, one of the associate justice of the United
States Supreme Court, 1937-1971: “The Constitution
itself should be our guide, not our own concept of
what is fair, decent, and right.” You should judge if he
has reason or not.
 Thank you.

17. Landmark Cases
 Marbury VS. Madison (1803)
 Plessey VS. Ferguson (1892)
 Brown VS. Board of Education (1954)
 Roe VS. Wade (1973)
 The United States VS. Nixon (1974)

18. Landmark Cases
 1803
 Marbury v. Madison was the first instance in which a
law passed by Congress was declared
unconstitutional. The decision greatly expanded the
power of the Court by establishing its right to overturn
acts of Congress, a power not explicitly granted by the
Constitution.
 1896
 Plessy v. Ferguson was the infamous case that
asserted that “equal but separate accommodations”
for blacks on railroad cars did not violate the “equal
protection under the laws” clause of the 14th
Amendment. By defending the constitutionality of
racial segregation, the Court paved the way for the
repressive Jim Crow laws of the South

19. Landmark Cases
 1954
 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
invalidated racial segregation in schools and
led to the unraveling of de jure segregation in
all areas of public life. In the unanimous
decision spearheaded by Chief Justice Earl
Warren, the Court invalidated the Plessy
ruling, declaring “in the field of public
education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’
has no place” and contending that “separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal

20. Landmark Cases
 1966
 Miranda v. Arizona was another case that helped
define the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
At the center of the case was Ernesto Miranda, who had
confessed to a crime during police questioning without
knowing he had a right to have an attorney present.
Based on his confession, Miranda was convicted. The
Supreme Court overturned the conviction, ruling that
criminal suspects must be warned of their rights before
they are questioned by police. These rights are: the right
to remain silent, to have an attorney present, and, if the
suspect cannot afford an attorney, to have one
appointed by the state. The police must also warn
suspects that any statements they make can be used
against them in court. Miranda was retried without the
confession and convicted.

21.  1973
 Roev. Wade legalized abortion and is at the
center of the current controversy between “pro-
life” and “pro-choice” advocates. The Court ruled
that a woman has the right to an abortion without
interference from the government in the first
trimester of pregnancy, contending that it is part of
her “right to privacy.” The Court maintained that
right to privacy is not absolute, however, and
granted states the right to intervene in the second
and third trimesters of pregnancy.

22. Landmark Cases
 1978
 Regents of the University of California v.
Bakke imposed limitations on affirmative action to
ensure that providing greater opportunities for
minorities did not come at the expense of the
rights of the majority. In other words, affirmative
action was unfair if it leads to reverse
discrimination. The case involved the University of
Calif., Davis, Medical School and Allan Bakke, a
white applicant who was rejected twice even
though there were minority applicants admitted
with significantly lower scores than his. A closely
divided Court ruled that while race was a
legitimate factor in school admissions, the use of
rigid quotas was not permissible.