The document contains lecture slides from a textbook on American politics and the courts. It discusses the history and development of the judicial system, including the establishment of judicial review in Marbury v. Madison. It also covers topics like methods of judicial selection, the role of the president in appointments, and factors that influence Supreme Court decision-making. Public opinion polls at the end ask questions about issues related to the courts.
I presented this presentation to the Fatih University in Istanbul Turkey. I discussed why the American legal system is unique by giving the history behind our government and laws.
I presented this presentation to the Fatih University in Istanbul Turkey. I discussed why the American legal system is unique by giving the history behind our government and laws.
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The Federal Judiciary I. Constitutional Provisions .docxtodd771
The Federal Judiciary
I. Constitutional Provisions
A. Article III of the Constitution - “The judicial Power in the United States, shall be vested
in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time
ordain and establish.” Also provides for lifetime tenure.
B. Marbury v. Madison (1803) - - gave the judicial branch the power to of judicial review -
decide on the constitutionality of legislative enactments and executive actions.
II. The Legal System
A. Criminal and Civil Law
1. Criminal Law - the branch of law dealing with crimes and their punishments.
(Murder, rape, robbery) state v citizen, innocent until proven guilty, burden of
proof on government, beyond a reasonable doubt
2. Civil Law - is the body of law dealing with noncriminal matters, such as the laws
of property, commercial law, and family law. (Employment discrimination)
citizen v citizen, threshold of proof is lower, PREPONDERANCE OF
EVIDENCE.
B. Jurisdiction - the authority to hear and decide cases.
1. Original Jurisdiction - refers to a court’s authority to hear disputes as a trial
court (Ex. O. J. Simpson’s case was held in a state level trial court). The facts of
the case are established at the trial court level. More than 90 percent of all cases
end at this stage.
2. Appellate Jurisdiction - refers to a court’s ability to review cases already decided
by a trial court.
III. The U.S. Court System: Organization and Jurisdiction
A. Federal District Courts - are trial courts. There are 94, based on population but with at
least one in each state.
1. They are courts of original jurisdiction.
2. Some use juries (either grand jury to decide if there is sufficient evidence to bring
an indictment to an accused person or petit jury that hear evidence and sit in
judgment) and other cases are heard by only a judge.
B. Circuit Court of Appeal - are intermediate appellate courts. There are 12, based on
regions or circuits that hear appeals from the federal district court. A thirteenth court, U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, hears cases on patents and government contracts.
Usually, a group of three judges decides their cases.
C. Supreme Court - is the ultimate appellate court. Most cases that it hears have proceeded
through the lower courts first. Today, we have 8 justices and one chief justice - 9 in total.
1. Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court are binding throughout the nation and
establish legal precedents.
2. Also has original jurisdiction - disputes involving ambassadors, two or more
states, etc.
IV. Judicial Selection - the president’s means of exercising leadership of the judicial branch
is through the nomination of federal judges.
A. Selection of Lower-Court Judges - this involves the federal district courts and the
court of appeals. The president nominates for a lifetime tenure and the Senate must
confirm each nomination by a majority vo.
This section of Solutions for America pertains to issues such as: the delicate balance of the current Supreme Court, closely decided landmark decisions, importing of foreign law and others. It offers suggestions for handling these various issues.
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Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
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The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
People outside the Supreme Court in April 2016 urge the Senate to “do their job” and hold hearings on the nomination of Merrick Garland. The vacancy in 2016 was one of the longest for the Court in U.S. history. #DoYourJob
Federalists believed the new Supreme Court would be too weak, and Antifederalists believed it would be too strong.
Congress set up a judiciary system, including the lower court structure, in the Judiciary Act of 1789. This also included creating 13 district courts and three circuit courts. It set the initial Supreme Court size at six.
It created appellate jurisdiction for the court system, which included the ability to hear appeals from state supreme courts on issues of federal law.
Chief Justice John Marshall favored the idea of judicial review and claimed this power for the Court in the Marbury v. Madison decision.
The Court performs both constitutional interpretation (is the law constitutional?) and statutory interpretation (applying national and state law to specific cases).
When popular commentators on TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines talk about “judicial review” today, they frequently talk about “judicial activism.”
Judicial activism is when the court strikes down a duly enacted (e.g., legislatively enacted) law.
That is its formal, or descriptive, meaning.
In the course of politics, commentators often call a decision to strike down a law “judicial activism” if they don’t like the court’s action. If they do like the court’s decision, they don’t use that term.
The Radiolab podcast spinoff, More Perfect, has a fantastic episode (“Kittens Kick The Giggly Blue Robot All Summer”) on the early Court and Marshall’s establishment of judicial review.
Why is the standard of evidence lower in a civil case than in a criminal case?
Currently, people can face a criminal trial and a civil trial for the same incident without triggering the Constitution’s ban on double jeopardy. That’s what the law says.
Is the law right? What are the arguments for and against being able to be tried both in civil and criminal court?
Precedent: “stare decisis,” which means “let the decision stand”; previously decided cases and sets of decisions that serve as a guide for future cases on the same topic.
Supreme Court strongly honored precedent in first 100 years of its existence; the modern Court is more willing to overturn precedent.
Also note the existence of another kind of lawsuit: class-action lawsuits can hold businesses accountable for fraud or selling dangerous products. For example, the tobacco class-action lawsuit filed by 46 states’ attorneys general led to the largest civil settlement in U.S. history.
Collusion: the requirement that litigants in the case cannot want the same outcome
Standing: means the petitioner has a legitimate basis for bringing the case to the Court
Mootness: the requirement that a controversy must still be relevant when the Court hears the case
Controversy over judicial elections: some people desire the responsiveness associated with elections, while others are concerned about conflicts of interest and interest group involvement.
Presidents can influence the direction of the federal courts by selecting judges who share their views. President Obama is shown with Judge Merrick B. Garland, whom he nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
Presidents want to pick judges and justices who share their view on issues. This does not always work out in the way the president intended:
Earl Warren was much more liberal than President Eisenhower thought he would be.
David Souter was less conservative than George H. W. Bush thought he would be.
Since the 1980s, the proportion of women on the federal bench has gone up fivefold while the percentage of white men has plummeted by more than half. Do you think that descriptive representation in the judicial branch is important?
Since the 1980s, the length of time needed to confirm federal court nominations has increased dramatically. Why do you think this happened? Why does it matter?
The Supreme Court’s workload appears to be headed in two directions: the Court is receiving more cases but hearing fewer of them. What are the implications of having the Supreme Court hear fewer cases? Should something be done to try to get the Court to hear more cases?
On rare occasions the Supreme Court serves as a court of original jurisdiction. One of those unusual times is when there is a dispute between two states, such as when the Court had to settle a disagreement between New York and New Jersey over Ellis Island.
Cameras are not allowed in the Supreme Court, so artists’ sketches are the only images of oral arguments. Depicted here is the oral argument in the 2016 case concerning the affirmative action policy at the University of Texas, Austin.
If he or she is in the majority, the chief justice decides who will write the majority opinion. Otherwise, the most senior justice in the majority makes the assignment. Since being named chief justice in 2005, John Roberts has spread opinion-writing duties fairly evenly among the justices.
We see evidence of each of these political factors in judicial decision making.
The attitudinalist approach shows that justices are not bound by precedent, but able to choose the specific precedent that allows them to achieve their policy goals.
The strategic model helps explain the Court’s reluctance to consider political cases (and why Baker v. Carr was so contentious). But also shows court’s willingness to make decisions consonant with public opinion, or else slow the process (as it did with Brown v. Board of Education) to establish solid footing should it go against public opinion.
Judicial activism is not liberal or conservative; it is simply a court’s willingness to defer to the elected branches of government.
Controversial decisions always bring accusations that the Court is using ideology to “wage politics by other means,” meaning that it’s suppressing democracy.
Recently, there have been a couple of cases favorable to conservatives such as the Second Amendment cases Heller v. District of Columbia and McDonald v. Chicago, which together interpreted the Second Amendment as securing an individual’s right to keep and bear arms on the federal level.
More explosively, the Citizens United case stated that corporations and labor unions could make unlimited donations to campaigns as a matter of First Amendment free speech.
Do you consider these cases as the Court protecting minority rights, following public opinion, neither, or both?
After Justice Antonin Scalia died in early 2016, the open seat on the Supreme Court became a major issue in the presidential election. Why? As this figure shows, when justices are replaced the ideological shifts can be quite large (as when Clarence Thomas replaced Thurgood Marshall) or nonexistent (as when Sonia Sotomayor replaced David Souter). Many people said that replacing Scalia would drastically alter the ideological makeup of the Court, given the 4–4 split on the Court between liberal and conservative justices. What do the numbers say?
Source: The Upshot, “A Supreme Court with Merrick Garland Would Be the Most Liberal in Decades,” www.nytimes.com (accessed 8/26/16).
High school students in Maize, Kansas, join hands around a flagpole at the annual nationwide event calling Christian youth to pre-class schoolyard prayer at the start of the new school year. Enforcing the prohibition of school prayer and drawing the line between permissible and impermissible prayer have both been difficult for the Court.
In a survey taken about the judicial branch, most respondents were unable to name any Supreme Court justices. Just so you are not in danger of falling into that category, as of the fall of 2016 the justices were (front row, left to right) Clarence Thomas, a blank space representing the justice who will replace Antonin Scalia, John G. Roberts Jr. (chief justice), Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, (standing, left to right) Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito Jr., and Elena Kagan.
When they have been the minority party in the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans have been willing to use the filibuster to block judicial nominees.
The Court has been an important protector of minority rights, including in the civil rights era. This picture from 1953 shows people waiting in line at the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in Brown v. Board of Education. But at other times, the Court has supported the will of the majority.
O. J. Simpson dons a pair of gloves during testimony in his double-murder trial in Los Angeles in June 1995. The jury was not convinced of his guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt” and thus acquitted Simpson in this criminal trial. However, a subsequent civil trial found that a “preponderance of evidence” was against him.
Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominations have been more conflictual since the 1960s. Although President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed by a 68–31 vote in 2009, Senate Republicans challenged her to explain and defend her views on several issues.
Mary Beth Tinker and two other students in the Des Moines, Iowa, public schools were suspended for wearing armbands to protest the Vietnam War. The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protected symbolic political speech, even in public schools. Mary Beth is shown here with her mother at the trial.
