Judicial Branch Flashcards
What is the major body of the Judicial Branch?
The Supreme Court
What is the job of the judicial branch?
To interpret or explain laws
Where is the Supreme Court building located?
Washington D.C
How many justices are in the Supreme Court?
9 (1 Chief Justice, 8 associate justices)
Supreme Court
The highest and most important court in the US.
Who appoints and approves the justices of the Supreme Court?
The President appoints, the Senate approves
How long does each justice serve for the Supreme Court?
They serve for life.
How many of the justices must agree to a decision when deciding a case?
5 out of the 9
Who can interfere with the judicial branch?
No other branch
District Courts
Lowest Federal courts under the judicial system
How many District courts are there?
94
Appeal
To hear for a second time
What happens in a Court of Appeals?
A case is heard for a second time to reverse the original judgement.
How appeals courts are there?
12
What is the highest court in any state?
The state Supreme Court
Who feeds cases to the Supreme Court?
State supreme courts, The Court of Military Appeals, the US Tax Court, and the US Claims Court
Who is our current Chief Justice?
John Roberts Jr.
What types of cases does the Supreme Court hear? Hint: Known as original jurisdiction
- Involving the Constitution
- The US government
- Two or more state governments
- Citizens of different states
- A state or it’s citizens versus a foreign country or foreign citizen.
Original jurisdiction
The first time a case is heard
Appellate jurisdiction
The second or greater times a case has been heard
Writ of Certiorari (Writ of Cert)
A formal request to the Supreme Court to hear a case.
Jurisdiction
The right to hear a case
Judicial review
The process of checking laws to see if they’re constitutional
What case established judicial review?
Marbury versus Madison
Treason
Defined as carrying on war against the US and giving help to the nation’s enemies, it is a very serious crime
Two ways to be convicted of treason
- The accused could make a confession in a courtroom
2. Two witnesses must testify to the same story.
Year that judicial review was first used
1803
Unconstitutional
Goes against the Constitution
Least important to greatest importance Federal Courts
District Courts (least important, 94 of them), Court of Appeals (where cases are heard for the second time), Supreme Courts (most important, one of them)
