Lesson 9 Flashcards
What does it mean for the legal system to be adversarial?
2 groups of people(or 2 people) fight in court
Why are most legal cases settled out of court rather than through jury trial?
It saves time and money
What is the difference between criminal law and civil law? And an example of each
Criminal Law: crimes against state or government
EX: murder
Civil Law: private dispute between two parties that doesn’t involve questions of criminality
EX: someone tries to sue Mr. Mears because they fell into a hole in his backyard
What percentage of legal cases occurs beneath the federal level (at local and state levels)?
98%
What does it mean for a dispute to be justiciable?
Can be resolved in court
What does it mean for litigants to have “standing”?
you can make a case that somebody has done you wrong, and have good evidence– able to prove it
What are litigants ?
People involved in cases
What is a class action suit
Group of people who feel like they have been wronged by another party
Which court is created by the Constitution?
Supreme Court
What is an Article I court?
Legislative court
What is an Article III court?
Constitutional
How many appeals courts exists in a federal system?
13
How many district courts exist in the federal system?
94
What does it mean to say that district courts are courts of original jurisdiction?
- It means they have the power to hear a case for the first time.
- Most, but not all federal cases start in district court
District courts are the only trial courts at the federal level? What does this mean?
It includes everything you think of in a trial: juries, witnesses, lawyers
What types of cases are adjudicated in the district courts?
- federal crimes
- civil lawsuits
- bankruptcy
- naturalization
What types of cases are adjudicated in the appeals courts?
- cases from district courts that are being appealed
- cases involving the review of decisions made by federal agencies
What does it mean to say that a court has appellate jurisdiction? Which courts have this?
- Means court can review decisions made by lower courts
- Supreme and appeals courts have this, district courts do not
How many judges sit on an appeals court panel?
3
What does it mean to say that an appeals court has rendered an en banc decision?
Means every single judge who sits on that court weighs in on that decision.
**Supreme court always renders en banc decisions
According to the Constitution, how many justices sit on the Supreme Court?
There are currently 9, but the Constitution does not say
What is the primary duty of the Supreme Court ?
Judicial Review: reviews actions of Congress, including laws, to make sure they are constitutional
In what circumstances does the Supreme Court sit en banc?
Always
What determines if the Supreme Court will hear a case?
Supreme court decides
From what courts do the majority of Supreme Court cases originate?
Appellate level
What does it mean to say that the Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction?
Cases can start and end in the supreme court
The Supreme Court will sometimes hear cases that come straight out of the state court system. Under what conditions will the Supreme Court do this?
If it involves a significant federal question, or if there is a dispute between several states
The president nominates federal judges. Who confirms them?
Senate
Federal judges have lifetime appointments. On what condition?
Good behavior
How many times in U.S. history has a federal judge been impeached?
15
Has a supreme court justice ever been impeached?
- Samuel Chase, Associate Justice
- Impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives
- arbitrary and oppressive conduct of trials
Why can a federal judge’s salary not be reduced?
The Constitution prohibits it to insulate them from political pressure
How does senatorial courtesy work?
-Presidential appointments are confirmed only if there is no objection to them by the senators from the appointee’s state, especially from the senior senator of the president’s party from that state.
Example of senatorial courtesy in district court
Trump wants to nominate federal judge for district court position in ohio. He would have to ask senator(s) who belong to their political party and represent the state where that judge will serve if he is okay with that judge serving in their state.
When the chief justice’s seat becomes vacant, where does the president look for a replacement? Who helps the president select a replacement?
- appeals courts
- attorney general and senate judiciary committee
How often does the Senate fail to confirm a presidential nominee to the Supreme Court?
20% of the time
Under what circumstances is a president most apt to encounter Senate opposition to a Supreme Court nominee?(3)
- if the senate is controlled by opposition party
- if the president nominates someone in his final year in office
- senate opposition will increase if the senate decides to litmus test the nominee
Litmus Test
- “if you have the chance to uphold gun control legislation, would you?” …. to find out where person stands on a political issues…. senate isn’t really supposed to do this, the tradition is to find out if they are qualified
- litmus tests are getting more common
Approximately what percentage of Supreme Court justices have been selected by a president who did not share the justice’s political affiliations?
10%
What factors might influence a Supreme Court justice’s decision to retire?
Old age and inability to perform
Want to time their retirement with a president that will replace them with someone exactly like them
Roughly how many cases are submitted annually to the Supreme Court? Roughly how many of these cases does the Court usually take?
- 7,000-8,000
- 80-100
What are the two purposes of the justices’ weekly conference?
Discuss cases and vote on them
What is the “rule of four”?
If four of the justices decide to hear a case, it will be heard
What is a writ of certiorari?
Goes from Supreme Court to a lower court(appeals) so they can review it
What is the job of the Solicitor General?
Represents United States government before the Supreme Court
When during the year is the Supreme Court in session?
October-June
What is oral argument?
Back and forth between supreme court justices and lawyers from each side
How long does oral argument last in a case?
- 30min for each side – not all just lawyers talking…. justices ask questions
- 1 hour
What is an amicus curiae brief?
- Friend of the court
- Sometimes these briefs can influence the decisions of the justices
Who writes the majority opinion in a case?
The senior associate justice(on court longest) on the majority side, unless the chief justice is in the majority
Majority Opinion
Written by winning side in the case
What is a concurring opinion?(3)
- can only be written by a justice in the majority
- may be written if a justice in the majority agrees with the majority’s stance on an issue, but not the legal reasoning
- could be 8 at a time
What is a dissenting opinion?
Opinion of the losing side, explaining why they disagree with the majority opinion
What is stare decisis? (3)
- Translates roughly as “let the decision stand”
- Making decisions about current case based on past cases similar
- Letting lower court ruling stand–more often than not, the supreme court upholds the decision of a lower court
What does it mean to say that the Supreme Court relies heavily on legal precedent?
-precedent: past cases that are similar–Supreme Court refers to past when making decisions, not the future
Provide examples of the Supreme Court overruling a precedent
Brown v. Board
Plessy v. Ferguson
-if case overturns previous court case, it will most likely be a landmark decision
What is a per curiam decision?
- court is unanimous–everyone on court agrees
- there are no written opinions, the court just decides
How are Supreme Court decisions enforced ?
-relies on our respect for its decisions–if we didn’t respect interpretations of court, it wouldn’t be able to do anything
-court relies on people to complain when its decisions are ignored or violated
EX: Little Rock Arkansas:kids escorted into school, national guard brought in bc people refusing to desegregate
Originalism
To interpret the Constitution as it was written by the Framers
What is judicial activism?
When the court interprets between the lines of the constitution, subscribes to a living constitution, or argues that the constitution contains grey areas
From the founding through the Civil War, what were the primary questions the Supreme Court sought to answer?
How much power should the federal government have relative to the states? –federal is always superior
From 1937 through the present, what is the primary question the Supreme Court sought to answer?
What individual rights do we possess?
From the Civil War through 1937, what was the primary question the Supreme Court sought to answer?
How much power does the federal government have to regulate the economy?–answer went from not much to a lot
What Supreme Court case established the practice of judicial review?
Marbury v. Madison
How did Marbury v. Madison establish judicial review?
- Marbury demanded that the Supreme Court force Madison to deliver the commission that would make him a federal judge.
- Chief Justice John Marshall expressed that Marbury had been wronged, but that the Supreme Court had no power to force Madison to give Marbury his seat on the federal bench.
- Marshall made this judgment by declaring the law on which Marbury was basing his claim–the Judiciary Act of 1789–to be unconstitutional
- by denying the power of the Supreme Court to do something in the short term, Marshall established the long-term power of the Supreme Court to judge the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress.
Who is Marbury ?
Who is Madison?
- one of Adam’s “midnight appointments”
- Jefferson’s Secretary of State
What is the “switch in time that saved nine?”
- Following his reelection in 1936, FDR made plans to add seats to the Supreme Court so he could pack it with supporters of his New Deal programs.
- the seated justices started siding more with his New Deal programs right around this same time.
- This became the switch (justices supporting rather than opposing New Deal programs) in time that saved nine (keeping the Court at nine justices rather than expanding it to thirteen).
Why is the Supreme Court that was led by Chief Justice Earl Warren considered the most liberal in modern history?
The Warren Court (1953-1969) issued decisions that protected civil rights, the legal rights of poor defendants, and other liberal values such as separation of church and state.
Famous cases decided by the Warren Court (5)
BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION MIRANDA V. ARIZONA GIDEON V. WAINWRIGHT ENGEL V. VITALE GRISWOLD V. CONNECTICUT
