The Federal Courts Flashcards
What is a plaintiff?
The person suing, and the person listed first in the case
What is a litigant?
Someone who is suing over something
To go to court, one must have…
Standing to sue (serious interest)
What is a class action lawsuit?
Multiple people suing
Ex/ brown vs board of education
What is justifiable dispute?
Must be justified to go to court
What can interest groups submit to the court?
Amicus curiae briefs. These provide statistics, new points of view, and info not presented. The government can present these too
What is the judiciary act 1789?
Established a constitutional court
What are the two levels of federal courts?
Original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction
What is original jurisdiction?
Where the case starts, most cases start and end here
What is appellate jurisdiction?
When you appeal and hear the case again
How many district courts are there?
91, all of original jurisdiction
What do federal district courts see cases about?
Federal law, civil suits from different states, bankruptcy, naturalization, maritime law
These cases are you vs United States, which is represented by the district attorney
How many US court of appeals are there?
12, all of appellate jurisdiction
What does the US Court of appeals of federal circuit do?
Deals with federal laws such as patents and international trade
Supreme Court…
Is the final court
Usually appellate jurisdiction
The exceptions are Bush vs Gore, United States vs Nixon, and the healthcare act
Majority of cases come from lower courts
How many sc justices are there?
9, 8 associate and 1 Chief Justice, who is John Roberts
How are Supreme Court justices picked?
1) political affiliation
2) ABA Score
3) experience (types of cases, number of cases, and how they ruled on cases)
4) senatorial courtesy
5) interest groups
6) Supreme Court justices
7) FBI
8) president
9) senate
What is senatorial courtesy?
President asks a few senators to endorse and advocate for the justice he wants to the rest of the senate
Who runs the process of selecting a new Supreme Court judge?
The justice department, the FBI just does the background check
Supreme Court justices background:
Mostly white males
First female was Sandra day O’connor
Partisan politics matter
Work for life
What is the rule of four?
Need four justices to decide to take a case
What is a writ of certiorari (cert)?
Formal document calling up the case from a lower court to the Supreme Court
What are the responsibilities of the Chief Justice?
1) has to write the majority opinion
2) all presidential inaugurations
3) preside over the impeachment of the president in the senate
What is a dissenter?
One who disagrees with the majority
What does it mean to concur
To agree but for different reasons
Who does the appointment for the department of justice?
The president
What is the US Attorney General?
The attorney for the United States
What does the solicitor general do?
1) decides whether or not to appeal federal cases to the supreme court
2) reviews and modifies briefs in appeals (amicus curiae briefs for the US)
3) represents the US in Supreme Court
4) represents a litigant in court (pro bono work)
What does stare decisis mean?
To let the decision stand
How does the Supreme Court make their decisions?
They base their decisions on precedent, or the way that similar cases were heard
How do you implement court decisions?
1) originalism (first time a case was heard)
2) judges have to be notified
3) let local officials know
4) let the people know
What was the Marshall Court?
Headed by John Marshall (1801-1835); sets judicial review, Marbury vs Madison and McCulloch vs Maryland
What was significant about FDR and the supreme court?
FDR increased numbers on the bench during the 1930’s
What was the Warren court?
Headed by Earl Warren (1953-1969); Brown case; criminal rights, Gideon vs Wainwright and Miranda case
What was the Burger court?
Headed by Warren Burger (1969-1986); Strict constructionism (following the constitution); Roe vs Wade and US vs Nixon
What was the Rehnquist court?
Headed by William Rehnquist (1986-2005); defending people’s rights
What is judicial restraint?
When the court plays a very minimal role in making a decision; leaving it to Congress and legislators to decide
What is activism?
Change this law!
