The Judiciary Flashcards
Judicial power extends to issues dealing with…
Common law Equity Civil law Criminal law Public law
Where is the constitutional basis found for the judiciary
Article III
How are cases decided?
Through original jurisdiction or appellate jurisdiction
Who presides over impeachment trials?
Supreme Court Chief Justice
Who creates “inferior” courts to the Supreme Court?
Congress
On the federal level, Congress has creates two kinds of courts:
- Constitutional courts
2. Special courts
Constitutional courts
Formed to carry out the direction in the Constitution for the courts to exercise judicial power
Special courts
Created to deal with cases deriving from delegated powers of Congress (ex. Military’ tax, and veteran appeals)
Jurisdiction for federal courts
Laws arising from the Constitution Treaties Cases dealing with ambassadors Admiralty and maritime issues Cases between two or more US states Cases between citizens of different states
Judiciary Act
Est. District courts
District courts handle ___ (percent) of the federal cases brought to them
80%
First court for hearing cases involving federal crimes, civil suits over federal laws, bankruptcy proceeding, admiralty/maritime cases, and immigration cases
Destruct courts
Courts of appeal
Created to set up an intermediate level of appeal and a Supreme Court justice is assigned to act as a liaison
There are 13
Review decisions of district courts and special courts
Enforce decisions of regulatory agencies
Final court of appeals
Supreme Court
The appointment of federal justices
Has as much to do with partisanship as ideology
Is an example of the relationship among government branches and institutions
Senatorial courtesy
Tradition of prior approval of senators from the state from which the judge comes from
Does not apply to Supreme Court nominations
What issues come under scrutiny when a Supreme Court Justice nominee goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Constitutional precedent Judicial activism Legal writings Past judicial decisions Feelings of interest groups Public and media opinions Ethical/moral actions
“Borked”
Reeds to a presidential appointee who does not get approved by the Senate because of ideological reasons
The death of William Rhenquist resulted in…
End of an era of judicial restrain and conservative activism
About how many cases does the court review each year?
75-100
Rule of Four
A minimum of four justices agreeing to review a case
Writ of certiorari
How cases move up in the federal court system
“To be made more certain”
Five criteria for an appeal to be heard by the Supreme Court
- If a court has made a decisions that conflicts with precedent
- If a court has come up with a new question
- If one court of appeals has made a decision that conflicts with another
- If there are inconsistencies between courts of different states
- If there is a split in the court of appeals
Amicus curiae
“Friend of the court”
Support certain positions for court cases
Who represents the US government when cases are brought against it
The Solicitor General
Once a majority decision is established, the Chief Justice assigns a justice to write _______, while opposing justices write _________. If the majority has a different opinion regarding certain components of the majority opinion, they may write ___________
Majority decision
Dissenting opinions
Concurring opinions
Who has been given credit for setting the course of the young Supreme Court?
John Marshall
Most activist Court
The Warren Court
Ex. Plessy v. Ferguson case was overturned, rights of the accused were expanded, etc.
Rhenquist Court
Reversed many decisions by the Warren and Burger Courts
Conservative Activism
