THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT and THE JUDICIARY BRANCH

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Laureen Wilcox
5 years ago
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(Clinton) Unit Four- BB Anthony Kennedy (Reagan) Chief Justice John Roberts

1 Elana Kagan (Obama) Samuel Alito (G.W. Bush) Sonia Sotomayor (Obama) Neil Gorsuch (Trump) Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Clinton) Unit Four- BB Anthony Kennedy (Reagan) Chief Justice John Roberts (G.W. Bush) Clarence Thomas (G.H.W. Bush) THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT and THE JUDICIARY BRANCH Stephen Breyer (Clinton)

2 The Courts of Appeals Each of the Circuit Courts is comprised of from 6 to 28 judges (179 in all). In addition a justice from the Supreme Court is assigned to each. For example, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit covers Alabama, Florida and Georgia and is composed of 12 circuit judges and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court. The judges hold their sessions in a number of major cities throughout the circuit. Each court of appeals usually sits in three judge panels. Occasionally however, and especially for an important case, a court will sit en banc, that is with all of the judges in the circuit participating. The 13 courts of appeals only have appellate jurisdiction. Not only do they hear appeals from the district courts and the special courts, but also from the numerous regulatory agencies. The fact that less than one percent of the decisions of the circuit courts are appealed to the Supreme Court demonstrates their importance to the judicial system of the United States.

3 of the United States is the only court specifically created by the Constitution of the United States, and holds an equal place in our governmental system with the President and Congress. It is led by the Chief Justice, also a position created by the Constitution, and includes 8 other associate judges, the number of whom are established by Congress. has both original and appellate jurisdiction. Most of its cases come on appeal from the lower federal courts, and from the highest state courts. Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution spells out two classes of cases that may be heard by the high court in its original jurisdiction; those to which a state is a party and those affecting ambassadors, other high public officials. The court may also choose to take original jurisdiction over any case it deems to be of importance, but it rarely does this.

4 How Cases Reach the Court sits from the first Monday in October to sometimes the following June or July. Each term is identified by the year in which it began, Thus the 2012 term runs from October 1, 2012 to the early summer of More than 8,000 cases a year are appealed to the Supreme Court, but they only hear a small fraction of those, and can pick and choose which cases to accept. They will typically only choose cases that carry some significant importance to either the; administration of justice, public policy, and interpretation of the Constitution. Which cases to hear are decided based on The Rule of Four, or four of the nine justices must agree that the case is worthy of the court s consideration. More than half of the cases decided by the court are done so through brief orders, such as remanding, or returning for consideration, cases to the lower courts based on recent opinions in similar cases. The court will usually decide fewer than 100 cases per term.

5 How Cases Reach the Court Most cases reach the Supreme Court through an order of the court called a Writ of Certioari. This order is made to lower courts instructing them to send the record of a specific case to them for review. Either party can petition the court to issue the writ, but it is usually only granted in limited cases. When a petition for writ is denied, then the decision of the lower court stands. It does not reflect on the merits of the case if it is denied, just that four or more justices could not reach the decision to consider it. Another means by which cases reach the court is through the process of certificate,which is when a lower court is not clear about the procedure or the rule of law that should apply in a case, and so asks the Supreme Court to certify the answer to a specific question in the matter. Most cases that reach the court do so from the highest state courts and the federal courts of appeals. A very few come directly from the distric courts, and an occasional one may come from the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

6 How the Court Operates Once the court accepts a case, it will set a date on which that matter will be heard. A s a rule, the justices consider cases on a two week cycle from October to early May. They hear oral arguments in several cases for two weeks, then recess for two weeks to consider those cases and handle other court business. On those days in which the court hears arguments, it convenes at 10:00 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and sometimes Thursdays. At those public sessions, the lawyers representing the parties in those cases the court has placed on their docket make their oral arguments. Their presentations are almost always limited to 30 minutes. The justices usually listen to an attorney s arguments and sometimes interrupt them with pointed questions. After 25 minutes a white light flashes at the lectern from which the attorney addresses the court. Five minutes later a red light signals the end of the presentation and it must stop, even if the lawyer is in mid sentence.

7 How the Court Operates Prior to the oral arguments, attorneys from either side must file a brief or a written argument stating the position of their side in the case. These detailed statements spell out the party s legal position and are built largely on relevant facts and the citation of precedents. Briefs often run to hundreds of pages. Besides the parties to the cases, the court may receive briefs from other interested parties to the case, such as think tanks, charitable groups, and policy organizations. For example, in an abortion case briefs may be received by the National Organization of Women, or the Pro Life Action League. These briefs are intended to assist the justices in reviewing all pertinent facts, and legal thought on the subject, and so are sent by friends who just want to help. These briefs are known as amicus curiae briefs, or friends of the court.

8 On most Fridays through a term, the justices meet in conference. There, in closest secrecy, they consider the cases in which they have heard oral arguments and read briefs. Only the Chief Justice, who presides, and the eight other justices are present at the conference. The Chief Justice leads the discussion of each case to be considered, stating the facts, summarizing the questions of law involved, and usually indicating how he thinks the court should dispose of the case. The each of the other associate justices, in order of seniority, present their views and conclusions. * The Federal Court System How the Court Operates A senior officer in the Justice Department, the principal lawyer for the United States, the Solicitor General represents the United States before the Supreme Court in all cases to which it is a party., and may also appear and argue before any court in which the government is a party. The Solicitor General also has the responsibility of asking the Supreme Court to review cases and decide what position the United States should take in the cases it brings to the high court.

9 How the Court Operates Using as their primary apparatus of decision making the principle of stare decisis, or the legal principle of determining points in litigation according to prior precedent, the court will then vote on their decision. THERE IS NO DEBATE IN THE CONFERENCE. Once that vote is taken, the Chief Justice will assign justices to write the opinion of the court for the winning side, and the opinion of the court for the losing side. The winning side of a decision is the majority, and the losing side is the minority. Once the majority and minority opinions are written, they are considered in conference, and voted on again. Justices may change their minds and vote with the other side, or may even vote on one side, but disagree with their opinion and submit their own for voting the way they did. This is called a dissenting opinion. Or they could agree with the majority, but for different reasons, and again write their own opinion, this is called a concurring opinion. Often times, the Chief Justice will write the opinion for the side on which he voted.

10 How the Court Operates Once a case has been considered and decided in conference, the court announces its decision in the matter, and with it issues the opinions. The court s opinions are extremely valuable as they set the primary precedents to use by lower courts in stare decisis. While stare decisis is an important principal, it is not so firm as to ever consider anything new or never allow reconsideration of an issue. The Supreme Court has changed its opinions in the past. For example, the consideration that segregation was constitutional. Oftentimes, the minority opinions of past courts lay the groundwork for this change, and then become the majority opinions of the future.

CHAPTER 9. The Judiciary

CHAPTER 9. The Judiciary CHAPTER 9 The Judiciary The Nature of the Judicial System Introduction: Two types of cases: Criminal Law: The government charges an individual with violating one or more specific laws. Civil Law: The court