The Federal Courts Chapter 16 Warm-Up The Weberian model views bureaucracies as a. Promoting good monopolies. b. Loosely organized and loosely run. c. Largely self-serving. d. Efficient and necessary. e. Hindering democracy. Warm-Up The Weberian model views bureaucracies as d. Efficient and necessary. The Weberian model believes in an hierarchical authority structure that uses the efficient idea of task specialization. Jobs are awarded based off of merit and the bureaucracy is viewed as a wellorganized machine with lots of working parts. 1
A Dual Court System! State Courts! Hear most of the country s cases! Hear civil and criminal cases about state laws and state constitutions! Cases not under federal jurisdiction! Federal Courts! Interprets and applies the constitution, federal laws and treaties! Cases that arise on the high seas! Cases that involve certain parties Those certain Parties! between the US vs state,! two or more states,! citizens of different states, or! state vs foreign country Jurisdiction of Federal Courts! Original Jurisdiction- first court to hear the case! District courts have original jurisdiction! Supreme Court has some original jurisdiction-- cases involving foreign diplomats or when the State is a party 2
Appellant Jurisdiction! Cases heard on appeal from lower courts, regulatory agencies or from State Supreme Courts on federal issues Constitutional Courts! 94 district courts (hear most of the federal cases- 80%)! 12 Courts of Appeal Circuits- Gate keepers! 1 Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit! 1 US Court of International Trade! 1 Supreme Court The Structure of the Federal Court System Figure 16.1 Appointment of Judges! Constitutional Courts Appointed by President and confirmed by the Senate Serves a life term Removed by impeachment Salaries cannot be reduced! Legislative Courts Appointed by President, confirmed by Senate and serves a fixed term 3
President s most lasting legacy! Senatorial courtesy- Right of home state senator to reject! Presidents will pick judges that: share his ideology partisanship competent and high ethical behavior held high administrative or judicial positions Nominee s Characteristics! Acceptability to Senate! Age! Competent (ABA rating)! Gender! Issue orientation (litmus test)! Partisan Identification! Patronage! Race/ethnicity! Region! Religion! Role (activist/restrain)! Reputation (ethics, education, character Outside Influence on Selection! Interest Groups! Media/Advertisement! Campaign Contributions to Senators or White House! Mail-ins! OP/ED pieces! Lobbying Senate, Senate Judiciary Committee, White House! Protests! Ratings 4
The Federal Courts Day 2 Chapter 16 Warm-Up The president responsible for ending welfare as we know it was a. George W. Bush. b. Bill Clinton. c. George H. W. Bush. d. Ronald Reagan. e. Jimmy Carter. Warm-Up The president responsible for ending welfare as we know it was b. Bill Clinton. Although Bill Clinton is a Democrat and we tend to associate liberal ideology with increases to welfare programs, Bill Clinton made rather lengthy strides to reform welfare and end many loopholes that previously existed, thus making it harder to cheat the system. 5
Supreme Court Demographics A Very Exclusive Body! 112 Members! 4 Females! 108 Whites! 93 Protestants! 6 Immigrants! First Catholic-1835! First Jew- 1916! First African American- 1967! First Woman-1981! First Court to be composed of all law school graduates-1957! First Italian American- 1986! First Hispanic- 2009 Profile of Judges! Republican judges are more conservative in their opinions than democratic judges.! Justices who were prosecutors are not sympathetic of the rights of the defendants.! Women judges are not more lenient than male judges.! Number of minority judges are too small to make any generalizations. Judicial Review! Marbury v Madison, 1803 The power to decide on the constitutionality of acts of Congress and actions of the president.! Supreme Courts has great power as the arbiter of disputes between states and federal government. 6
How cases reach the Supreme Court! Petition for a Writ of Certiorari! Rule of Four! About 8,000 cases are appealed to the Supreme Court every year! Justices have almost complete control over their caseload! Only about 75 cases will be accepted Court at Work! Briefs- written legal arguments! Oral arguments- each side 30 minutes! Solicitor general- argues cases for the federal government and decides what cases to appeal (10 th justice)! Conference! Opinions Majority, concurring, dissenting Selecting Cases! Substantial Federal issue! Involves civil liberties or civil rights! Conflicts between Courts of Appeals! Disagreement between majority of Supreme Court and lower courts decisions! Must be a justiciable dispute! Standing to sue! Court is least likely to use constitution to settle cases! Voids cases dealing with the Doctrine of political questions 7
Deciding cases! Judicial Activism- liberal construction Judges make bold policy decisions, chart new constitutional grounds, correct the needs not meet by majoritarian process.! Judicial restraint- strict construction Judges play a minimal policy making role and uses original intent of founding fathers! Court Activism- striking down acts of Congress as unconstitutional Deciding Cases! Court rarely decides cases in opposition to public opinion and during times of critical elections the court is in line with the majority (Funston). Court and Pluralism! Groups will use litigation to achieve policy objectives.! Almost every major policy decision ends up in court.! Always turning to the courts will result policy delays, gridlock and inconsistencies.! Interest groups can always find judges that will rule in their favor.! Democratic theorists criticizes the courts because they are not representative of the people or majority of public opinion. 8
Latin Terms! Per Curiam decision- decision without explanation! Amicus Curiae- Friends of the Court! Stare decisis- Let the decision stand (precedent)! In Forma Pauperis- in the form of a pauper (Allows poor people to appeal their cases to the Supreme Court- Gideon vs Wainwright) 9