UNIT 5: JUDICIAL BRANCH, CIVIL LIBERTIES & CIVIL Miss DeLong Exam Review RIGHTS
TERMS TO KNOW Original Jurisdiction the jurisdiction of a court to hear a trial first Appellate Jurisdiction the jurisdiction of a court to hear cases brought for appeal from a lower court *The US Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction. Precedent based on custom and tradition, with regards to the judicial branch, looking at how similar cases have been decided in the past
SUPREME COURT APPOINTMENTS There are 9 justices, one is chosen by the President to be Chief Justices All justices are appointed by the President, then have to be approved by the Senate This approval process helps protect the Supreme Court from straying too far from public opinion. [Justices can also be removed from office.] The framers chose to protect the SC Justices from undo influence from the public by setting their terms for life. Other reasons that help reduce influence is that they are elected not appointed and their salaries are set.
SUPREME COURT DOCKET The Supreme Court gets to choose which cases they hear. Only 4 of the 9 need to want to hear a cases. Of the approximately 10,000 appeals the U.S. Supreme Court receives, less than 100 make it on the court docket.
ACTIVISM VS. RESTRAINT When choosing a Supreme Court justice, or other judge, the President looks at whether they show judicial activism or judicial restraint. An example of judicial activism would be Brown v. Board of Education or Roe v. Wade.
JUDICIAL REVIEW Judicial Review is a great example of an informal amendment. Judicial Review is not mentioned in the Constitution, matter of fact, Article III is one of the shorter articles in the Constitution. Much of what the courts do has been left up to the interpretation. Marbury v. Madison established judicial review when the Supreme Court handed down their decision interpreting the constitutionality of the argument.
LIBERTIES VS. RIGHTS Civil Liberties are the actual constitutional protections we have against the government i.e. Bill of Rights Civil Rights are the policies to protect us against discrimination i.e. Civil Rights Act of 1965
FIRST AMENDMENT Speech: pure speech, speech plus, symbolic speech clear and present danger (gov t can restrict speech if represents immediate danger) Religion: establishment clause (gov t can neither establish nor promote one religion over another) and free exercise clause (protection of the free exercise of your religious beliefs; though the court has decided there is a difference when practice violates the law) Petition Assembly Press (prior restraint gov t can censor SC consistently says it exists, but sides with the press)
LIMITATIONS OF FREEDOMS The Supreme Court has helped to interpret when the government has placed undo limitations on our freedoms. Things to keep in mind: Schools are different than other places, yet court does protect reasonable student freedoms Community standards must be considered (i.e. obscenity) Your freedoms shouldn t infringe on another's Protect minority rights ( I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it. Voltaire) Lemon Test for religion 1. Is there a secular or religious purpose 2. Is the primary effect one that enhances or inhibits religion (has to be neutral) 3. Does it foster excessive entanglement?
SELECTIVE INCORPORATION Selective incorporation has happened over time, wasn t all at once. It is the application of our civil liberties listed in the Bill of Rights to the states, through the application of the 14 th Amendment, due process clause. For examples, the incorporation of the right to an attorney for state trials as established in Gideon v. Wainwright
EQUAL PROTECTION The 14 th Amendment is often called the Equal Protection amendment. It not only has due process, but also establishes that all citizens regardless of race (the original intent) or gender (added in 1970s) deserve equal protection under the law. Reed v. Reed (1971) establishes the protection against gender discrimination, discrimination cannot be unduly placed. Obviously it s not always clear cut, court has sided with draft only for men.
RIGHT TO PRIVACY The right to privacy is NOT in the Constitution. Nowhere will you find the words right to privacy. It is implied throughout the Constitution in privacy of beliefs (1 st ), privacy of home (3 rd ), privacy of person and possessions (4 th ) privacy of self-incrimination (5 th ) and of course the 9 th amendment reminds us that we have rights not listed (Justice Goldberg argued that in Griswold). The U.S. Supreme Court in Griswold v. CT (1965) established the right to privacy saying that it was implied in the Constitution. This case covered martial privacy. The right to privacy was further expanded under Roe v. Wade covering abortion under the right to privacy.
CASES TO KNOW 1. Brown v. Board of Education 2. Gideon v. Wainwright 3. Miranda v. Arizona 4. Roe v. Wade 5. Griswold v. Connecticut 6. Reed v. Reed 7. Lemon v. Kurtzman 8. Reynolds v. US 9. Engle v. Vitale 10.University of California v. Bakke *Top Ten of the top of my head