CHAPTER 18:3 Supreme Court
Chapter 18:3 o We will examine the reasons why the Supreme Court is often called the higher court. o We will examine why judicial review is a key feature in the American System of Government especially in regards to Marbury v. Madison.
Isa_33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
The Supreme Court: o The Supreme Court of the United States is the only court specifically created in the Constitution. o It is made up of the chief justice of the United States, whose office is also established by the Constitution, and eight associate justices. o The framers quite purposely placed the Court on an equal plane with the President and Congress designed it as the apex, the highest point, of the nation s judicial system.
The Supreme Court: o As the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court stands as the court of last resort in all questions of federal law. o That is, it is the final authority in any case involving any questions arising under the Constitution, the act of congress, or a treaty of the United States.
JUDICIAL REVIEW: o They have the extraordinary power to decide the constitutionality of an act of government, whether executive, legislative, or judicial. o The ultimate exercise of the power rests with the Supreme Court of the United States. o That single fact makes the Supreme Court the final authority on the meaning of the Constitution.
JUDICIAL REVIEW: o The Constitution does not in so many words provide for the power of judicial review. o Still, there is little room for doubt that the Framers intended that the federal courts and, in particular, the Supreme Court-should have the power.
JUDICIAL REVIEW: o The court first asserted its power of judicial review in the classic case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803. o The case arose in the aftermath of the stormy elections of 1800. o Thomas Jefferson and his Anti- Federalists had won the presidency and control of both houses of congress.
JUDICIAL REVIEW: o The outgoing Federalists, stung by their defeat, then tried to pack the judiciary with loyal party members. o Thomas Jefferson took over the next day as President.
JUDICIAL REVIEW: o Marbury based his suit on a provision of the Judiciary Act of 1789, in which Congress had created the federal court system. o That law gave the Supreme Court the right to hear such suits in its original jurisdiction (not on appeal from a lower court). o In a unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice John Marshall, the court refused Marbury s request.
JUDICIAL REVIEW: o It did so because it found the section of the judiciary act on which Marbury had based his case in conflict with the Constitution, and therefore void. o Specifically it found the statute in Article III, Section 2, Clause 2. o The impact of the Court s decision goes far beyond the fate of obscure Marbury.
JUDICIAL REVIEW: o In this decision, Chief Justice Marshall claimed for the Court the right to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional, and so laid the foundation for the judicial branch s key role in the development of the American system of government.
Discussion Questions What laws do you see today that you think that the Supreme Court should overturn and deem unconstitutional and explain why.
Marshall s power opinion was based on three propositions. o (1) The Constitution is, by its own terms, the supreme law of the land. o (2) All legislative enactments, and all other actions of government, are subordinate to and cannot be allowed to conflict with the supreme law. o (3) Judges are sworn to enforce the provisions of the Constitution and therefore must refuse to enforce any government action they find to be in conflict with it.
Marshall s power opinion was based on three propositions. o The court has used judicial review in thousands of cases since 1803. o Usually upheld (but sometimes denied) the constitutionality of federal and state actions.
Marshall s power opinion was based on three propositions. o Each year it hears dozens of cases in which questions of constitutionality are not raised, in which federal law still is interpreted and applied. o Thus, any of the more important statutes that Congress has passed have been brought to the Supreme Court time and again for decision.
Marshall s power opinion was based on three propositions. o So, too, have many of the lesser ones. o In interpreting those laws and applying them to specific situations, the Court has had a real impact on both their meaning and their effect.
JURISDICTION: o The Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction. o But most of its cases come on appeal, from the lower federal courts and from the highest state courts.
JURISDICTION: o 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. o (1) Those to which a state is a party and o (2) Those affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls.
JURISDICTION: o Congress cannot enlarge on this constitutional grant of original jurisdiction. o If Congress could do so, it would in effect be amending the Constitution. o But Congress can implement the constitutional provision, and it has done so.
JURISDICTION: o It has provided that the Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over: o (1) All controversies between two or more states.
JURISDICTION: o (2) All cases brought against ambassadors or other public ministers, but not consuls. o The court may, if it chooses to do so, take original jurisdiction over any other case covered by the broad wording in Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution. o But almost always, those cases are tried in the lower courts. o The Supreme Court only hears a very small number of cases in its original jurisdiction. o In fact, only a case or two each term.
JURISDICTION: o (3) Article III Section 2 of the Constitution also gives to Congress the power to set the Court s appellate jurisdiction. o However, Congress has given it an increasingly broad authority to choose the cases it will review. o Today, that authority is practically complete.
HOW CASES REACH THE COURT: o Some 8,000 cases are now appealed to the Supreme Court each year. o Of these, the Court accepts only a few hundred for decisions. o The Court selects those cases it will hear according to the rule of four; at least four of its nine justices must agree that a case should be put on the court s docket.
HOW CASES REACH THE COURT: o More than half the cases decided by the Court are disposed by brief orders. o An order may remand (return) a case to a lower court for reconsideration in the light of some other recent related case decided by the Higher Court.
HOW CASES REACH THE COURT: o Most cases reach the Supreme Court by Writ of Certiorari (Latin for to be made more certain ). o This writ is an order by the court directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review.
HOW CASES REACH THE COURT: o Either party to a case can petition the court to issue a writ, but again, cert is granted in only a limited number of instances. o Typically, only when a petition raises some important constitutional question o or a serious problem of statutory interpretation.
HOW CASES REACH THE COURT: o When certiorari is denied, the decision of the lower court stands in that particular case. o But the denial of cert is not a decision on the merits of a case. o All that a denial means is that, for whatever reason, four or more justices could not agree that the Supreme Court should accept that case for review.
HOW CASES REACH THE COURT: o A few cases reach the Court through certificate. o This process is used when a lower court is not clear about the procedure or the rule of law that should apply in a case. o The lower court asks the Supreme Court to certify the answer to a specific question in the matter.
HOW CASES REACH THE COURT: o Most cases that reach the court do so from the highest state courts and the federal courts of appeal. o A few do come, however, from the federal district courts and a very few from the Court of Military Appeals.
Discussion Questions Find a partner and list four issues that you feel that the Supreme Court should hear and explain the reasons why.
THE SUPREME COURT AT WORK: o The Court sits from the first Monday of October to sometime the following June or July.
THE SUPREME COURT AT WORK: o Once the Supreme Court accepts a case, it sets a date on which lawyers on both sides will present oral arguments. o At these public sessions, the lawyer makes their oral arguments. o Their presentations are almost always limited to 30 minutes. o Most lawyers try to use that half hour to emphasize the major points they made in their written briefs.
BRIEFS: o Briefs are written documents filed with the Court before oral arguments. o They are detailed statements that support one side of a case and are largely built of relevant facts and the citation of previous cases. o Many run hundreds of pages. o The Court may also receive amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs.
BRIEFS: o These are briefs filed by persons or groups who are not actual parties of the case but who nonetheless have a substantial interest in its outcome. o Thus, for example, cases involving such highly charged matters as abortion or affirmative action regularly attract a large number of amicus briefs. o But they can only be filed only with the Court s permission, or at its request.
THE SOLICITOR GENERAL: o The Solicitor General, a principal officer in the Department of Justice, is often called the Federal Government s chief lawyer. o The Solicitor General represents the United States in all cases to which it is party in the Supreme Court, and may appear in any federal or state court.
THE SOLICITOR GENERAL: o He or she decides which cases the government should ask the Supreme Court to review and, also, what position the United States should take in cases before the High Court. o The solicitor general often files amicus briefs, urging the Federal Government s views in those cases.
How A Case Is Decided: o On Wednesday and Fridays through a term, the justices meet in conference. o There, in closest secrecy, they consider the cases in which they have heard oral arguments. o The Chief Justice presides over the conference. o He speaks first on each case to be considered, and usually indicates how he intends to vote.
How A Case Is Decided: o Then each associate justice summarizes his or her views. o Those presentations are made in order of seniority. o With the justice most recently named to the court speaking last. o After the justices are polled, they usually debate the case.
How A Case Is Decided: o About a third of all the Court s decisions are unanimous, but most find the court divided. o The High Court is sometimes criticized for its decisions.
OPINIONS: o If the chief justice is in the majority on a case, he assigns the writing of the court opinion. o When the chief justice is in the minority, the assignment is handled by the senior associate justice on the majority side.
OPINIONS: o The court s opinion is often called the majority opinion. o Officially, it is the opinion of the court. o It announces the Court s decision in a case and sets out the reasoning on which it is based. o Often, one or more of the justices who agree with the Court s decision may write a concurring opinion to make or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion.
OPINIONS: o The Court s written opinions are exceedingly valuable. o The majority opinions stand as precedents to be followed in similar cases as they arise in the lower courts or reach the Supreme Court.
OPINIONS: o The concurring opinions may bring the Supreme Court to modify its present stand in future cases. o On rare occasions, the Supreme Court does reverse itself, the minority opinion of today could become the court s majority position in the future.
Discussion Questions Do you think the Supreme Court has too much power being the final authority in regards to the Constitution? Do you feel comfortable that nine individuals that serve for life and not elected to their position can overturn both state and federal laws?
Chapter 18:4 o We will examine the various special courts in the Federal Court System.
Federal Court System: o The Federal Court system is made up of two quite distinct types of courts: o (1) The Constitutional, or regular courts. o (2) The special courts.
U.S. Federal Claims Court: o The United States cannot be sued by anyone, in any court, for any reason without its consent. o It may be taken to court only in those cases in which Congress has declared that the government is open to suit.
U.S. Federal Claims Court: o Originally, a person with a claim against the United States could secure redress satisfaction of the claim, payment only by an act of Congress. o Now Congress has the Federal Claims Court to hear these pleas. o It is composed of 16 judges appointed by the President and Senate for 15 year terms.
U.S. Federal Claims Court: o They hold trials and hear claims for damages against the government throughout the country. o Those claims they uphold cannot be in fact be paid until Congress appropriates the money, which it does almost as a matter of standard procedure. o Appeals from the court s decisions may be carried to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The Territorial Courts: o Acting under its power to make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory belonging to the United States, Congress has created courts for the nation s territories. o These courts sit in the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Marianas and function much as do the local courts in each of the 50 states.
THE COURTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: o Acting under its power to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District as may become the seat of the United States, Congress has set up a judicial system for the nation s capital. o Both the District Court and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia hear many local cases as well as those they try as constitutional courts.
THE COURTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: o Congress has also established two local courts, much like the courts in the States; a superior court, which is the general trial court, and a court of appeals.
THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ARMED FORCES: o Acting under its power to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces. o Congress in 1950 created what is now called the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. o The court is a civilian tribunal. o Its chief judge and four associate judges are not members of the armed forces.
THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ARMED FORCES: o Appeals from its decisions can be, but almost never are, heard by the Supreme Court. o The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces is, often the court of last resort in most cases involving offense against military law.
THE UNITED STATES TAX COURT: o Acting under its constitutionally granted powers to tax, Congress established the United States Tax Court, in 1969. o The Tax Court has 19 judges, one of whom serves as chief judge. o Each of these 19 judges is named by the President and Senate for a 12-year term.
THE UNITED STATES TAX COURT: o Tax Court hears civil, but not criminal, cases involving disputes over the application of the tax laws. o Most of its cases, then are generated by the Internal Revenue Service and other Treasury Department agencies. o Its decisions may be appealed to the federal courts of appeals.
Discussion Questions What should the U.S. do with the prisoners they captured in the War in Terrorism? Should they be placed in trial for their alleged crimes or just be imprisoned without a crime proving their guilt?