Gov 13 Courts

Standards:

Strand: Civics and Government

Content Standard III: Students understand the ideals, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship and understand the content and history of the founding documents of the United States with particular emphasis on the United States and New Mexico constitutions and how governments function at local, state, tribal, and national levels. Students will:

9-12 Benchmark 3-A: compare and analyze the structure, power and purpose of government at the local, state, tribal and national levels as set forth in their respective constitutions or governance documents:

4. Analyze the structure, powers and role of the judicial branch of the United States government, including landmark United States supreme court decisions, to include: specific powers delegated by the Constitution in Article III and described in the federalist papers, Numbers 78-83; checks and balances; judicial review as developed in Marbury v. Madison; issues raised in McCulloch v. Maryland; dual court system of state and federal governments, including their organization and jurisdiction;

The American Court System

a. Essential question: How does the American court system function throughout the country? How are the different judicial levels related? What is the Supreme Court and what role does it play throughout the United States?

b. Article III of the Constitution, district courts, courts of appeals, “special courts,” “inferior courts,” 12 Angry Men, Criminal law, Civil law

c. foundation principles of laws by William Blackstone (laws in general and absolute rights of individuals);

Objective:

To find out more about how the U.S. Court system works and how it impacts you.

WICOR: Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization and Reading

Characteristics of the Federal Court System

Adversarial

Passive

Jurisdiction

A complex dual court system

The federal Court System

The Constitution

The Judiciary act of 1789

Direct Courts

The Courts of appeals

The Supreme Court

The Selection of Judges

The Lower Courts

The Supreme Courts

Factors that influence Supreme court decisions

Precedent

Juridicial Philosophy

Public Opinion

Essential question:

How has the Supreme Court historically increased its power?

What principle resulted from the ruling in Marbury v. Madison?

What doctrine was established by the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson?

Why did the Supreme Court overturn a precedent in deciding the Brown case?

If federal judges are shielded from direct political influence, why do presidents try to appoint judges who share their views?

How do Supreme Court decisions affect laws passed at both the state and national levels?

Vocabulary - THE SUPREME COURT

APPELLATE JURISDICTION

The authority of a court to hear an appeal from a lower court.

SENATORIAL COURTESY

An unwritten tradition whereby the Senate will not confirm nominations for lower court positions that are opposed by a senator of the president's own party from the state in which the nominee is to serve.

WRIT OF CERTIORARI

An order by the Supreme Court directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review.

RULE OF FOUR

The Supreme Court will hear a case if four justices agree to do so.

SOLICITOR GENERAL

The solicitor general is responsible for handling all appeals on behalf of the United States government to the Supreme Court.

AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF

A friend of the court brief filed by an interest group or interested party to influence a Supreme Court decision.

STARE DECISIS

"let the decision stand." The vast majority of Supreme Court decisions are based on precedents established in earlier cases.

JUDICIAL RESTRAINT

Philosophy that the Supreme Court should use precedent and the Framers' original intent to decide cases.

JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

Philosophy that the Supreme Court must correct injustices when other branches of government or the states refuse to do so.

Essential Question

How does the Constitution define the powers of the federal courts, and how are the various courts related to one another?

What is the goal of the U.S. justice system?

Summary

Section 1 Powers of the Federal Courts

The United States judicial system has two parallel systems of courts: federal courts and state courts. The 50 state court systems derive from state constitutions and laws. The federal system consists of the Supreme Court at the top and lower federal courts established by Congress. In this dual-court system, state courts have jurisdiction over cases involving state law. Federal courts have jurisdiction in cases that involve U.S. laws, treaties with foreign nations, interpretations of the Constitution, bankruptcy, and maritime laws. The federal courts also hear cases if the parties involved are ambassadors, state governments, the federal government, or citizens of different states. Federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction in some civil cases.

Section 2 Lower Federal Courts

Congress created two kinds of lower federal courts: constitutional courts set up under Article III, and legislative courts as spelled out in Article I. The constitutional courts include 94 district courts with original jurisdiction over civil and criminal federal trials. District courts utilize grand juries to hear charges and issue indictments, and petit juries to weigh evidence and render a verdict. Other Article III courts include the 13 federal courts of appeals. Twelve of these courts of appeals are located throughout the country's 12 judicial circuits and hear appeals from the district courts in their circuit as well as from territorial courts, the U.S. Tax Court, courts in the District of Columbia, and federal regulatory agencies. The thirteenth appellate court—the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit—has nationwide jurisdiction over appeals from the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Claims Court, and the U.S. Court of Veterans' Appeals.

The legislative or Article I federal courts were created to help Congress exercise its powers. They include the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, a court with original jurisdiction that handles cases when someone sues the government. The U.S. Tax Court has original jurisdiction over federal tax cases. Territorial courts hear civil and criminal cases in the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces hears appeals from military courts. The FISA court operates in secret and grants warrants to eavesdrop on citizens and foreigners suspected of terrorism.

The president appoints all federal judges with the advice and consent of the Senate. Judges who are appointed to the constitutional courts—district courts, the courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court—serve for life.

Section 3 The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the final authority in any case involving the Constitution, acts of Congress, and treaties with other nations. Most of its cases are appeals from lower federal district or appeals courts or state supreme courts, and it carefully chooses which cases it will hear. The Supreme Court also has original jurisdiction in cases involving representatives of foreign governments and certain cases in which a state is a party.

The Supreme Court is comprised of nine justices: the chief justice and eight associate justices. Their duties have developed from laws, traditions, and as the needs of the nation have developed. Their main duty is to decide which cases to hear, decide the case itself, and issue an opinion explaining the decision. The justices are also distributed among the 12 judicial circuits and handle special requests for legal actions in their circuits.

The president appoints the justices, who then must be approved by the Senate. Political considerations often affect a president's choice of a nominee to the Court. Presidents want someone with their own political beliefs to sit on the Court. The attorney general, the American Bar Association, interest groups, and even sitting justices advise the president on whom to nominate to the Court.

Essential Question

How do cases come before the Supreme Court, and what factors influence the decisions the Court makes?

Summary

Section 1 The Supreme Court at Work

Some cases begin at the Supreme Court because they fall under its original jurisdiction. The vast majority of cases, however, reach the Court only as appeals from lower court decisions. The main route to the Supreme Court is when a lower court petitions the Court for a writ of certiorari—an order to send up the records on a case for review. Almost half of the cases decided by the Supreme Court involve the federal government. The solicitor general represents the federal government in suits before the Court.

When cases come to the Court, the justices and clerks decide which ones are worthy of serious consideration, and the chief justice puts them on a "discuss list" for all the justices to consider. If four of the nine justices agree to accept the case, the Court will do so. If the Court rules on the case without consulting new information, the ruling may be announced with a per curiam opinion.

After the Court accepts a case, the lawyers on each side submit a brief. Parties who have an interest in a case's outcome may also submit a written brief called amicus curiae. The Supreme Court sits for two consecutive weeks each month. At these sittings, the justices listen to oral arguments from lawyers for each side of each case. The Court then recesses and considers arguments in these cases. A majority of justices must be in agreement to decide a case. For major cases, the Court issues one of four types of written opinions, which are as important as the decision itself. An opinion may be unanimous. A majority opinion expresses the view of the majority of justices. A justice who agrees with the majority's decision but for a different reason may write a concurring opinion. A dissenting opinion is the opinion of justices on the losing side in a case.

Section 2 Shaping Public Policy

The Supreme Court determines policy in three ways: using judicial review, interpreting the meaning of laws, and overruling or reversing its previous decisions. The Court has ruled as unconstitutional about 150 provisions of federal law and more than 1,270 state and local laws. The Court has used judicial review to influence public policy in many areas, including racial desegregation (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka), reapportionment of state legislatures (Baker v. Carr), and police procedures (Miranda v. Arizona).

Over the years, most Supreme Court decisions have dealt with civil liberties, economic issues, federal legislation and regulations, due process of law, and suits against government officials. The Court hears only those cases in which a decision will make a difference, a plaintiff suffered real harm, or a substantial federal question is involved. The Court does not decide points of law or give advisory opinions.

Section 3 Influencing Court Decisions

Law is the foundation for deciding cases, but laws and the Constitution are not always clear in their meaning. In interpreting the law, justices look for logical connections to the Constitution, to statutes relevant to the case, and to legal precedents. Some justices consistently take liberal positions or conservative positions on issues. Justices who work harmoniously together, however, are more likely to find common solutions to problems.

As society's values and beliefs change, the Court's decisions reflect these changes. "Separate but equal" facilities for African Americans were upheld in the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson. In 1954, the Court overturned Plessy, ruling unanimously that "separate but equal" educational facilities were unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

A president's most important influence over the Court is the power to appoint justices, with the Senate's consent. The president also plays a role when enforcing Court decisions. One way Congress influences the Court is to pass laws that nullify an earlier Court ruling. The Sixteenth Amendment allowed Congress to levy an income tax, for example, which nullified an earlier Court ruling that a tax on incomes was unconstitutional. Congress also sets the number of justices on the Court, and the Senate can refuse to confirm a nominee to the Court.

The Top 30 Supreme Court Cases

CLASSIC MARSHALL COURT CASES

*Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established the principle of judicial review.

Strengthened the power of the judicial branch by giving the Supreme Court the authority to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional.

*McCullough v Maryland (1819)

Confirmed the right of Congress to utilize implied powers to carry out its expressed powers.

Validated the supremacy of the national government over the states by declaring that states cannot interfere with or tax the legitimate activities of the federal government.

*Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Strengthened the power of the federal government to regulate interstate commerce.

Established the commerce clauses role as a key vehicle for the expansion of federal power.

FIRST AMENDMENT: ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE CASES

*Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Struck down state-sponsored prayer in public schools.

Ruled that the Regents' prayer was an unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

Struck down state funding for private religious schools.

Ruled that state aid to church-related schools must meet three tests: ( a) the purpose of the aid must be clearly secular, (b) the government's action must neither advance nor inhibit religion, and (c) the government's action must not foster an "excessive entanglement" between government and religion.

FIRST AMENDMENT: FREE EXERCISE CLAUSE CASES

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Ruled that free speech could be limited when it presents a "clear and present danger .... "

Established the "clear and present danger" test to define conditions under which public authorities can limit free speech.

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

Ruled that public officials cannot win a suit for defamation unless the statement is made with "actual malice."

Established the "actual malice" standard to promote "uninhibited, robust, and wide-open" public debate.

Roth v. United States (1951)

Ruled that obscenity is not constitutionally protected free speech.

Created the "prevailing community standards" rule requiring a consideration of the work as a whole.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District (1969)

Protected some forms of symbolic speech.

Ruled that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Ruled that flag burning is a form of symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.

THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT: SELECTIVE INCORPORATION CASES

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

Ruled that the Bill of Rights cannot be applied to the states.

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

Established precedent for the doctrine of selective incorporation thus extending most of the requirements of the Bill of Rights to the states.

THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT: DUE PROCESS CLAUSE CASES

Weeks v. United States (1914)

Established the exclusionary rule in federal cases.

Prohibited evidence obtained by illegal searches and seizures from being admitted in court.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Extended the exclusionary rule to the states.

Illustrated the process of selective incorporation through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Ruled that the Sixth Amendment right-to-counsel provision applies to those accused of major crimes under state laws.

Illustrated the process of incorporation by which the Sixth Amendment was applied to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

*Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Ruled that the police must inform criminal suspects of their constitutional rights before questioning suspects after arrest.

Required police to read the Miranda rules to criminal suspects.

THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT: EQUAL PROTECTION CASES

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Ruled that African Americans were not citizens and therefore could not petition the Supreme Court.

Overturned by the Fourteenth Amendment.

*Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Upheld Jim Crow segregation by approving "separate but equal" public facilities for African Americans.

*Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

Ruled that racially segregated schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Reversed the principle of "separate but equal!" established in Plessy v. Ferguson.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

Ordered the Medical School at the University of California at Davis to admit Bakke.

Ruled that the medical school's strict quota system denied Bakke the equal protection guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Ruled that race could be used as one factor among others in the competition for available places.

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

Upheld the affirmative action policy of the University of Michigan Law School.

Upheld the Bakke ruling that race could be a consideration in admissions policy but that quotas are illegal.

THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Ruled that a Connecticut law criminalizing the use of contraceptives violated the right to marital privacy.

Established an important precedent for Roe v. Wade.

*Roe v. Wade (1973)

Ruled that the decision to obtain an abortion is protected by the right to privacy implied by the Bill of Rights.

APPORTIONMENT CASES

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Ruled that the judicial branch of government can rule on matters of legislative apportionment.

Used the principle of "one person, one vote."

Ordered state legislative districts to be as equal as possible.

MISCELLANEOUS CASES

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

Upheld the constitutionality of the relocation of Japanese Americans as a wartime necessity.

Viewed by contemporary scholars as a flagrant violation of civil liberties.

District of Columbia v. Heller

*United States v. Nixon (1974)

Ruled that there is no constitutional guarantee of unqualified executive privilege.

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

Upheld federal limits on campaign contributions.

Struck down the portion of the Federal Election Campaign Act limiting the amount of money individuals can contribute to their own campaign.

Ruled that spending money on one's own campaign is a form of constitutionally protected free speech.

Complicated congressional efforts to enact significant campaign finance reform.

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

freedom of speech prohibits the government from restricting independent political expenditures by nonprofit corporations, for-profit corporations, labor unions, and other associations.