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PLS 121: American Politics and GovernmentPLS 121: American Politics and Government
American PoliticsAmerican Politicsand Governmentand Government
The Structure of the Judiciary
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Quick Review
• Statute Law
• Common Law
• Judicial Review
• Judicial Restraint
• Judicial Philosophy
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Court Types and Purposes
• Court of Original Jurisdiction
• Court of Appeals
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Court Types and Purposes
• Court of Original Jurisdiction– Constitutional Guarantee
– Where your case is first heard
– Jury trial or Bench trial
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Court Types and Purposes
• Court of Original Jurisdiction
• Court of Appeals– Statutory Guarantee
– Second hearing
– Bench trial
– Not on facts, only on procedure
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The Court System
• Federal Courts
• State Courts
• Military Courts (Courts Martial)
• Municipal Courts
• Administrative Courts
• Other Courts
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Administrative Courts
• Agency Courts – Federal or State
• Determine if the person is following agency rules
• Does not determine if the rules are appropriate
• The agencies are administrative entities in the executive branch– Environmental Protection Agency
– Bureau of Land Management
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Municipal Courts
• Local courts– Traffic Court
– Small-Claims Courts
– Divorce Court
– County Courts
• Interpret and apply local laws
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State Courts
• Three levels:– Courts of Original Jurisdiction
• Questions of facts
• Jury or Bench Trial
– Courts of Appeals
• Questions of procedure
– Supreme Court
• Questions of State Constitutionality
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Federal Courts
• Three levels:– Courts of Original Jurisdiction
• (a.k.a. Court of First Instance)
• Questions of facts
• Jury or Bench Trial
– Courts of Appeals
• Questions of procedure
– Supreme Court
• Questions of State Constitutionality
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US Federal District Courts
• Courts of Original Jurisdiction
• How many district courts are there? – There are 89 districts in the 50
states.
– District courts also exist in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
– In total there are 94 U.S. district courts.
– The number of judgeships allotted to each district is set forth in law (Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133).
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US Federal District Courts
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USFDC – Juries
• How are jurors selected?– A random selection of citizens’
names from voters lists or combined voters and drivers lists
– Because random selection is required, individuals may not volunteer for service
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USFDC – Juries
• Requirements for being a juror:– Citizen of the United States
– At least 18 years old
– Resident for a period of at least one year within the judicial district
– Able to read, write, and speak English
– Mentally and physically able
– Without a felony conviction
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USFDC – Juries
• In addition, the Jury Act lists three groups that are always exempt from federal jury service: – members of the armed forces on
active duty
– members of professional fire and police departments
– “public officers” of federal, state or local governments, who are actively engaged in the performance of public duties
• Why these exceptions?
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USFDC – Process:Arraignment
• The US Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure state: – “...arraignment shall...[consist of
an] open...reading [of] the indictment...to the defendant...and calling on him to plead thereto. He shall be given a copy of the indictment...before he is called upon to plead.”
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USFDC – Process:Arraignment
• Possible Pleas:– Guilty
– Not Guilty
– Nolo Contendere (No Contest)
• Defendant neither admits nor disputes the charge
– Alford
• Defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence, but admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could likely convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty
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USFDC – Process: Grand Jury
• Grand Jury– Determines whether there exists
reasonable cause or probable cause
– Defendant and counsel are absent
– Acquittal or Indictment returned by the jury
• However:– State courts tend to use a
preliminary hearing instead of a grand jury trial
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USFDC – Process: Petit Jury
• This is what we think of when we think of a trial– Guilty or Not Guilty returned by the
jury
• NOT Innocence
• Judge serves as a referee:– Makes sure the correct procedures
are followed
– Makes sure only proper evidence is admitted
• Issues of jury nullification
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US Federal Courts of Appeals
• Courts of Appeals
• Does not rule on the facts of the case
• Rules only on procedures followed by the Court of Original Jurisdiction (District Courts)
• Bench trials options:– Tribunals
– En banc
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US Federal Courts of Appeals
• Defendants not found Guilty or Not-Guilty
• Judgment passed on the trial, not the parties
• Process: – Briefs submitted
– Amicus Curiae statements submitted
– Judges read these and determine if they have questions
– Decision handed down with rationale
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US Federal Courts of Appeals
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US Federal Courts of Appeals
– 1 Boston, MA 6– 2 New York, NY 13
– 3 Philadelphia, PA 14
– 4 Richmond, VA 15
– 5 New Orleans, LA 29
– 6 Cincinnati, OH 16
– 7 Chicago, IL 11
– 8 St. Louis, MO 13
– 9 San Francisco, CA 28
– 10 Denver, CO 12
– 11 Atlanta, GA 12
– DC Circuit 12
– Federal Circuit 12
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The Federal Circuit (Appeals)
• Other Federal Appellate Courts– United States Court of Federal Claims
– United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
– United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
– United States Board of Appeals and Interferences of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
– Boards of Contract Appeals (for government contracts)
– United States Merit Systems Protection Board (federal employment and employment benefits)
– United States International Trade Commission
– United States Court of International Trade
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US Supreme Court
• Determines Constitutionality of Laws and Executive Orders
• Create a coherent body of common law among the Federal appellate courts
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US Supreme Court
• To get on the docket:
• Petitioning for a writ of certiorari.– This results in 7500+ writs
annually
• Culling the cases– Clerks brief all certs
– Justices discuss those that interest them
– Rule of Four used to determine further action
– Cases either decided summarily or heard en banc
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US Supreme Court
• Three extraordinary writs:– Writ of Habeas Corpus
• Prisoner be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not the prisoner is being imprisoned lawfully
– Writ of Mandamus
• Directing someone, most frequently a government official, to perform a specified act
– Writ of Prohibition
• Mandates the inferior court to cease any action over the case
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US Supreme Court
• Term:– First Monday of each October until
June or early July of the following year
• Sittings and Recesses:– Alternating periods of
approximately two weeks
– Justices hear cases and deliver rulings during sittings; they discuss cases and write opinions during recesses