the judicial branch article iii of the constitution
TRANSCRIPT
The Judicial Branch
Article III of the Constitution
Creation of the National Judiciary
Established by Article III of the US Constitution Only sets up the Supreme Court Allows Congress to create additional
courts if needed The US has a Dual Court System,
meaning there are two separate court systems National (or Federal) and State
Jurisdiction – the authority to hear a court case
Court Judges Appointed by the President but must be
approved by the Senate Supreme Court judges and all other federal judges
follow this process Constitutional Court judges are appointed for
LIFE! Constitution: “[Judges] shall hold their Offices
during good Behavior…” Can only be removed through impeachment.
Historically only 13 judges have been impeached, 7 removed by Senate
Note: Not all federal judges serve life terms. For example, special court judges are not appointed to life terms but for 8 year terms
Court Judges – Salary and Retirement
Congress sets the salaries of all federal judges Currently set at $169,300 Associate SC Justices: $208,100 Chief Justice: $217,400
Plus, they can earn an additional $21,000 for teaching or speaking
Retirement: there is no mandatory retirement age. With 15 years of service @65/yrs. old. With 10 years of service @70/yrs. old.
Dual Court System
Additional Information US District Courts
80% of federal caseload (94 total courts – at least 1 court per state, also DC,
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, and Mariana Islands) Hear criminal cases (for committing some action that
Congress has declared by law to be a crime) and civil cases (non-criminal matter, such as contract disputes or patent infringement)
US Appellate Courts 12 Courts in the US – they hear appeals from lower federal
courts Approximately 55,000 cases/year Decisions are final unless SC chooses to hear appeal and
overturns the decision
Anthony Kennedy1988
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.
2006
Sonia Sotomayor2009
Elena Kagan2010
Stephen Breyer1994
Clarence Thomas1991
John G. Roberts, Jr.
Chief Justice 2005
Antonin Scalia1986
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
1993
Meet the Justices of the Supreme Court
There are 9 Supreme Court Justices
Judicial Review Supreme Court has the power to decide the
constitutionality of an act of government – legislative, executive, or judicial **The SC is the FINAL authority on the meaning of
the Constitution Marbury vs Madison (1803) – Chief Justice
Marshall wrote 3 key opinions:1. Constitution is the supreme law of the land2. All govt actions are inferior to the supreme law and
cannot conflict with it3. Judges are sworn to protect the Constitution and must
refuse to enforce govt action that conflicts with it
How cases reach the Court Approximately 8,000 cases are appealed to
the SC every year – they only choose to hear about 100
Most reach by Writ of Certiorari – an order by the SC directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review Very few are chosen, usually ones dealing with
some type of Constitutional question…not deciding the guilt or innocence of someone
Others reach by a Certificate – a lower court asks the SC to clarify a procedure or rule of law that they are unclear about
How the Court operates 4 out of 9 justices must vote in favor of hearing
a case before it appears on the courts docket Docket – a list of cases to be heard
When the court accepts a case, each side (prosecution and defense) sends the court a brief – a detailed written report supporting its side of the case
Working periods – justices consider/listen to cases from Oct to May (2 weeks on; 2 weeks “off”)
How the Court operates: Ruling on a Case
The Courts ruling on a case is called the majority opinion or the Opinion of the Court—It announces the Court’s decision and reasoning A simple majority or 5 out of 9 justices must vote
in favor of a side to render a decision The rest of the Justices who voted with the
majority can write a concurring opinion—in which they can add or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion
How the Court operates: Ruling on a Case
One or more dissenting opinions are written by the justices who did not agree with the Court’s majority opinion Important: the minority opinion of today may
become the majority opinion of tomorrow All of the Court’s written opinions (majority,
concurring, and dissenting) are very valuable and stand as a precedent
Precedent - example to be followed in a similar case