THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
and
THE JUDICIARY BRANCH
* The Federal Court System
• The United States judiciary is comprised of a dual system of courts. There are the
federal courts, and each individual state and has its own court systems as well.
• The Constitution establishes the Supreme Court and leaves to Congress the
creation of inferior courts, the lower federal courts beneath the Supreme Court.
• Throughout United States history, Congress has created two distinct types of
federal courts; the constitutional courts and the special courts.
• The constitutional courts include the courts of appeals, the district courts, and the
U.S. Court of International Trade.
• The special courts include the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the U.S.
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Tax
Court, the various territorial courts, and the courts of the District of Colombia, as
well as the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and the U.S. Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review.
* The Federal Court System
• Rules of The Federal Courts
• The constitutional courts hear most of the cases in the United States, or they have
jurisdiction over federal cases. Jurisdiction is defined as the authority of a court to
hear and try cases. The federal courts only have jurisdiction over certain cases, as
most cases are heard in state courts, and not federal courts. Article III, Section 2
of the Constitution provides that federal courts may hear cases either because of
the subject matter or the parties involved in the case.
• Subject matter refers to the involvement of a “federal question.” In order for a
federal court to have jurisdiction, the subject matter must be related to the
operations or constitutional power and authority of the federal government. So,
questions regarding the constitutionality of state laws, the meaning of a particular
federal statute, or a treaty, would all be “federal questions.”
* The Federal Court System
• Rules of The Federal Courts
• A case also falls within the jurisdiction of the federal courts if one of the parties
involved in the case is:
• The United States, or one of its officers or agencies
• An ambassador, consul, or other official representative of a foreign
government, or one of its subjects
• A citizen of one state suing the citizen of another
• An American citizen suing a foreign government or one of its’ subjects
• A citizen of a state suing another citizen of that same state where both claim
title to land under grants from different states.
• Types of Jurisdictions
• Most of the cases that can be heard in a federal court fall within
their exclusive jurisdiction, meaning that they can be tried only in
federal courts
• Some cases may be tried in either a federal or state court because in
those instances they have concurrent jurisdiction, such as when cases of
diverse citizenship (involving parties from two separate states) occur,
and the money amount in question is over $75,000.00
* The Federal Court System
• Rules of The Federal Courts
• Types of Jurisdictions
• A court in which a case is first heard is said to have original jurisdiction
over that case. It is referred to as the trials court.
• A court that hears a case on appeal from a lower court exercises appellate
jurisdiction over that case. Appellate courts do not retry cases. Rather,
they determine whether a trial court has acted in accord with applicable
law. The appellate court, as a higher court, may uphold the judgements of
the lower, trial, court, overrule them, or in some way modify the decision
appealed from the lower courts.
• In the federal judiciary system, the district courts have only original
jurisdiction, and the courts of appeals have only appellate jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court mostly hears appeals, but the Constitution does give it
original jurisdiction in some cases.
* The Federal Court System
• Federal Judges
• If you recall federal judges are nominated by the President. In the practice
of Senatorial Courtesy the President will almost always nominate judges
from that state where the vacancy occurs whom the Senators from that
state recommend.
• There are no age, residency, or citizenship requirements for federal judges.
Tradition, and common sense, however, have dictated that federal judges
have an education, or professional background in the law.
• President’s consistently look to members of their own party to fill these
vacancies, and though they deny it, there is often an ideological litmus test in
order to be considered. A litmus test is a question asked of their beliefs that
they cannot vary in the answer to. For Democrats that question since the
1970’s has been “Would you vote to overturn Roe v. Wade?” and if they
answered yes, they would not be considered. For Republicans, that question
has varied with answers on overturning Roe v. Wade in the affirmative, to
protecting political donations and the right to choose whether to belong to a
union, and today would most likely be would you vote to overturn State of
Florida vs. The Department of Health and Human Services, and The State of
Virginia vs. Kathleen Sebulius which is the Obama Care cases.
* The Federal Court System
• Federal Judges
• Judicial Philosophy
• Another major impact on the judicial selection process is the judicial
philosophy of candidates. There are two main judicial philosophies:
• Judicial Activism which is a broad view of judicial power. Proponents of
this philosophy argue that provisions in the Constitution and federal
statute should be interpreted and applied in light of ongoing changes
in conditions and values, especially in cases involving civil rights and
social welfare issues.
• Judicial Restraint proponents believe that judges should decide cases
based on the original intent of the Founding Fathers who drew up the
Constitution, or those who enacted a specific statute involved in a
case.
• All federal judges make decisions in which they must interpret and apply
provisions in the Constitution and acts of Congress. That is, they often
decide questions of public policy, and in doing so they inevitably shape
public policy.
* The Federal Court System
• Federal Judges
• Terms and Pay
• The Constitution reads in part, “The Judges of both the supreme and
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior.” This means
that the judges of the constitutional courts are appointed for life, they
serve until they resign or retire or die in office. Federal judges can be
removed only by the impeachment process.
• Those justices on the special courts do not serve for life, instead they are
usually appointed for terms of up to 8 to 15 years, and may be, but
seldom are, reappointed.
• Congress has set the salaries of federal judges, and it does vary, and has
cost of living adjustments. They also have a generous retirement program
included as part of their compensation.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The District Courts
• The 50 states are divided into 89 federal judicial districts, and there are
also federal district courts for Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Each state forms at
least one judicial district and some are divided into two or more. At least
two judges are assigned to each district, but many districts have several.
• The District Courts have original jurisdiction over more than 80% of the
cases that are heard in the federal court system. The only federal cases
that do not begin in the District Courts are those few that fall within the
original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, and those cases heard by the
special courts.
• District court judges hear a wide range of both criminal and civil cases.
They try criminal cases ranging from bank robbery, kidnapping, mail fraud,
securities fraud, RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations
Act), counterfeiting, terrorism and tax evasion. They hear civil cases
arising from disputes over bankruptcy, postal, tax, public lands, civil rights
and other laws of the United States.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The Courts of Appeals
• The Courts of Appeals were created by Congress in 1891 in order to save
the Supreme Court from hearing appeals from the District Courts. At that
time the docket, or schedule of cases to be heard, by the Supreme Court
had placed them more than three years behind schedule.
• There are now 13 Courts of Appeals. The country is divided into 12
judicial circuits, including the District of Columbia, and the Courts of
Appeals are known as the United States Circuit Courts. The Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit is located in Washington, D.C., but its
jurisdiction is nationwide, while the other circuits only hear appeals from
the District Courts in their Circuit. The Federal Circuit mostly hears cases
regarding patent, copyright and international trade cases.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The Courts of Appeals
• Each of the Circuit Courts is comprised of from 6 to 28 judges (179 in all).
In addition a justice from the Supreme Court is assigned to each. For
example, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
covers Alabama, Florida and Georgia and is composed of 12 circuit judges
and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court. The judges
hold their sessions in a number of major cities throughout the circuit.
• Each court of appeals usually sits in three judge panels. Occasionally
however, and especially for an important case, a court will sit en banc,
that is with all of the judges in the circuit participating.
• The 13 courts of appeals only have appellate jurisdiction. Not only do
they hear appeals from the district courts and the special courts, but also
from the numerous regulatory agencies. The fact that less than one
percent of the decisions of the circuit courts are appealed to the Supreme
Court demonstrates their importance to the judicial system of the United
States.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The Supreme Court
• The Supreme Court of the United States is the only court specifically
created by the Constitution of the United States, and holds an equal place
in our governmental system with the President and Congress. It is led by
the Chief Justice, also a position created by the Constitution, and includes
8 other associate judges, the number of whom are established by
Congress.
• The Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction. Most of
its cases come on appeal from the lower federal courts, and from the
highest state courts. 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; those to which a state is a party and those affecting
ambassadors, other high public officials. The court may also choose to
take original jurisdiction over any case it deems to be of importance, but it
rarely does this.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The Supreme Court
• How Cases Reach the Court
• The Supreme Court sits from the first Monday in October to sometimes
the following June or July. Each term is identified by the year in which it
began, Thus the 2012 term runs from October 1, 2012 to the early
summer of 2013.
• More than 8,000 cases a year are appealed to the Supreme Court, but
they only hear a small fraction of those, and can pick and choose which
cases to accept. They will typically only choose cases that carry some
significant importance to either the; administration of justice, public
policy, and interpretation of the Constitution. Which cases to hear are
decided based on The Rule of Four, or four of the nine justices must agree
that the case is worthy of the court’s consideration. More than half of the
cases decided by the court are done so through brief orders, such as
remanding, or returning for consideration, cases to the lower courts based
on recent opinions in similar cases. The court will usually decide fewer
than 100 cases per term.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The Supreme Court
• How Cases Reach the Court
• Most cases reach the Supreme Court through an order of the court called
a Writ of Certioari. This order is made to lower courts instructing them to
send the record of a specific case to them for review. Either party can
petition the court to issue the writ, but it is usually only granted in limited
cases. When a petition for writ is denied, then the decision of the lower
court stands. It does not reflect on the merits of the case if it is denied,
just that four or more justices could not reach the decision to consider it.
• Another means by which cases reach the court is through the process of
certificate,which is when a lower court is not clear about the procedure or
the rule of law that should apply in a case, and so asks the Supreme Court
to certify the answer to a specific question in the matter.
• Most cases that reach the court do so from the highest state courts and
the federal courts of appeals. A very few come directly from the distric
courts, and an occasional one may come from the Court of Appeals for the
Armed Forces.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The Supreme Court
• How the Court Operates
• Once the court accepts a case, it will set a date on which that matter will
be heard. A s a rule, the justices consider cases on a two week cycle from
October to early May. They hear oral arguments in several cases for two
weeks, then recess for two weeks to consider those cases and handle
other court business.
• On those days in which the court hears arguments, it convenes at 10:00 a.m.
on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and sometimes Thursdays. At those
public sessions, the lawyers representing the parties in those cases the court
has placed on their docket make their oral arguments. Their presentations are
almost always limited to 30 minutes.
• The justices usually listen to an attorney’s arguments and sometimes
interrupt them with pointed questions. After 25 minutes a white light
flashes at the lectern from which the attorney addresses the court. Five
minutes later a red light signals the end of the presentation and it must
stop, even if the lawyer is in mid sentence.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The Supreme Court
• How the Court Operates
• Prior to the oral arguments, attorneys from either side must file a brief or
a written argument stating the position of their side in the case. These
detailed statements spell out the party’s legal position and are built
largely on relevant facts and the citation of precedents. Briefs often run
to hundreds of pages.
• Besides the parties to the cases, the court may receive briefs from other
interested parties to the case, such as think tanks, charitable groups, and
policy organizations. For example, in an abortion case briefs may be
received by the National Organization of Women, or the Pro Life Action
League. These briefs are intended to assist the justices in reviewing all
pertinent facts, and legal thought on the subject, and so are sent by
“friends” who just want to help. These briefs are known as amicus curiae
briefs, or friends of the court.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The Supreme Court
• How the Court Operates
• A senior officer in the Justice Department, the principal lawyer for the
United States, the Solicitor General represents the United States before
the Supreme Court in all cases to which it is a party., and may also appear
and argue before any court in which the government is a party. The
Solicitor General also has the responsibility of asking the Supreme Court
to review cases and decide what position the United States should take in
the cases it brings to the high court.
• On most Fridays through a term, the justices meet in conference. There,
in closes secrecy, they consider the cases in which they have heard oral
arguments and read briefs. Only the Chief Justice, who presides, and the
eight other justices are present at the conference. The Chief Justice leads
the discussion of each case to be considered, stating the facts,
summarizing the questions of law involved, and usually indicating how he
thinks the court should dispose of the case. The each of the other
associate justices, in order of seniority, present their views and
conclusions.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The Supreme Court
• How the Court Operates
• Using as their primary apparatus of decision making the principle of stare
decisis, or the legal principle of determining points in litigation according
to prior precedent, the court will then vote on their decision. THERE IS
NO DEBATE IN THE CONFERENCE. Once that vote is taken, the Chief
Justice will assign justices to write the opinion of the court for the winning
side, and the opinion of the court for the losing side. The winning side of
a decision is the majority, and the losing side is the minority.
• Once the majority and minority opinions are written, they are considered
in conference, and voted on again. Justices may change their minds and
vote with the other side, or may even vote on one side, but disagree with
their opinion and submit their own for voting the way they did. This is
called a dissenting opinion. Or they could agree with the majority, but for
different reasons, and again write their own opinion, this is called a
concurring opinion. Often times, the Chief Justice will write the opinion
for the side on which he voted.
* The Federal Court System
• The Federal Courts
• The Supreme Court
• How the Court Operates
• Once a case has been considered and decided in conference, the court
announces its decision in the matter, and with it issues the opinions. The
court’s opinions are extremely valuable as they set the primary
precedents to use by lower courts in stare decisis.
• While stare decisis is an important principal, it is not so firm as to ever
consider anything new or never allow reconsideration of an issue. The
Supreme Court has changed its opinions in the past. For example, the
consideration that segregation was constitutional. Oftentimes, the
minority opinions of past courts lay the groundwork for this change, and
then become the majority opinions of the future.