The Judicial Branch

“Blind Justice”

I. The Judicial Branch has an important role in the system of checks and balances. The federal courts can:

•Declare laws passed by Congress and the president unconstitutional

•Declare executive acts unconstitutional

Remember, however, that Congress must approve any judicial appointments and may impeach judges. The president appoints most federal judges.

In the U.S., there are two types of court:

Civil Court and Criminal Court(two parties can’t agree) (someone has broken a law) plaintiff v. defendant

Plaintiff is the person bringing the complaint

Defendant is the one defending

themselves

ex. ~ Burdick v. Chuderewicz

State v. defendantState is also known as the prosecution.

Defendant is the person defending his or her actions.

ex. ~ State of California v. Petersen

or Commonwealth of VA v. McLean

Different courts have different areas of authority, or jurisdictions. A court’s jurisdiction describes its authority to hear and decide a particular case.

Original Jurisdiction means a court has the authority to hear a case for the first time.

Appellate Jurisdiction means a court has the authority to hear a case that has been appealed to it by a lower court.

What types of cases are heard by Federal Courts?

A case would go to federal court if it dealt with:

• bankruptcy • crimes on federal property • disputes between states • cases involving the federal government • constitutional questions• disputes between citizens of different states • federal laws, including counterfeiting and kidnapping• disputes involving foreign governments • admiralty and maritime law • cases involving foreign diplomats

Federal or State Court?Determine whether the following cases would

go to federal or state court: Man accused of kidnapping has his day in court

Auto dealership declares bankruptcy Woman accused of killing husband with frying pan Bank robber pleads not guilty Virginia fisherman sues Maryland for limiting fishing rights in

the Chesapeake Bay Grand jury indicts lawyer for role in embezzlement scheme Minnesota man arrested for violating the terms of a treaty with Canada Ambassador to Russia arrested for espionage and returned to US for trial Virginia Beach soccer mom arrested for drunk driving on Fort Story Bus driver accused of reckless driving when bus tips over on Holland Road

The federal court system looks like this:

U.S. District Court

(judge with jury)

Jurisdiction: original

U.S. Court of Appeals

(justices/no jury)

Jurisdiction: appellate

U.S. Supreme Court

(9 justices only)

Jurisdiction: appellate and limited

original

~ The U.S. District Court is the first federal court a case would be heard in. It has original jurisdiction because it is the first federal court to hear the case. It has a judge and a jury.

~ The U.S. Court of Appeals is the next highest court a case may go to. It has appellate jurisdiction in all cases. It has only a three-judge panel to hear the appeal and no jury. The panel reviews the case and may do one of three things:

•Uphold the lower court’s ruling•Overturn the lower court’s ruling•Remand (return ) the case to a lower court for a new trial

~The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. It is sometimes called the “court of last resort.”

Cases that are appealed to the Supreme Court are not automatically heard--the court may choose which cases to hear and which to send back to lower courts for retrial. The court usually only agrees to hear cases that pose serious constitutional questions or are of great public interest. About 6,000 cases are appealed to the Supreme Court every year--about 150 are actually heard by the court.

II. The state and local courts are where most cases are tried in the United States. Virginia State courts also decide whether or not laws and orders passed by the governor and General Assembly are constitutional.

The Virginia Court system looks like this:

General District Court

(local only)Judge only

Hears misdemeanor cases and civil cases of

less than $1,000Juvenile and

Domestic Relations Court

(local only)Judge only

hears juvenile and family cases

Juvenile courts have more latitude (flexibility) in sentencing

Circuit Court(state court)

Judge and juryhears felony cases and civil cases over

$1,000hears appeals from

lower courts

Court of Appeals of Virginia(state court)

panel of judges/no jury

only hears appeals from the circuit

courts

Virginia Supreme Court

(state court)Justices only/no

jurycourt of final

appeals within the state

hears appeals from the state

court of appeals

Local courtsState courts