Our Federal Court System

“Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation.”

– Alexander Hamilton

Establishing the Court SystemThe Articles of Confederation

No national courtNo national judiciary

This created problems:The laws of the United States were interpreted

and applied as each State saw fit, and sometimes not at all

Disputes between two states were decided, if at all, in one of the two states involved, however . . . Often these decisions were ignored by the courts in

other states.

A Dual Court System

We have two separate court systems in the United StatesNational court system (more than 100 courts)State court system (more than 1000 courts)

Most cases are heard in state, not federal, courts

The Two Types of Federal Courts

The Supreme CourtInferior Courts

1. The Constitutional Courts Federal courts that Congress has formed under

Article III to exercise “the judicial power of the United States”

2. The Special Courts Created by Congress to hear cases arising out of

some of the expressed powers given to Congress in Article I

The Constitutional Courts1. 12 U.S. Courts of Appeals

2. 94 District Courts

3. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

4. U.S. Court of International Trade

The Special Courts1. U.S. Court of Federal Claims

2. Territorial Courts

3. U.S. Tax Court

4. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

5. U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

6. Courts of the District of ColumbiaWashington D.C.

The Supreme CourtThe only court specifically created by the

ConstitutionArticle III, Section I

Made up of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate judges

Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life or until they retireThey are appointed by the President

Can you name any of the Supreme Court justices?

John G. Roberts, Jr.17th Chief Justice of the

United States Supreme Court

Attended:HarvardHarvard Law School

ConservativeNominated by President

George W. Bush Took his seat September

29, 2005, after the death of former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

John Paul StevensAssociate JusticeAttended:

University of ChicagoNorthwestern

University’s School of Law

LiberalNominated by President

Gerald Ford Took his seat December

19, 1975

Antonin ScaliaAssociate JusticeAttended:

Georgetown UniversityUniversity of Fribourg

(Switzerland) Harvard Law School

ConservativeNominated by

President Ronald Reagan

Took his seat September 26, 1986

Anthony M. KennedyAssociate JusticeAttended:

Stanford UniversityThe London School

of EconomicsHarvard Law School

Swing voterNominated by

President Ronald Reagan

Took his seat on February 18, 1988

Clarence ThomasAssociate JusticeAttended:

Conception SeminaryThe Holy Cross

CollegeYale Law School

ConservativeNominated by George

H.W. BushTook his seat on

October 23, 1991

Ruth Bader GinsburgAssociate JusticeAttended:

Cornell UniversityHarvard Law SchoolColumbia Law School

LiberalNominated by

President Bill ClintonTook her seat on

August 10, 1993

Stephen G. BreyerAssociate JusticeAttended:

Stanford UniversityThe Magdalen College

(Oxford)Harvard Law School

LiberalNominated by

President Bill ClintonTook his seat on

August 3, 1994

Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.One of the newest

members of the Supreme CourtAppointed after the

retirement of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

Associate JusticeConservativeNominated by George

W. Bush Took his seat on

January 31, 2006

Sonia SotomayorAssociate JusticeAttended:

Princeton UniversityYale Law School

LiberalFirst Latina justice;

third female justiceNominated by Barack

ObamaReplaced David Souter

in August of 2009

Judicial ReviewDefinition: the power of a court to determine

the constitutionality of a government action

Most courts in this country both federal and state may exercise this critically important power, however . . .

The ultimate exercise of that power rests with the Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court JurisdictionThe Supreme Court has both original and

appellate jurisdiction, most cases come to the Supreme Court through:

Appellate JurisdictionThis means that they arrived there after going

through the appeals process These cases have already been through the

highest state courts and the lower federal courtsThere are, on average, some 8,000 cases that

reach the Supreme Court through the appeals process each year

Supreme Court JurisdictionOriginal Jurisdiction

The Supreme Court can hear two classes of cases:1. Those to which a State is a party2. Those affecting ambassadors, other public ministers,

and consulsCongress cannot enlarge on this constitutional

grant of original jurisdiction, however . . . Congress was able to create a constitutional provision

granting the Supreme Court to also have exclusive jurisdiction over:

1. All controversies involving two or more states

2. All cases brought against ambassadors or other public ministers, but not consuls.

How Cases Reach the CourtThere are two ways in which cases reach the

Supreme Court1. By the writ of certiorari (Latin)

Means “to be made more certain” This writ is an order by the Supreme Court for a lower

court to send up the record in a given case for its review

Either party in a case can petition the Court to issue a writ, but cert is only granted in a limited number of cases – usually only when an important Constitutional question arises.

2. By certificate This is much less common, cases which arrived on

certificate arrive because a lower court is not clear about the procedure or the rule of law that should apply in a case.

How the Court Operates Briefs

Briefs are written documents filed with the Court before oral arguments begin

These detailed statements support one side of a case, presenting arguments built largely on relevant facts and the citation of previous cases

Oral Arguments When the Supreme Court accepts a case, it sets a

date for the case to be heard Typically they consider cases in two week cycles

They hear oral arguments for weeks, then recess for two weeks to consider those cases

The Court in ConferenceThe Justices meet in conference twice a week on

Wednesdays and Fridays; here, they consider in secrecy the oral arguments they’ve heard

The Chief Justice presides over the conference, he speaks first on each case and usually indicates how he intends to vote

He is followed by the Associate Justices who speak in order based on seniority (how long they’ve served)

Once each Justice has issued their initial opinion, they debate

Issuing OpinionsAbout a third of the Supreme Court’s decisions

are unanimous, most find the Court divided.Opinions

Majority OpinionConcurring OpinionDissenting Opinions

PrecedenceThe written opinions of the Court are extremely

valuable, the majority opinion stands as precedence; that is, as an example to be followed in similar cases should they arise in lower courts.

OpinionsMajority Opinion

Officially called the Opinion of the Court, it announces the Court’s decision in a case and sets out the reasoning on which it is based.

Concurring Opinion Often one or more of the justices who agree with the Court’s

decision may write a concurring opinion, this is usually done to add or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion.

Dissenting Opinion Often written by those justices who do not agree with the Court’s

majority decision; on rare occasions, the Court does reverse itself . . . the minority opinion of today could become the Court’s majority position in the future.

Knowing this, why is it considered such a big deal when a seat opens up and the President has the opportunity to fill it?