The American Justice System

In Its Simplest Form

The American Court StructureThe U.S. has a dual court system.

dual courtOne system of state and local courts and another system of federal courts.

What do Courts Do?

The Adversarial SystemCourts settle civil disputes

between private parties, a private party and the government, or the United States and a state or local government.

Each side presents its position. The court applies the law and decides in favor of one or the other.

Prosecuting the accusedCourts also hold

criminal trials for people accused of crimes.

Witnesses present evidence and a jury or a judge delivers a verdict of guilt or innocence.

Rights of the AccusedAll accused people have the right to a

public trial and a lawyer. If they cannot afford a lawyer, the court will appoint and pay for one. (Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963)

Accused people are considered innocent until proven guilty. They may ask for a review of their case by a higher court if they think thecourt has made a mistake. This review is called an appeal.

http://sunnylandsclassroom.org/Asset.aspx?Id=1494

The American Legal System

The goal of the legal system is equal justice under the law.

This goal is difficult to achieve.Why is the goal of equal justice under the law

difficult to achieve?

Structure of the Courts

The American Court StructureThe court’s jurisdiction is set by law and limited by territory and type of case.

jurisdictionThe authority of a court to hear and decide cases.

The US Federal

Court System

The Federal CourtsThe authority for the federal court system is in the Constitution. The system includes:

• The Supreme Court• The federal courts of appeals• The federal district courts

United States District Courts• Trials in federal district court are usually

heard by a judge.• General trial courts• Federal criminal cases involve:

Bank robbery Counterfeiting Mail fraud Kidnapping Civil rights abuses

Circuit Courts of Appeals

A party that loses a case in district court may appeal to a federal circuit court of appeals, or in some cases, directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Circuit Courts of Appeals• Circuit courts of appeals review a case

for errors of law, not of fact.• Normally, three judges sit as a panel to hear

cases. Jury trials are not allowed.• Texas is in the 5th Circuit along with

Louisiana and Mississippi

The Supreme Court Justices

The main job of the nation's top court is to decide whether laws are allowable under the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction only in cases involving foreign diplomats or a state. All other cases come to the Court on appeal.

The Court chooses the cases it hears through the writ of Certiorari.

The Court chooses the cases it hears. In cases the Court refuses to hear, the decision of the lower court stands.

The United States Supreme Court• Court of last resort in all questions of

federal law and U.S. Constitution.• The court may hear cases:

Appealed from federal courts of appeal. Appealed directly from federal district

courts. Appealed from the high court of a state,

if claims under federal law or the Constitution are involved.

The United States Supreme CourtThe U.S. Supreme Court is composed of:• A chief justice• Eight associate justicesEach member of the court is appointed for life by the president and affirmed by the Senate.

The United States Supreme Court• In order for a case to be heard by the

Supreme Court, at least four justices must vote to hear the case.

The United States Supreme Court

When the court decides a case, it can:

• Affirm the decision of the lower court and “let it stand.”

• Modify the decision of the lower court, without totally reversing it.

continued…

The United States Supreme Court• Reverse the decision of the lower court, requiring

no further court action.• Reverse the decision of the lower court and

remand the case to the court of original jurisdiction, for either retrial or resentencing.

Powers of the CourtThe Court's main job is to decide whether laws

and government actions are constitutional, or allowed by the Constitution. It does this through judicial review—the power to say whether any law or government action goes against the Constitution.

The legislative and executive branches must follow Supreme Court rulings. Because the Court is removed from politics and the influences of special-interest groups, the parties involved in a case are likely to get a fair hearing.

Powers of the USSC

Marbury v. Madison The Constitution does not give

the Supreme Court the power of judicial review. The Court claimed the power when it decided the case Marbury v. Madison.

As President John Adams was leaving office, he signed an order making William Marbury a justice of the peace. The incoming president, Thomas Jefferson, refused to carry out the order. Marbury took his case to the Supreme Court.

The Power of Judicial Review

In the Court's opinion, Chief Justice John Marshall set forth three principles of judicial review:

(1) The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. (2) If a law conflicts with the Constitution, the

Constitution rules. (3) The judicial branch has a duty to uphold the

Constitution. Thus, it must be able to determine when a law conflicts with the Constitution and nullify that law.

Through its rulings, the Supreme Court interprets the meaning of laws, helping the police and other courts apply them.

Limits on the Courts' Power

The Court depends on the executive branch and state and local officials to enforce its decisions. Usually they do.

Congress can get around a Court ruling by passing a new law, changing a law ruled unconstitutional, or amending the Constitution.

The president's power to appoint justices and Congress's power to approve appointments and to impeach and remove justices serve to check the power of the Court.

The Court cannot decide that a law is unconstitutional unless the law has been challenged in a lower court and the case comes to it on appeal. The Court accepts only cases that involve a federal question. It usually stays out of political questions. It never considers guilt or innocence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQfJxP4MIO0

Supreme Court Justices

Today’s Court……

Antonin Scalia• Associate Justice• Appointed by Ronald

Reagan.• Took his seat on the High

Court on 9/26/86. (longest current serving)

• Graduate of Georgetown and Harvard Law.

• Born 3/11/36.• RIGHT leaning….

Anthony Kennedy• Associate Justice• Appointed by Ronald

Reagan.• Took his seat on the High

Court on 2/18/88.• Graduated from Stanford

and Harvard Law.• Born 7/23/36.• Moderate….

Clarence Thomas• Associate Justice• Appointed by

George HW Bush.• Took his seat on the

High Court on 10/23/91.

• Graduate of Holy Cross and Yale Law

• Born 6/23/48.• RIGHT leaning….

Ruth Bader Ginsburg• Associate Justice• Appointed by

William Clinton.• Took her seat on the

High Court on 8/10/93.

• Graduate of Cornell and Columbia Law.

• Born 3/15/33.• LEFT leaning….

Stephen Breyer• Associate Justice.• Appointed by William

Clinton.• Took his seat on the

High Court on 8/3/94• Graduate of Stanford

and Harvard Law.• Born 8/15/38.• LEFT leaning….

John Roberts• Chief Justice • Appointed by George

W. Bush.• Took his seat on High

Court on 9/25/05.• Graduate of Harvard

and Harvard Law• Born 1/27/55• Right leaning….

Samuel Alito • Associate Justice.• Appointed By George

W. Bush.• Took his seat on the

High Court on 1/31/06.• Graduate of Princeton

and Yale Law.• Born 4/1/50.• Right leaning….

Sona Sotomayor• Associate Justice.• Appointed by Barack

Obama.• Took her seat on the

High Court on 8/8/2009.• Graduate of Princeton

and Yale Law.• Born 6/25/54• Left leaning….

Elena Kagan• Associate Justice• Appointed by

Barack Obama.• Took her seat on the

High Court on 8/7/10.

• Graduate of Princeton, Oxford, and Harvard Law School

• Born 9/17/39.• Left leaning….

The State CourtsThe state courts have general power to decide nearly every type of case.

There are generally four levels of state courts:• Trial courts of limited jurisdiction• Trial courts of general jurisdiction• Intermediate appellate courts• State courts of last resort