Judicial Branch

2 Types of Court Cases

1. Civil*: disputes between people– Plaintiff vs. Defendant

2. Criminal*: charging a person of a crime– Prosecution vs. Defendant– Misdemeanor or Felony

Criminal Procedure1. Arrest suspect: Read rights and the suspect is

booked for the crime.2. Preliminary hearing: Judge sets bail.

Criminal Procedure (continued)

3. Indictment*: If there is enough evidence, judge formally charges the suspect

4. Arraignment*: The defendant enters a plea to the crimes.

• Guilty: accepts punishment• Plea bargain*: can sometimes

negotiate for a lesser punishment• Not-Guilty: trial date is set

Criminal Procedure (continued)

5. Trial: Decided by 12 jurors who must decide guilt unanimously “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

• Jurors are regularcitizens performingjury duty

Jury Decision• Acquittal*: The whole jury decides not guilty. • Guilty: The whole jury decides guilty

– The judge will then set a date for sentencing.

• Hung jury*: The jury cannot make a unanimous decision. – This is a mistrial and the case may be retried

Juvenile Cases• The goal is rehabilitation*.• No jury trial. The judge decides.

• Juveniles are not fingerprinted or photographed. • Identity is kept secret. • Records can be erased as adults.

• Ward of the court*: Court may become guardian.

Write-To-LearnWhat is the message of this poster?

Jurisdiction

• Federal Courts will hear a case if it involves:– Constitutional issues– Breaking a federal law– Suing the government– Disputes between different states (Sup.Crt.)– Disputes with different countries (Sup.Crt.)

Levels of Federal Court System

FederalCourts

Levels of Government

District Courts

• Lowest level of the federal court system• Original jurisdiction*: Authority to hear cases

for the first time.• Only federal courts with jury trials.• 90% of all court cases are decided in district

courts.

Court Officials• Judges: Decide procedure and punishment. • Magistrate*: Issue court orders and warrants.

– Like a judge’s assistant

• US Attorney: Try to prove a suspect is guilty. • Marshal*: Arrest suspects, brings defendants

to court, and serves subpoenas.– Subpoena*: Order requiring a person to appear in

court.

Court of Appeals

• Appellate jurisdiction*: Hear only cases that have been appealed from district courts.

• Circuit*: Geographic area an appeals court has jurisdiction in.

• Writ of Certiorari*: Directs a lower court to send records for review.

• There are 12 appellate courts in the US

Supreme Court

• Original jurisdiction (sometimes)– Issues with foreign countries– Multiple states are involved.

• Appellate jurisdiction on everything else.• Decisions can not be appealed.

Supreme Court

• Their job is to interpret and defend the Constitution

Amendments

• Changes to the Constitution • The first ten amendments are called the Bill of

Rights.• Only 27 amendments in 221 years

The First Amendment*

• Protects the freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, and right to petition the government. (SPARP)

2nd Amendment*—Right to Bear Arms

• “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Third Amendment*

• The Government cannot force you to shelter soldiers in your home without your consent.

Fourth Amendment*

• No illegal search and seizure.• Police must have a warrant and probable

cause

Fifth Amendment

• You cannot be tried for the same crime twice—called “Double Jeopardy”

• You do not have to testify against yourself. (right to remain silent)– “I plead the fifth”

• You must have due process* of law before you are convicted

• Eminent domain: The government cannot take your land unless they pay you for it.

Sixth Amendment

• Right to speedy trial by impartial jury• You must be told of charges

– Called the writ of habeas corpus*

• You must be provided a lawyer if you cannot afford one

Seventh Amendment

Eighth Amendment

• No excessive bail

• No cruel or unusual punishment

Ninth Amendment

• Protects any rights of the people that are not specifically mentioned in the Constitution. – “Silent Rights” examples??

Tenth Amendment

• States that any power not granted to the federal government belongs to the states or to the people.

• “Reserved Powers”

11th and 12th Amendment• 11th (1795) – Places limits on suits against states

– Federal courts have limited jurisdiction over state courts

• 12th (1804)– Revises procedures for electing president and vice president– President and Vice President must be on same ballot

Civil War Amendments 13th, 14th, & 15th

• 13th Amendment (1865) – Abolished slavery and any other forced labor.– Abolish*= stop the practice of,

to make illegal– Exception punishment for a

crime• Ex. Chain gangs and clean up

crews are legal

Civil War Amendments 13th, 14th, & 15th

• 14th Amendment* (1868) – Grants citizenship for African Americans

• “Equal protection of the laws”

Civil War Amendments 13th, 14th, & 15th

• 15th Amendment* (1870) – Gave African American males suffrage– Suffrage* = the right to vote

16th and 17th Amendments• 16th Amendment (1913) – Establishes the right

for the government to impose an income tax on citizens.

• 17th Amendment (1913) – Direct elections for Senators.– State legislatures were

in charge of this before

18th, 19th, & 20th Amendments• 18th Amendment (1917)

– Prohibition – no more legal alcohol.

• 19th Amendment* (1920) – Gave women suffrage.

• 20th Amendment (1933) – Moved inauguration date from March to January.

21st, 22nd, & 23rd Amendment

• 21st Amendment* (1933) – Overturned 18th amendment. Ended Prohibition. Only amendment to repeal another.– Repeal*= to make null and void

• 22nd Amendment (1951) – Limits the President to 2 terms.

• 23rd Amendment (1961) – Gave Washington D.C. electoral college votes

24th, 25th, 26th, & 27th Amendments

• 24th Amendment (1964) – Abolished Poll Tax– Used before to keep certain groups from voting

• 25th Amendment (1967) – Established the presidential line of succession

• 26th Amendment* (1971) – Lowered voting age to 18 years old.

• 27th Amendment (1992) – Limits Congressional pay raises.

Sup.Crt. Justices

• There are nine justices• Thurgood Marshall = first African-American

justice in 1967• Sandra Day O’Connor = first female justice in

1981.• Sonia Sotomayor = first Hispanic justice in 2009• Elena Kagan = most recent addition to SupCrt in

2010

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2010-03-13-supreme-court-justice-bios_N.htm

Current salary for the Chief Justice is $223,500 per year, while the Associate Justices each make $213,900.

SupCrt Desicions• Majority opinion: Written by a justice that

voted with the majority.• Dissenting opinion*: Written by those who

oppose the majority.• Concurring opinion*: Written by a justice that

agrees with the majority but may have different reasons.

Pictionary Rules

• 3 teams, create a rotation of the order you will draw• Pick a picture vocab term and DO NOT say which one

you picked• Draw clues to get your team to guess the term

– May not use letters or numbers

• If your team cannot guess the term in 1.5 minute, the other teams have a chance to steal

• First 15 min– can use your notes• Last 15 min – cannot use your notes