Article Three

Thomas

Sotomayor

Scalia

Kennedy

Alito Kagan

Ginsberg

Breyer

Powers given to the Judicial branch.

Chief Justice Roberts

The Supreme CourtArticle 3, Section 1: The judicial power shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as Congress may…

ordain and establish…

This branch interprets and reviews the laws of the nation. This is called Judicial Review.

Remember: Congress creates the courts and decides the number of judges.Supreme CourtFederal District Courts

There are also a myriad of other Federal Courts for:TaxesInternational TradeArmed ForcesLand/Property Disputes)

Also each state creates their own system of courts, but can be overruled by the Supreme Court.

Duties of the CourtsArticle 3, Sections 2 & 3: The SC is the court for Treason and crimes involving international ambassadors.

The Constitution doesn’t describe much. Most powers come from:Congress/laws.Appeals by lower courts that set a precedent.

What is a precedent?Arguments about rules and laws occur, naturally.

The court system is like an umpire making the final decision in a fair way, after hearing all of the evidence.

They review these laws, debate them, and then individually make a vote.

Each side then writes what their opinion is (Majority Opinion and Dissenting Opinion)

The High Court: SCOTUS(Supreme Court of the United States)

The Supreme Court is the highest in the land… you cannot challenge its ruling.“The Court of Last Resort”Its job is to review and interpret how fair the laws of our

Federal government and the 50 States are.It will hear appeals. If you don’t like a “lower court’s”

ruling, you can take it here.The Court will only hear cases that deal with the

Constitution or Federal law, or to set a precedent. Unconstitutional is when a law is either against something

written in the Constitution, or when there is no basis in the Constitution for that law.

Not just anybody can take its case here. Why?Usually hears only between 60-100 cases per year.SCOTUS carefully selects the cases it will hear, then

argue.

Supreme Court QualificationsMade up of 9 Supreme Court Justices,

and one of those is the Chief Justice (currently John Roberts).No age, citizenship, or residence

requirement.However, you must be harshly questioned

and interviewed by Senate Remember: they approve of Presidential

appointments. This can be a very demeaning (Bork), but sometimes revealing event (Thomas, Miers).

In 2005, 2 Justices were named by President Bush, a very rare occurrence. (also, the White Sox won the World Series this year)John Roberts, named Chief JusticeSamuel Alito

Once elected, you serve for life!

Lower Courts: Federal District Courts

11 District Courts (all over the country, see map).

They are the “Regional” courts in our nation below the SCOTUS.President appoints these

judges for life, too.3 Judges per district, so

33 in total.Hear the

disputes/appeals from all states within their district.

They only deal with federal laws and hear the disputes of states that have been appealed.

Paths to the Supreme Court

From the State Level

From the Federal Level