Supreme Court Structure Of The Courts

Supreme Court MembershipThe most powerful court in the country is the U.S. Supreme Court. Write one or two sentences to answer each question below about the Supreme Court.

1. How many judges are there on the Supreme Court?

2. How old does a person have to be in order to be nominated for the Supreme Court?

3. What kind of background or experience does a person need in order to be on the Supreme Court?

First of all, cases are either…Criminal - • The defendant is tried for

committing an action that has been declared illegal by law

• Bank robbery, mail fraud, tax evasion, murder, etc…

Civil - • Involves noncriminal

matter, such as a dispute over the terms of a contract

• Bankruptcy, civil rights, labor relations, terms of a contract, suing, etc…

BOTH kinds of cases can be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court

Structure of the American Judicial Systemis divided into…

Federal State

Jurisdiction: authority of a court to hear (to try and to decide) a caseLiterally means; the power to “say the law”

A women from New York sues her ex-husband for custody of their child

9% 9%

82%

1. Federal2. State3. I don’t know

A Massachusetts woman sues a man from Nevada for failure to uphold a purchase

agreement64%

0%

36%1. Federal2. State3. I don’t know

A firm from Maine sues a Canadian shipping company for failure to deliver

goods82%

18%

0%


A company in Alaska sues a local travel agent for overcharging on airfare to

other states.

36%

0%

64%


Federal or State Jurisdiction?Jurisdiction refers to the authority of a particular court to hear

particular cases. Decide which court would have jurisdiction in each scenario, federal court

or state court.

Can take the issue to be resolved by a court

but only if……the plaintiff has‘standing to sue’ – must

have a direct, personal interest in a case before he/she can sue.Can’t sue to the rights of the public/for the general interest of the world, or taxpayers

The court will hear the case if you have standing to sue

A man in Colorado is tired of illegal immigrants getting free health care at local hospitals. He wants the Court to hear his case, arguing that his tax money shouldn’t go to support hospitals that help illegal immigrants.Does he have standing to sue?

36%

0%

64%

1. Yes2. No3. I don’t know

A boy in Arizona claims he was arrested and convicted for a crime he didn’t commit. He believes his due process rights were violated by the police.Does he have standing to sue?

Yes N

o

I don’t

know

100%

0%0%


A new law has been passed that will require banks to routinely send all records of their customers checking accounts to the IRS. A man who doesn’t have a checking account would like to sue so the court will declare the law unconstitutional.Does he have standing to sue?

Yes N

o

I don’t

know

0%9%

91%


Can take the issue to be resolved by a court

but only if……the issue isn’t‘moot’ – involves a pretend

(hypothetical, academic, or abstract) situationCan’t ask ‘why did the chicken cross the road’ or ‘what’s the best way to set up a public school’, etc…

If a case is moot, the court won’t hear it!

A man says he was denied his Sixth Amendment rights to have a lawyer when he was arrested and convicted of burglary. He was released from prison after his sentence was completed last year.Is his case moot?

Yes N

o

I don’t

know

55%

0%

45%


A man is on death row for killing another man. However, he believes the undercover officer violated his 4th Amendment rights. He wishes to be released due to lack of evidence.Is his case moot?

18%

0%

82%


Federal Courts• Courts of Appeal are divided

into 94 District Courts (Texas is divided into 4 regions)– 642 judges handle more than

300,000 cases a year– Constitutional Courts– Legislative Courts

• Country is divided into 13 Courts of Appeal (TX, LA, MS all in 5th Circuit)– They are inferior courts

• the lower federal courts that function beneath the Supreme Court.

If you don’t like the result of your case you can APPEAL

• Appeal: a higher court may uphold, overrule, or in some way modify the decision appealed from the lower court– The higher court, however,

doesn’t always HAVE to hear your case!!!

• Cases must make their way through the court system before they get to the Supreme Court. Otherwise they are not considered ‘ripe’

SUPREME COURT

According to Supreme Court tradition, how many justices must agree to hear a case?

0%

10%

60%

30%

0%0%

1. None2. 13. 34. 45. 56. All 9

Will your case make it all the way to the Supreme Court???

• Not all cases that are submitted to the Supreme Court are heard by the court.

• Most are dismissed by the court.

• Role of Solicitor General is key• If four justices want to hear

the case, the case is heard. This is called the ‘rule of four.’

• If court decides to grant a petition for review it will issue a writ of certiorari

How does the Supreme Court Operate?

• No witnesses, no jury• simply oral testimony from

attorneys from both parties• Justices can interrupt attorneys

at any time to ask questions (which comes out of their total 30 minutes)• Justices decide which side

has the CONSTUTITIONAL argument – not who’s RIGHT

• Announces the court’s opinion a few months later

Opinions of the Court• Each justice records an opinion

on the case– (who won?)(5-4, 6-3, etc…)

• One justice will write a ‘majority opinion’– stating why the majority decided

why they did

• A different justice will write a ‘dissenting opinion’– stating why they disagree with the

majority

• Also, a judge can choose to write a ‘concurring opinion’– agreeing with the majority, but

for different reasons Chief Justice John Roberts

Selection of JudgesWhat would the best way to select a Judge for the job?

Nomination and Confirmation Process

Judges are nominated by the President

And confirmed by 2/3rds vote in the Senate

Was nominated by George W. Bush in

2005, but not confirmed by the

Senate

Sam Alito

Harriet Myers

Who’s on the Supreme Court?

All but one attended law school at Harvard or Yale.All but two are men.All but two are white.None of the justices have held elective office.All are former federal appeals court judges.

Thomas

StevensRoberts

(Chief Justice) Scalia

Alito

Ginsberg

Breyer

Kennedy

‘Access to the Supreme Court’ Activity

6 were appointed by Republicans3 were appointed by Democrats

Term is for LIFEpay is good, but retirement benefits are better

Sotomayor

Judges can…be Judicial ‘Activists’Believe that a judge should use his or her position to promote desirable social endsFor example, cases involving civil rights or social welfare issues

have Judicial ‘Restraint’In making judicial decisions, judges should defer to the actions of the executive branches – except in cases where those actions are clearly unconstitutional.

Supreme Court Structure Of The Courts

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