Chapter  18 Study Guide

The Creation of a National Judiciary- under the Articles of Confederation, there were no national courts and no national judiciary. Decisions in each State were ignored by the other.

A Dual Court System- national judiciary spans the country with more than 100 courts. Each of the States has their own system.

Two Kinds of Different Courts- Constitutional courts are federal courts that Congress formed and include appeals, district courts and Court of International Trade. Special Courts were created to hear cases arising out of some of the expressed powers.

Jurisdiction- the authority of a court to hear and decide a case. It literally means the power “to say the law”.

Subject Matter- interpretation and application of a procession in the Constitution. Question of admiralty or maritime law arising on land by the water.

Parties- if a case does not fit in one of the party categories, it cannot be heard in a federal court. It then goes to the State courts.

Exclusive- those cases can be heard only in the federal courts. This works with a person being charged of a federal crime or patent or copyright issue.

Concurrent Jurisdiction- share the power to hear those cases. Disputes with citizens of different States are common.

Plaintiff- the one who initiates the suite. They may bring the case in the proper State of federal court.

Defendant- the party who must defend against the complaint. They may have it moved to the federal district court.

Original- a court in which a case is heard for the first time. This is happens when you first most to court with a complaint.

Appellate Jurisdiction- a court that hears a case on appeal from a lower court. They can uphold, overrule or modify the decision appealed from the lower court.

Appointment of judges- they are chosen, the terms and even salaries are already determined. This also happens with federal judges.

Terms and Pay of Judges- occurring to the constitutional courts, judges are appointed for life. They can be removed, only, by impeachment.

Court Officers- federal judges are actually not involved in the day-to-day administrative operations of the court. They appoint a clerk who keeps records and other things the judge wants them to do.

District Courts/ Jurisdiction- there are 632 judges that handle 300,000 cases a year and 80% are federal caseload. District courts were created by Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789.

Jurisdiction- district courts have original jurisdiction over most cases in federal cases. That amounts to saying that district courts are principal trial courts in the federal system.

The Courts of Appeals/ Jurisdiction- they were established as “gatekeepers” to relieve the Supreme Court of hearing appeals from district courts. There are 12 courts of appeals in the judicial system.

The Court of International Trade- there are 9 judges who are the chief judges that hear civil cases arising out of the tariff and other trade-related laws. Appeals are taken to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit- tribunal to centralize and speed up the handling of appeals in certain civil cases.

Judicial Review- the Marbury vs. Madison case in 1803 gave the judicial branch to interpret the law by the Constitution. It also called for judges being sworn to enforce the Constitution.

How Cases Reach the Court- the Court selects those cases it will hear according to “the rule of four”, which is 4 of the 9 judges must vote to hear it. If turned down, it is given to the lower court.

Writ of certiorari- “to be made more certain.” An order by the Court directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review.

Certificate- process is used when a lower court is not clear about the procedure or the rule of law that should apply in a case. The lower court asks the Supreme Court to certify the question.

The Supreme Court at Work- they sit from the first Monday in October to the following June or July. Each term is identified by year.

Oral Arguments- listen to oral arguments for two weeks, recess for two weeks and consider the cases and other Court business. Arguments are limited to 30 minutes each so not to drag hearing.

Briefs- written documents filed with the Court before oral arguments. They are detailed statements that support one side of the case, numbering in the 1000’s of pages.

The Solicitor General- a principal officer in the Department of Justice. Represent the US in all cases to which it is a party in the Supreme Court. They decide which cases the government should ask the Supreme Court to review.

The Conference- on Wednesdays and Fridays, the justices meet to consider cases for the oral arguments. The Chief Justice presides over the conference and pools the justices to see where they stand.

Opinions- if the chief justice is the majority, they ask for writings of the Court’s opinion. When minority, it is handled by the senior associate justice on the majority side.

Majority opinion- it is 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- if one or more justices agree with the Court’s decision. This is to make or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion.

Dissenting opinions- if one or more justices disagree with the Court’s decision. This shows the points that the majority opinion showed are too strong.

The U.S. Federal Claims Court- the United States cannot be sued by anyone in any court for any reason without its consent. This intended to prevent the government from being “hamstrung” in its own court.

Redress- satisfaction of the claim, payment only by an act of Congress. In 1855, the Congress set up the Court of Claims to hear pleas.

The Territorial Courts- “makes all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory…” These courts are in the Virgin Islands and Guam.

The Courts of the District of Columbia- “to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District…” Congress has set up a court in the capital so not to swamp the Supreme Court with civil cases.

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces- “to make rules for the government and regulations of the land and naval forces.” Its chief judge and four associates are not member of the armed forces but are appointed by the President for 15 years.

The Court of Veterans Appeals- “constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court.” Composed of a chief judge and 6 associate judges appointed by the President for 15 years.

The United States Tax Court- acts under the constitutional granted power to tax. Judges (19) are named by the President for 12 years.