December 2, 2008

CHAPTER 14

ROLE OF COURTS IN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

• Courts shape policies that form the heart of American democracy
• because judges tend to accept the rulings of other courts in a similar case, judges, in effect, make policy with their decisions.
  
• The supreme court makes fundamental decisions that are vital to the preservation of representative institutions.

THE CONSTITUTION ONLY ESTABLISHES THE SUPREME COURT

• The constitution has language that implies the creation of state courts
• Congress has adopted the judiciary act of 1789 that provided for a system of federal courts that coexist with courts of each state
• Constitutional courts- exercise judicial power found in Article III of the constitution so judges are given the constitution's protection of lifetime terms. There are 94 district courts and 13 courts of appeal.
• Legislative courts- these called Article I courts because they help carry out congress' legislative power
• During its first decade the supreme court was not especially powerful.
• The court's power was boosted under John Marshall who authored the opinion in Marbury v. Madison. This established the power of judicial review: This is the power to declare congressional acts invalid because they conflict with other legislation
• Judicial review has power over state laws and executive actions
• Hamilton anticipated the power of judicial review and discussed it in Federalist No. 78. With this, he sought to minimize the people's fear of judicial review

STATE COURTS

• Each state has its own court system and no two are alike
• They coexist with the federal court system and individuals are under jurisdiction of both court systems
• State courts handle and resolve the majority of legal disputes.

FEDERAL COURTS

• Like a pyramid, the supreme court is at the apex, the U.S. courts of appeals are in the middle, and U.S. district courts serve as the base.

COURT FUNDAMENTALS

• A crime is a violation of public order defined in the criminal code. The code is legislation that regulates conduct and specifies sanctions for violation.
• Government maintains order by prosecuting persons for violating criminal code. These are called criminal cases.
• Most criminal cases are prosecuted in state courts but some are prosecuted in federal court
• Civil cases stem from disputes between people and or government over something of value(accidents, breaking contract, divorce, etc.)
• The government can be a party in a civil dispute
• Few cases ever go to trial because most are settled out of court
  
• When a judge decides a case it is said to be adjudicated. To support a decision, judges may give their reasons through writing an opinion

U.S. DISTRICT COURTS

• There are 94 district courts that have original jurisdiction
  
• Each case is heard by a single judge; depending on the case, there may or may not be a jury.
• District courts cover federal criminal cases, civil cases that allege violations of national law, civil cases against national government, civil cases between citizens of different states where the amount exceeds $50,000
• Cases that are litigated beyond the federal district courts usually go to the regional appeals courts; 12 of these courts cover cases from geographic areas called circuits
• Judges in these courts sit in panels of 3; they aim at correcting errors in lower courts and making policy through opinions they write.
  
• Opinion writing gives judges influence beyond the immediate case
• Precedent is a decision in one case that provides a reason for deciding a similar case in the same way.
• This can be described by the Greek phrase Stare decisis which means "let the decision stand"
• Judicial policy occurs when

1. the judges interpret prior judicial decisions. This is called common law or judge-made law
2. the judges interpret legislation. This is called statutory construction
3. judges interpret the constitution. This is called Judicial Review