The American Legal System and the Courts Chapter 10 In this chapter we will learn about The notion of law and the role that it plays in democratic society The constitutional basis for the American judicial system The dual system of state and federal courts in the United States The Supreme Court and the politics that surround and support it The relationship of citizens to courts in America The role of law in democratic societies Provide security Provide predictability Resolve conflict Reflect and enforce conformity to society s values Distribute benefits and rewards society has to offer and allocate the costs of those good things Characteristics of the American legal tradition Based on common law instead of civil law Adversarial instead of inquisitorial Litigious Kinds of law Substantive laws vs procedural laws Criminal laws vs civil laws Kinds of law cont d Constitutional laws come from both state constitutions and the U S Constitution Common law from cases Statutory laws from legislatures both the U S Congress and state legislatures Administrative laws from bureaucracies and agencies Executive orders from presidents and governors The development of judicial review Hamilton and Federalist No 78 Judicial branch is the least dangerous branch of government Court had power of neither the purse nor the sword Approved of judicial review because it would check the momentary passions of the people The development of judicial review cont d Marbury v Madison John Marshall and the expansion of the power of the Supreme Court Used sparingly to strike down federal law more frequently to strike down state law Judicial review never mentioned specifically in Constitution many argue the Court gave itself this power in Marbury Understanding jurisdiction Courts with original jurisdiction U S district courts State trial courts Courts with appellate jurisdiction U S courts of appeals State intermediate appellate courts State supreme courts Court with both original and appellate jurisdiction U S Supreme Court Structure of U S Court system The federal court system has three levels federal district courts circuit courts of appeal and the U S Supreme Court The state court systems are the same trial courts all courts where trials happen appellate level courts and state supreme courts A few states have no mid level appeals courts like New Hampshire U S district courts Lowest level of federal court system 94 district courts each state has at least one Hear both criminal and civil cases Juries responsible for verdict U S courts of appeals Arranged into 12 circuits Solely appellate jurisdiction No new evidence or witnesses Panel of three judges makes ruling not a jury Selection of judges States Federal Method varies by state Appointment Nonpartisan election All federal judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate Senatorial courtesy is often invoked for lowerlevel federal courts Partisan election The U S Supreme Court Nine justices but has not always been nine Appointed by the president confirmed by the Senate Serve during good behavior for life Can be impeached Four criteria considered for Supreme Court appointments Merit Political ideology Strict constructionism vs judicial interpretivism Reward Representation Choosing which cases to hear Petitioning the Supreme Court Writ of certiorari The role of law clerks The Rule of Four only approximately 2 of all litigants filing a writ of cert will have their cases heard Other influences including whether U S government is a party in the case Deciding cases Judicial activism vs judicial restraint External factors Public opinion Executive branch Amicus briefs Writing opinions Opinion Chief justice if in the majority will assign this opinion to someone in the majority If chief justice is in the minority senior most justice in the majority assigns the opinion Concurring opinion Dissenting opinion The citizens and the courts Equal treatment by the criminal justice system Equal access to the civil justice system Controversy over low long it takes cases to move up to an appellate court Controversy of appointment of judges instead of elections