POLS 1101 Lecture 15Outline of Last Lecture I. Constitutional BasisII. Federal Court StructureIII. Federal Appeals Courts CircuitsIV. State Courts and the Electoral ConnectionV. Establishing Judicial PowerVI. Marbury v. Madison (1803)VII. Supremacy of Federal Courts and Federal LawOutline of Current Lecture I. The Appeals Procedure in the State and Federal SystemsII. Common Law and Legal PrecedentIII. The Path of a Supreme Court CaseIV. Supreme Court Justices’ IdeologyV. Minority Rights versus Majority RuleVI. Restraint versus ActivismVII. Politics of Judicial AppointmentsCurrent Lecture: I. The Appeals Procedure in the State and Federal SystemsII. Common Law and Legal Precedent- The U.S. operates largely under a common law systemLEGAL MODELThe legal model assumes that judges submit to the law when making decisions. If a judge has any personal preference for an outcome in a case, it is assumed that he or she leaves these preferences aside and defers to the facts of the case, the plain meaning of the Constitution or statute, the intention of its framers, or legal precedent when making his or her decision.STRATEGIC MODELThe strategic model acknowledges that judges seek to achieve policy goals. But it also acknowledges that they are subject to certain constraints in doing so. Since they cannot act simply according to preference, they must act strategically to achieve their goals given the constraints.ATTITUDINAL MODELThis model of judicial decision making posits that a judge’s behavior can be predicted largely by his or her policy attitudes. It perceives judges of the court as motivated by policy goals and unconstrained by the law. Thus, they decide cases according to ideological preference rather than by the meaning or intention of legal texts or by precedent.a. Higher-level courts set legal precedentsb. Stare decisis: let the decision standc. Overturning of precedentd. Common law used in Britain as well- Many other countries have a civil law system: FranceIII. The Path of a Supreme Court Case- Deciding what cases to heara. The “rule of four” and writ of certiorarib. Court receives about 8,000 petitions a year and takes fewer than 80 cases- Often pick cases where lower court decisions are at odds- Lower court ruling stands if the Supreme Court doesn’t take the case- Once a case is granted “cert” the two sides submit briefs- Others also submit briefs as amicus curiae- Oral arguments allow each side to make its case before the Court - Justices meet in a private conference- Discuss case and opinion writingIV. Supreme Court Justices’ IdeologyV. Minority Rights versus Majority Rule- Minority groups historically have turned to the courts to help overturn discriminatory lawsa. Fighting of Jim Crow laws in the South- Courts can protect rights and liberties- Often courts follow public opinionVI. Restraint versus Activism- Categorize judges based on their philosophical approach to the lawa. Strict constructivism & judicial restraintb. Judicial activism- Judiciary is the least political branch, but still deeply politicala. Today activism can be seen by both liberal and conservative justicesVII. Politics of Judicial Appointments- Appointments have become more contentious and confirmations have slowed down- The more ideological the nominee, the more contentious- Judicial appointments are a way for presidents to leave a