PSCI Final Exam Study Guide The Federal Judiciary Purpose of Courts courts are a forum for the resolution of disputes they make policies settle arguments between different branches and levels of government AKA Problem solvers Types of Jurisdiction jurisdiction is the authority a court has to hear a case Hierarchical Jurisdiction authority to serve in original or appellate roles Original FACT DECISION the authority of a court to make a decision based on the cases facts Appellate PREVIOUS EXAMPLE DECISION the authority a court has to review cases that have already been adjudicated by other courts Geographic Jurisdiction GEOGRAPHIC DECISION authority a court has to hear a case that arises within a certain geographical area Subject Matter Jurisdiction SUBJECT MATTER DECISION the authority of a court to hear certain kinds of cases that fall within a certain subject area Limited SPECIFIC CATEGORY DECISION authority to hear cases in specific categories General GENERAL BROAD DECISION authority to hear a broad array of decisions Proprietary Jurisdiction Exclusive or Concurrent Authority to hear a case Exclusive ONE COURT DECISION authority to be the sole court to hear a case Concurrent EVERYONE DECISION shared authority to hear a case 2 Types of Courts Article I and Article III Article I Courts created by acts of Congress Judges do not have tenure Article III Courts referred to in Constitution Judges have life tenure Federal Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction Article I Courts US Court of Federal Claims monetary damages against the US Tax Court appeals from IRS after administrative appeals Article III Courts US Court of International Trade Disputes over trade enforcement tariffs US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Appeals from Board of Veterans Appeals Federal Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction US District Courts Federal District Courts 94 federal judicial districts 1 district in each state at least Including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico Each district has a US bankruptcy court Appeals go to the US court of appeals Courts of Appeals 12 regional circuits each circuit consists of a collection of federal district courts know as circuit courts mostly hears cases that were appealed from federal district courts appeals go to the US Supreme Court Supreme Court 12 judges with life terms hear appeals from Court of Federal Claims Court of International Trade Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Civil Rights and Liberties in Texas Bradwell vs Illinois 1873 Upheld law prohibiting women from practicing law women are too gentle for practicing law being an attorney Muller vs Oregon 1908 women are dependent on men because of their physical strength Some important History 1920 19th Amendment 1963 Equal Pay Act 1972 Congress voted in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment never ratified 1972 TItle IX of the Education Amendments tot he Civil Rights Act nondiscrimination with regards to employment women must be paid the same as a man for the same job The 14th amendment ensures nondiscrimination on account of race equal rights movement ensures nondiscrimination against women Title 9 prevented universities from discrimination against women Consequences The Supreme Court and Gender Reed vs Reed 1971 Can t prefer men to women as executors of wills simply based on gender Craig vs Bored 1976 Can t let women drink 3 2 beer but not men simply based on gender A claim that men are being negatively discriminated against Men cannot by this bear til they are 21 but women can at 18 This law was put in place because men are more likely to drink and drive The supreme court said no But the supreme court ruled that this didn t justify this gender discrimination This law was put in place in Oklahoma United States vs VIrginia 1996 Can t maintain an all male military college Virginia military institute They say they will start and all female institute to solve the gender discrimination heightened scrutiny used to solve cases about how to deal with problems must be an important governmental interest means must be substantially related to achieving those ends Evaluating Claims of Discrimination Race strict Scrutiny must be a compelling state interest means must be least restrictive means for achieving those ends you can come up with no other way to achieve your goals without discriminating Gender Heightened Scrutiny must be an important governmental interest Means must be substantially related to achieving those ends Other forms of discrimination Rational Basis must be a legitimate state interest means must be reasonable for achieving those ends Civil Rights and Liberties in Texas and the United States Felon Disenfranchisement state laws that prohibit people who have committed felonies from voting in 2012 in 48 states people are prohibited from voting while you re in prison 35 states while on parole 31state while on probation 2 for the rest for heir lives Kentucky and Virginia 9 states for certain types of offenses depending on the offenses Felon Disenfranchisement in Texas The legislature passes a law to notify people once they are finishing their sentence that they have their right to vote back Governor Perry vetoed this Bill So there are lots of formerly convicted felons that don t know they can vote once theyve finished their term because no one notified them International Perspectives In many nations persons serving time in prison can vote and are actually encouraged to eg Czech Republic Germany Israel Japan Kenya Romania Sweden but not in the US So why do we disenfranchise Felons maintain purity of the ballot box its desirable to exclude these people because they ve made it clear that they don t respect the law so why should be include them in future law also felons have demonstrated law breaking behavior so felons my try to tamper with the elections and tamper with the electoral process Punishment for Violating the Social Contract once you break societies laws you violated your part of the bargain Retribution revenge If someone breaks societies laws you punish them for the sake of punishment Why Not Disenfranchise Felons Does not improve the purity of the ballot box Does not serve any other goals of punishment than retribution Rehabilitation they are not a functioning member of society Deterrence Incapacitation PSCI 1040 Civil Rights We ve been talking about civil liberties the past few days Civil liberties means freedom WHen you think about civil rights think equality Made up of different aspects of