Texas Judiciary 2 basic types of Courts o Trial Courts Local usually by county Only ONE judge Citizens participate as jurors Focus on establishing the facts of a case Evidence Circumstances o Appellate Courts Centralized at state level Little citizen participation More than one judge Decide on points of law NOT FACTS Hear appeals for all cases except Death Penalty Serve 14 districts with 80 judges Two Texas Highest Courts separation is unique to Texas o Texas Supreme Court Highest court for civil cases o Criminal Court of Appeals Highest court for criminal cases Mainly death penalties o Both courts have 9 judges serving 6 year overlapping terms Judicial Selection and Removal o Partisan Elections political affiliations shown on ballot and elected via a majority Exception municipal judges who are appointed by mayors and city council o Terms of office Trial Court Judges 4 years Appeals Court Judges 6 years o Removal from Office State Supreme Court can remove judges from any office Districts may only remove county judge and Justice of Peace State Commission on Judicial Conduct can recommend removal of judges from all levels Indictment and Jury Trial o Individuals may be indicted either by citizens who determine if an individual will be charged with a Grand Jury crime Information or Administrative Hearing Petit jury a jury that listens to rules on a trial before a single judges Federal Judiciary Article 3 of the Constitution Section 1 o Establishes Supreme Court o Gives Congress the authority to establish lower Federal courts o Judges hold offices during good behavior Hold office as long as wish to unless commit crime resign or death authority to hear cases of a certain type of the Federal Courts Section 2 o Jurisdiction o 2 types o Federal Judges Original Appellate appealed to higher courts authority to be the first court to hear a case authority to review decisions made by lower courts that have been Must be nominated by President and confirmed by majority of the Senate No legal qualifications for judges like there are for elected officials US Supreme Court State Supreme US Court of Appeals Special Federal Court Lower State US District Court Hierarchy of Courts and ways to get there for a case State Courts and Types of Law o Structured similar to Federal Court System Appointment may be different o More than 95 of cases in US are decided by State Courts o 3 types of law rules that govern legal process Procedural Civil governs relations with and between private parties Contracts deals with acts the government defines as illegal Criminal US District Courts o Lowest level of Federal Courts o Nearly all criminal and civil cases involving Federal law are heard here as long as Federal law is involved Cases are held before juries US Courts of Appeals o 13 courts in total 11 circuits of district courts 1 DC Court 1 court for patents and international trade o Rely on records provided by lower courts o No juries o Most cases decided by a panel of 3 judges Special US Courts o US Claims Courts Cases in which the government is being sued for damages o US Court of International Trade Appeals from US Customs office rulings o US Court of Military Appeals Appeals from US Courts martial Supreme Courts o Consists of 9 justices 1 Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices Current Chief Justice is John Roberts o Original Jurisdiction Disputes between state governments Cases involving foreign diplomats rare today o Appellate Jurisdiction Constitutional Laws Federal Laws and Policies Treaties Controversies crossing state or national boundaries Congress can also grant exceptions to appellate jurisdiction o Most important work tends to be done through appellate jurisdiction exception En Banc all justices decide case o Supreme Court justices presides over a circuit and review its appeals and can decide to bring one of their cases to the Supreme Court Accomplished via Writ of Certiorari requests the record of a case from a lower court Lower courts can also issue writs to the Supreme Court o Needs 4 justices o compelling reasons for taking up cases Main reason is conflicting decisions in the lower courts or decisions conflicting with Supreme Court rulings Correcting serious departures from accepted standards of justice Settling key questions of federal law o Main power of the Supreme Court rests in Judicial Review the power to declare government action or law null and void if it violates the Constitution Not explicit in the Constitution but inferred Derived from precedent set by Marbury v Madison 1803 Background Dispute involving judicial appointments made by John Adams at the end of his presidency William Marbury didn t receive his letter of approval Judiciary Act of 1789 command officials to do their job as part of original jurisdiction authorized the Court to issue such an order as to o Found to be unconstitutional for 2 reasons Court has no authority to issue such orders in the Constitution Court would only have appellate jurisdiction over the case Supreme Court can declare something Unconstitutional but government official doesn t have to follow the ruling If they don t it might undermine the Court s authority and look bad on the official Marshall says in his decision o Courts say what the law is o An unconstitutional law is void Constitution and Federal Law are supreme via Supremacy Clause o Case procedures Lawyers submit briefs full arguments of the case Outside parties interested in the case can submit briefs called amicus curiae friends of the court Each side presents oral arguments Judicial Conference Chief Justice speaks 1st then the others in order of seniority Justices vote in reverse order of seniority justices discuss the case and vote o Decisions assess the Constitution A majority of the Justices must be in agreement If there is a tie the lower court decision stands Justices can recuse themselves from decisions o Opinions are the legal reasoning Unanimous Majority all 9 are in agreement Concurring Dissenting o Force of Decisions agrees with majority but for different reasons agrees with minority Decisions tend to establish precedent a rule for deciding similar cases Principle is stare decisis let the decision stand Lower courts are expected to follow precedent Less than 1 of all Federal cases come before the Supreme Court o Legal Limits on Judicial Decisions Judges can only decide on laws bearing on the case what law is in question Bound to the laws of the US Constitution legislative statutes or