JUDICIAL SYSTEM Only 4 of judges in US are federal other 96 are state judges Nearly all laws that people can violate are state laws State local gov ts most frequently prosecute criminal cases 99 9 of all criminal cases felonies serious violations with substantial fines and imprisonment misdemeanors less serious crimes State courts adjudicate nearly all civil cases 99 8 of all civil cases civil cases disputes between 2 entities individuals corporations organizations etc More criminal than civil cases 5th Amendment Rights of accused persons in criminal trials Indictment of a Grand Jury Can t be accused for same crime twice Can t be used as witness against himself 6th Amendment Right to speedy trial and more criminal trial protections Speedy public trial by impartial jury informed of nature and cause of accusation confronted with witnesses against him Assistance of counsel for his defense 8th Amendment Bails and punishments no excessive bail no cruel and unusual punishments Organization 1 Ordinary everyday courts are trials courts 2 Loser of a trial may appeal to an intermediate appellate court 3 Loser of Appeals Court decision may appeal to higher appellate court Appeals are expensive and few are actually overturned Corporations are most likely to seek appeals Appeals Court Validate decisions constitutionality of trial court Do not retry cases decide whether to uphold or overrule decisions Accepts few cases for review Supreme Court State supreme court also called final appeals court or court of last resort final decision mainly concerned with constitutionality also does not retry cases Individuals not involved in original trial may submit advice in form amicus curiae briefs Activity Measured by the number of cases discretionary or mandatory accepted by appellate courts Judicial activism Courts that judge laws and behavior as constitutional are not deemed active occurs when courts play balancing role of checking other branches Judicial restraint Interpreting the law rather than making the law courts should defer to elected legislative and executive branches representative of people Last 15 years US Supreme Court has made more activist conservative decisions than activist liberal decisions liberal receives more publicity Primary US genius concerns Majority rule and minority rights Noteworthy Criminal Rights Cases Mapp v Ohio 1961 exclusionary rule excludes illegally seized evidence from being presented in trials Gideon v Wainwright 1963 state provides attorney always even in misdemeanors Miranda v Arizona 1966 right to be informed of rights right to remain silent Anything you say can and will be held against you Kennedy v Louisiana 2008 Protection agains cruel and unusual punishment ensure against arbitrary and capricious application of death penalty Equal protection African Americans have been more likely to be convicted of capital crimes
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