POL 106 1st Edition Lecture 16 Outline of Last Lecture I. Traditional Presidency v. Modern PresidencyII. Presidential PoliticsIII. Managing the Presidential EstablishmentIV. Presidential Character & CitizensOutline of Current Lecture V. The Legal SystemVI. CourtsVII. Supreme CourtCurrent Lecture The Legal SystemThe 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 thingsCharacteristics of the American Legal Tradition:- Generally based on common law (law created by courts based on precedent)- Both federal and state court systems use laws created by legislatures, known as codes and statutes- Includes constitutions, executive orders, and administrative regulations- Importance of stare decisis and common law traditionThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Kinds of Law:Substantive Laws: Written law that defines rights and duties, such as crimes and punishments, civil rights, and responsibilities in civil law.Procedural Laws: Comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil lawsuit, criminal, or administrative proceedings.Criminal Laws: Regulates social conduct and proscribes whatever is threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people.Civil Laws: Core principles are codified into a referable system which serves as the primary source of law.Constitutional Laws: Defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, legislature, and the judiciary.Common Law/Cases: Laws developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals, as opposed to statutes adopted through the legislative process or regulations issued by the executive branch.Statutory Laws: Written LawsAdministrative Laws: Governs the activities of administrative agencies of the government.Executive Orders: Helps officers and agencies of the executive branch manage the operations within the federal government itself. CourtsJudicial Review: - Hamilton predicted that the judicial branch would be the least dangerous branch of gov’t in Federalist No. 78- Court had power of neither the purse nor the sword- Approved of judicial review because it would check momentary passions of the people- Constitution itself does not specifically give this power-Marbury v. Madison- John Marshall and the expansion of the power of the Supreme Court- Used sparingly to strike down federal law- More frequently used to strike down state law- Supreme Court granted this power unto itselfOriginal Jurisdiction: - US district courts- State trial courtsAppellate Jurisdiction: - US courts of appeals- State intermediate appellate courts- State supreme courts**The Supreme Court is the only court with both original and appellate jurisdictionUS 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- For federal district court to hear case  must concern federal law, Constitution, or two parties from different states with amount in controversy exceeding $75K- Vast majority of cases are filed and heard in state courtsUS Court of Appeals:- Arranged into 12 circuits- Solely appellate jurisdiction- No new evidence or witnesses- Panel of three judges make ruling, not jury- Lower court must have made an error of lawUS State Courts:- 3 levels: state supreme court, state appellate court, and trial court system- Trial court level includes:o State district courtso Probate courtso Superior courtso Housing courtso Small claims courts- Few states have no intermediate appellate courtsSelecting Judges:State: Method varies by state- Appointment- Nonpartisan election- Partisan electionFederal: Nominated by President and confirmed by the Senate- Senatorial courtesy is often invoked for lower-level federal courtsCitizens and the Courts:- Equal treatment by the criminal justice system is the goal (not always reality)- Prejudice against certain individuals still remains- Equal access to civil justice systemo Not always realityo Few can afford an attorney to pursue smaller caseso System isn’t “user-friendly”- Almost all individuals, in civil or criminal cases, expect a fair trial when they need one, yet everyone avoids jury duty Supreme CourtSCOTUS:- Nine justices (wasn’t always like that)- Appointed by president- Confirmed by senate- Not all appointments have been controversial or newsworthy- Justices serve during good behavior and are appointed for “life”, not a term- Justices can be impeached- Being a Supreme Court justice was not a prestigious position when our nation was just starting out4 Criteria Considered for SC appointments:- Merit- Political ideologyo Strict constructionism v. judicial interpretivismo Judicial activism v. judicial restraint- Reward- RepresentationChoosing Which Cases to Hear:- Petitioning the SC- Plaintiff files a writ of certiorari (writ of cert)- Only 2% of petitions filed ever get heard- It can take many years for a case to finally be heard- Other influences, including whether US gov’t is a party in the caseDeciding Cases:- Strict constructionism v. judicial interpretivism- Judicial activism v. judicial restraint- External factorso Public opiniono Executive brancho Amicus briefsWriting Opinions:- Opiniono Chief justice (if in the majority) will assign this opinion to someone in the majority; sometimes written by the Chief Justiceo If chief justice is in minority, senior-most justice in the majority assigns the opinion- Majority Opinion: Judicial opinion agreed to by more than half the members of a court.- Concurring Opinion: Written opinion by one or more judges of a court which agrees with the majority opinion but for differing reasons.- Plurality Opinion: Opinion from a group of judges, often in appellate courts, in which no single opinion received the support of a majority of the court. Did not receive support of more than half the justices, but received more support than any other.-