AP Gov, 4th Quarter, Unit 1, Chapter 15 The Federal Courts, Woll: the Federal Judiciary

justiciable disputes

capable of being settled by law or by the action of a court

Plessy v. Ferguson

set the precedent that "separate" facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were "equal."

Marbury v. Madison

when the Constitution--the nation's highest law--conflicts with an act of the legislature, that act is invalid. This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of judicial review.

original meaning theory

the view that judges should base their interpretations of a law onwhat reasonable persons at the time of its adoption would have declared the ordinary meaning of the text to be

originalism

the view that the constitution should be interpreted according to the original intentions or original meaning of the Framers.

Brown v. Board of Education

unanimously held that the racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Brown v. the Board of Education

unanimously held that the racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

civil cases

usually involve private disputes between persons or organizations A civil case begins when a person or entity (such as a corporation or the government), called the plaintiff, claims that another person or entity (the defendant) has failed to carry out a legal duty owed to the plaintiff

judicial activism

when judges substitute their own political opinions for the applicable law, or when judges act like a legislature (legislating from the bench) rather than like a traditional cour

concurring opinion

written to not only support major party's decision but to also stress a different constitutional or legal basis for the judgement

Judiciary Act of 1798

"The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." In the Judiciary Act, the first Congress created federal trial courts and federal appeals courts to comply with this provision.

Oregon v. Mitchell

(1) The 18-year-old minimum-age requirement of the Voting Rights Act Amendments is valid for national elections. (2) That requirement is not valid for state and local elections. (3) The literacy test provision is valid. (4) The residency and absentee balloting provisions are valid

Gideon v. Wainwright

(1963), the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution requires the states to provide defense attorneys to criminal defendants charged with serious offenses who cannot afford lawyers themselves

Writ of Habeus Corpus

(literally to "produce the body") is a court order to a person (prison warden) or agency (institution) holding someone in custody to deliver the imprisoned individual to the court issuing the order

Per Curiam decision

(or opinion) is a ruling issued by an appellate court of multiple judges in which the decision rendered is made by the court (or at least, a majority of the court) acting collectively and unanimously

How many circuit courts are there?

12

How many district courts are there?

91

briefs

A brief is a written legal document used in various legal adversarial systems that is presented to a court arguing why one party to a particular case should prevail.

Bush v. Gore

Did the Florida Supreme Court violate Article II Section 1 Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution by making new election law? Do standardless manual recounts violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Constitution? Noting that the Equal Protection clause guarantees individuals that their ballots cannot be devalued by "later arbitrary and disparate treatment," the per curiam opinion held 7-2 that the Florida Supreme Court's scheme for recounting ballots was unconstitutional. Even if the recount was fair in theory, it was unfair in practice.

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Figure 15.1 Organization of the Federal Courts System

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Figure 15.3 How Cases Reach the Supreme Court

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Figure 15.4 Obtaining Space on the Supreme Court's Docket

Amicus Curiae Brief

Frequently, a person or group who is not a party to a lawsuit, but has a strong interest in the matter, will petition the court for permission to submit a brief in the action with the intent of influencing the court's decisio

Schechter Poultry Corporation v. the United States

In 1935, in A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a central piece of this New Deal legislation. In reviewing the conviction of a poultry company for breaking the Live Poultry Code, the Court held that the code violated the Constitution's separation of powers because it was written by agents of the president with no genuine congressional direction. The Court also held that much of the code exceeded the powers of Congress because the activities it policed were beyond what Congress could constitutionally regulate.

United States v. Nixon

In July 1974, the Supreme Court decided unanimously that Nixon must hand over the tapes. The Court said that under the Constitution, the judiciary had the final voice, not the Executive branch. As for "executive privilege," the Court acknowledged that the President had a right to privileged communication where certain areas of national security were concerned

judicial review

Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with judicial review power may invalidate laws and decisions that are incompatible with a higher authority, such as the terms of a written constitution.

Chisolm v. Georgia

The Constitution made clear that controversies between individual states and citizens of other states were under the jurisdiction of federal courts. State conduct was subject to judicial review.

senate judiciary committee

The Judiciary Committee, with 20 members, is in charge of conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges (including Supreme Court justices) nominated by the president

Original Jurisdiction

The original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision

original intent

The theory of interpretation by which judges attempt to ascertain the meaning of a particular provision of a state or federal constitution by determining how the provision was understood at the time it was drafted and ratified

Pollock v. Farmer's Loan Trust and Co.

Was the income tax a direct tax in violation of the Constitution (Article I, Section 9)? The Court held that the act violated the Constitution since it imposed taxes on personal income derived from real estate investments and personal property such as stocks and bonds; this was a direct taxation scheme, not apportioned properly among the states.

senatorial courtesy

a custom whereby presidential appointments are confirmed only if there is no objection to them by the senators from the appointee's state, especially from the senior senator of the president's party from that state

Litigants

a person involved in a lawsuit

class action lawsuit

a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member of that group

opinions

a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge

precedent

an earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances.

En Banc

an en banc session is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by a panel selected from them.

Writ of Mandamus

an order from a court to an inferior government official ordering the government official to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion

Writ of Certiorari

an orderof a higher court to a lower court to send all the documents in a case to it so the higher court can review the lower court's decision

Courts of appeals

appellate courts empowered to review all final decisions of district courts, except in rare cases. They can also hear appeals to orders of many federal regulatory agencies.

original intent theory

interpretation of a written law should be consistent with what was meant by those who drafted and ratified it

criminal cases

involve an action that is considered to be harmful to society as a whole A person accused of a crime is generally charged in a formal accusation called an indictment (for felonies or serious crimes) or information (for misdemeanors). The government, on behalf of the people of the United States, prosecutes the case through the United States Attorney's Office if the person is charged with a federal crime. A state's attorney's office prosecutes state crimes

solicitor general

is the third-highest ranking official in the U.S. Department of Justice. The United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States

dissenting opinions

justice's opinion that is opposed to part or all of the majority decision

attitudinal model

justices decide cases based on the outcomes of they prefer rather than on precedent or meaning

Requirement of Standing

or locus standi, is capacity of a party to bring suit in court. State laws define standing. At the heart of these statutes is the requirement that plaintiffs have sustained or will sustain direct injury or harm and that this harm is redressable

Dred Scott v. Sanford

the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress lacked power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories. Finally, the Court declared that the rights of slaveowners were constitutionally protected by the Fifth Amendment because slaves were categorized as property.

McCulloch v. Maryland

the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to create the Second Bank of the United States and that the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank. Arguably Chief Justice John Marshall's finest opinion, McCulloch not only gave Congress broad discretionary power to implement the enumerated powers, but also repudiated, in ringing language, the radical states' rights arguments presented by counsel for Maryland

statutory construction

the judicial interpretation of an act of congress

Stare Decisis

the legal principle of determining points in litigation according to precedent

Appellate jurisdiction

the power of a higher court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts

judicial election

the public directly elects most state and local judges