Article I of the Constitution, and the Supreme Court

1. The Chief Justice presides over the senate during impeachments. The Justices who have presided over
the senate are Chief Justice Salmon Chase (1868, for the impeachment of Andrew Johnson), and Chief
Justice William Rehnquist (1999, Bill Clinton).
2. The Supreme Court has the power of Judicial Review.
1. The powers of judicial review were defined by Marbury V. Madison where an act of
Congress was declared unconstitutional.
2. Congress can try and overturn an act of judicial review where their legislation was
declared null. But it is very difficult. An example of congress overturning judicial review
is in the Air Carrier Access Act after the Department of Transportation V. Paralyzed
Veterans of America.
3. Nixon V. United States, the court found that president doesnt have privilege in all cases.
Nixon had to go to court when served. I.E., a subpoena.
Article II of the Constitution, and the Supreme Court
1. Power of Appointment;
1. President appoints judges to the federal courts with the advice and consent of the senate.
2. Will tend to appoint like-minded judges.
3. Appointments after for life.
4.
Allows the president to leave a legacy after they leave office.
ii.
Court Packing;
1. Some presidents will try to put multiple like-minded judges during their administration.
2. A president trying to court pack, because judges serve for life, is a big taboo. Its a no-no.

Federal Court of Appeals

I. Origin of Circuit Courts
Initially, Supreme Court justices were expected to travel twice a year to hear cases
Proved too difficult for judges to efficiently travel
Congress created Circuit Court of Appeals to replace this function in 1891 => changed to United States
Court of Appeal in 1948
II. Role of Circuit Courts
Circuit courts do not hear original cases
1. They are an intermediate appeals court, meaning they can only review lower court decisions
B. If a party decides a district judge has made a mistake, they can appeal to circuit courts.
III. How Circuit Courts reach decisions
When a party wants to make an appeal, both parties in the case must submit briefs.
o Briefs are short legal documents that describe the legal issues and basics of the case from each
perspective, as well as why each party thought the district court decision was wrong or right
Judges will either issue a decision based solely on briefs, or order an oral argument session.
o In an oral argument session, each side, represented by an attorney, presents their case to the
judges. They are questioned by the judges.
Each case is heard and decided by a panel of three judges, four if a retired senior judge decides to join a
case.
IV. Circuit Court Splits
Stare decisis, Latin for stand by a decision, dictates that circuit court panels will typically rule
similarly on the same cases
However, sometimes there is a huge difference in ruling and opinions
Circuit court splits are typically caused by ideological and political differences between panels
Splits between circuit courts are indicators of controversial cases. These cases are typically taken to the
Supreme Court to become resolved.
V. Structure of Circuit Courts
The United States is divided into 12 geographical regions with a differing number of states
Each region has their own court
Except for DC, the 12th Circuit Court, each circuit court encompasses more than one state
The number of judgeship appointments for each state is decided by Congress.

A History
1
2
3

Twelve U.S. Courts of Appeals are traditionally known as circuit courts.

It was an expectation of Supreme Court Justices to travel around the country twice
year to visit a circuit of courts.
Its inconvenient to leave Washington on a regular basis, so the rides continued until
1891, where Congress created the Circuit Courts of Appeal.
In 1948, the official name was changed to the United States Courts of Appeal.

4
B Structure
1 Each of the twelve courts is called its own circuit. They each have jurisdiction over
different states. For example the Eleventh circuit handles cases from Alabama,
Florida, and Georgia, but the Ninth Circuit handles cases from 7 states including
Caifornia, Nevada, and Washington.
2 Exempting the Twelfth Circuit, which is in Washington D.C.
3 Depending on the sizes of the Circuits, they will have a different number of judges.
The number of judges a circuit has is set by Congress. The amount of judges is
proportional to how many states the Circuit serves.
C Role
1 Dont handle jury trials. They are asked by one of the parties who lost in the
previous trial to revise their case. They could argue that the judge approved
improper jury instructions or ruled that a vital piece of evidence was
inadmissible.
2 Because a jury decision is final, the decisions issued by the Court of Appeals is
based on whether the lower courts decision was right or not.
3 The judges rely on documents called briefs, which are outlines of the legal
argument and the case from the previous trial.
4 If the judges do not make a decision based on the brief they will schedule an oral
argument session where attorneys of both parties argue their cases before the
judge.
5 Each case is handled by a panel of three judges and most decisions are issued
by this panel, however a party may ask for a rehearing by all the Circuit Court
judges, which is known as an en banc panel.
*Occasionally a retired judge will participate on the panel.
D. Splits
1. Situations come up where one Circuit court panel rules differently from another
on the same issue.

2. Although federal judges will generally agree with the lower courts decision based
on the doctrine known as stare decisis, but the judges of one court are not bound by
the rulings of another.
3. When these splits happen, the Supreme Court will usually resolve the split.
*Splits amongst circuits are important because they usually signal future Supreme
Court decisions.

4. Depending on the geographical, political, and ideological differences, circuits tend

to split predictably because individual courts have reputations for leaning right or
left.

Vocabulary:
Appeal- to ask a higher court to reverse the decision of a trial court after final judgment or other legal ruling
A) Structure of Federal Courts
1. The Supreme Court
a. referred to as the highest court in the land
b. contains 9 justices that meet in Washington, D.C.
c. hears appeals from state and federal courts
2. The Courts of Appeal
a. serves as a buffer-zone between the Supreme Court and the district courts
b. have 12 regional circuit courts
c. used only for the purpose of appeals, no jurisdiction authority
d. cases involving special circumstances goes to a branch of the Courts of Appeal known as the United
States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
3. District Courts
a. there are 94 judicial districts throughout the nation, as well as a few territories
b. lowest level in the federal system, therefore, it has no appellate jurisdiction
c. gives original jurisdiction over most cases
B) Navigating the Structure
1. Reaching the Supreme Court
a. cases generally begin at the district court level
b. a district court judge issues a ruling or a jury issues a verdict
c. the appellant can proceed to the circuit court level, eventually reaching the Supreme Court
d. sometimes, cases travel through the same levels multiple times such as when a higher court overturns a
decision of a lower court, the higher court remands the case to go back to a lower court

2. Procedures
a. to gain permission of the Supreme Court, litigants who want to appeal their cases have to file for a writ
of certiorari
b. 4 out of the 9 Supreme Court justices have to agree to issue a writ of certiorari
c. from there, either a decision is issued or the case is remanded
d. if an appellant requests a rehearing of the case, en banc is the term used for complex cases that are
given to a panel of all judges appointed by the Supreme Court
e. appeals in circuit courts are heard by a three-judge panel

I
A
B
C
D

II

The Supreme Court

Is the highest court in the federal system
Specifically established in the Constitution
Consists of a Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices
The annual term is:
1 From the first Monday in October to early summer
2 Usually ending in late June or early July

Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

A Original Jurisdiction
1 The Supreme Court hears the case directly; which means the case will skip the intermediate
stage
2 set forth in the U.S. Code
3 These cases consist of disputes between different states
B Appeal from Circuit Court
1 Most common way for a case to reach the Supreme Court
2 Parties that want to appeal a decision may file a writ of certiorari
a Certiorari means to inform, which means writ of certiorari is the process of
informing the Court to get a case re-examined
b The Court has the discretion to decide which cases it will hear
3 A case needs at least 4 Justices to vote in favor of hearing the case in order for the entire
Court to hear it
4 If 4 Justices do not agree to grant certiorari, then they are denied cert - which means the
lower court ruling is final
C Appealing from a state supreme court
1 Each state has their own supreme court, or Court of Appeals
2 The Supreme Court will usually not challenge a states ruling unless the decision involves a
Constitutional issue

III

Oral Arguments Before the Supreme Court

A Oral arguments are a way for lawyers to advocate their case directly to the Justices
1 There are strict time limits enforced- a half-hour for each side
2 The Justices can interrupt to ask questions, most of which are hypothetical so that the Justices
may get an idea of how their decision will impact the actual practice of a law
3 Each lawyer must submit their own briefs to the Court to argue their case
4 Parties that are not involved can submit amicus, or friend-of-the-court briefs to support their
views.

IV

Supreme Court Opinions

A Justice Stanley Mosk of Californias Supreme Court wrote The Journal of Appellate and Process,
which cited many reasons to why oral arguments would be very important in court.
1 Majority Opinion
a Most important type of opinion.
b It is the majority of opinions from the judges hearing the case.
c Most cases require 5 court justices, unless one or more recuse themselves from deciding.
d In the future, all court cases that are similar will follow similar steps to decisions.
2 Concurring Opinion
a Majority opinions are sometimes accompany it.
b Written by individual Justices in the majority.
c These agree with the majority opinion, but may stress a different point of law.
d They will agree with the result made by the majority, but for a different reason.
3 Dissenting Opinion
a They provide insight to how the Court reached its decision.
b Many times, the Court has adopted the opinion of a previous Justice while reviewing an
issue.
c Not every time, but an opinion may be both a dissenting and concurring opinion, a
justice will more likely agree on the majority on one issue, but not the other.
4 Per Curiam Opinion
a The least common opinion
b Definition: A majority opinion delivering by the Court as a whole, with no Justice taking
authorship.

1. Structure of the Federal Court's

1. District court's (Mikhaila)
1. A district court is the first court any legal case will be heard in.
2. If the ruling is unfavorable to one of the involved parties, the party can appeal.
3. If the party appeals their appeal will be heard within a 3 judge panel.
4. If the panel agrees to the appeal, then the case moves into the court of appeals.
ii.
Court's of appeal (Justin)
1. The second highest system of the court system
2. Mostly rulings that are appealed are processed in this district of courts.
3. A panel of judges determines whether an appeal is heard within this court.
4. A case can be heard in the court of appeals more than once, even after going to the
higher supreme courts or lower district courts
ii.
Supreme Court (Madalyn)
1. Highest level of Judicial court in the USA.