The Supreme Court has the highest support of the American People - Least visible - Assumed to be nonpolitical and objective - But they ARE political actors Federalist 78 - Hamilton: "[the court] will always be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution." - Since they have "no influence over the sword or the purse" - Strictly dependent - On the executive for enforcement - And on legis for appropriations and rules - Means it doesn't need to be elected/representative - Independent protectors can be nominated for life But it might not really be as weak/unpotent as Hamilton believed. American Law based on English legal system - Common Law: judge-made law based on customs and eventually precedent - Stare decisis: stand on decided cases - Establishes efficient and stable judgments - Alternative: Code Law establishes judicial range, precedent irrelevant Federal Court System - based on "concurrent powers" - a power that both states and feds have - Article III Section 1 - designed to punish guilty parties - fed courts are more punitive than states - Do Federal Courts have authority? - Involves a "federal question" - Federal question: based in part or in whole on Constitution, federal law, or international treaty - Diversity of citizenship: parties in different states - or sue citizen of another country, but having legal standing in int'l courts is improbable - $75,000 must be in contest - Must also have "standing to sue" - Real harm has to be committed Selection of Federal Judges - State courts have various methods: appoint, confirm, vote - Federal courts are only appointed by the president - Longlasting impact of presidents - Ex: Byron White served under 8 presidents - 2016/2020 are super important because justices are dying - Trump winning might make 7-2 Repub majority for 20-30yrs - Biden winning might mean 5-4 or 5-4 swing for dems. - The court has become more strategic and political since FDR and in the last 30 years. - Bush administration packed the courts with very conservative nominees to push the country in a conservative direction - Obama administration did similar w/ liberal, progressive judges in lower courts - SC nominations have become less and less about cross-party vetting in the Senate - Political Party is a huge consideration, esp. in SC - less important for lower courts - Importance of Ideology - presidential nominations are based on certain ideological issues - Ex: Trump's main points are Roe v Wade and healthcare/individual mandate Three-tiered court model - US District Courts - 94 Districts - Districts are distributed evenly on geographic population - Minimum one per state - First entry of civil/criminal case into court - May see an appeal - US Court of Appeals - 13 Courts - Panel of Judges - Mostly organized as covering several US district courts - Thirteenth circuit court covers ALL fed gov't cases - Procedural "how was the law applied?" not about case evidence - US Supreme Court - 9 justices with lifetime appointments - Many appelate cases are appealed, but SC chooses which cases it will hear. - It hears both "original" (first) and appellate cases (from US circuit court) - More typical style trial than appellate court - Lawyers have to be certified to argue cases in front of SC - Consider how the cases fit into larger picture of US constitutionalism, legal system - SC has limited time Oct--June US Supreme Court - Why would the Supreme Court select a case? 1 Lower courts disagree 2 Ruling conflict: appellate or district court conflicts w/ existing SC doctrine 3 "Broad Significant:" broad implications of a case's precedent Not a guarantee---sometimes SC lets district/appeals have juris 4 Substantial federal question: taking over jurisdiction from a state court ruling over fed legislation or constitution 5 Laws invalid (federal): e.g. SC of Georgia invalidates federal law Almost guaranteed 6 Acts of Congress: unconstitutional laws Requires a case to go through the fed court system still 7 Solicitor General can demand the SC immediately review case Speeds up and lowers threshold to SC "Rule of four": four justices can choose to see Supreme Court decisions - Decisions are made on "Points of Law" not facts - The final decision is backed by Majority Opinion - Dissenting Opinions describe why justices ruled against majority - Name conditions for a basis of a Reversal Policymaking - "Judicial Review": review Congressional policies on Constitutional bases - Judicial Activism - Use power to direct policy toward a desired goal - Broad view of Constitution - Judicial Restraint - Rarely use power of judicial review - Limit judicial action in political process - Since WW2, the SC has tended to be Active O'Brien's "The Court in American Life" - The Court reflects (imperfectly) the political culture - Political cycles: people are a bit left-of-center now - Public opinion - Brown v. Board of Education - Political cycle realized that "separate but equal" didn't work - Delayed decision, deadlines allowed for a shift in public opinion - Because it wouldn't have been implemented earlier - Argues the Court is aware of its legitimacy and likelihood of compliance - The Court "sparks" action What checks our courts - The courts are more powerful than the Founders thought - Executive Checks - Judicial Implementation: executive enforces court decisions - Power of Appointment - political presidents/executives can (slowly) affect the Supreme and lower courts, making the Court a bit political too - Legislative checks - New bills and Amendments - like court packing - Public Check - Because Supreme Court can't do anything without support, the Court needs to maintain its legitimacy with the people - but people don't pay attention to it