The Judicial Branch - Study Guide

Unit 6 - Study Guide You should know all of your vocabulary words. You do not need to write them out again but you should study them very well. 1. Study and memorize each Supreme Court case very well. Since we took notes in class you should study the graphic organizer. 2. Study your Presentation notes. 3. What are the three levels of federal court? a. Highest - Supreme Court b. Next highest - Appeals c. Where most cases start - District 4. What six courts are special in the federal court system? a. Court 1 - US Military Court of Appeals b. Court 2 - US Tax Court c. Court 3 - US Court of International Trade d. Court 4 - US Court of Federal Claims e. Court 5 - Veteran Claims f. Court 6 - Bankruptcy Court 5. What are the four levels of NC courts? What is the difference in each court? a. Highest - Supreme Court b. Next highest - Appeals Court c. The next highest - Superior Courts d. Where most cases start - District Courts 6. What is the difference between original and appellate jurisdiction? Original jurisdiction means that a court has the authority to hear the case for the first time. The majority of courts in America (Federal, State, and Local) have original jurisdiction. Appellate jurisdiction means that a court has the authority to review a case to determine if the lower court applied the law fairly. That is all that appellate courts decide. The Supreme Court also has appellate jurisdiction 7. What courts use juries in both the Federal system and the state system? a. Federal system - District Courts b. State system - Superior Courts 8. What courts only use judges to decide cases? a. Federal system - Appeals Courts, Supreme Court b. State system - Appeals Courts, District Courts, Supreme Court 9. What are precedents and why are they so important to our legal and court system? Previous court cases set precedents for future cases. Previous court cases set the standard for the decisions of lower court decisions. It’s significant because it means the SCOTUS or any lower courts cannot reverse the decision set by a previous court, they must follow the precedent. 10. Majority v minority v concurring v dissenting opinion in the Supreme Court a. A majority opinion - is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision. b. Minority opinion/dissenting opinion - is a judicial opinion filed by a judge(s) who disagrees with the majority decision of a case. Dissenting opinions are often very powerful and historically important. c. Concurring opinion - is a judicial opinion filed by a judge that agrees with the majority or plurality opinion on the case but that bases this conclusion on different reasons or on a different view of the case. It means that a judge agrees with the majority on the case but believes that for different reasons or even has a different perspective on the case. 11. What is the job of appeals courts? The court that hears the appeals on cases form lower Federal courts such as the Special Court’s and the US District Courts. It can also hear cases from federal agencies. There are 13 Appellate courts. They hear the cases where lawyers or the defendant thinks that law was applied incorrectly, and so the US Appeals Court can double-check if the decision of the lower court was justified or if it should still continue to stand. It makes sure that no person is wrongly prosecuted or sentenced. 12. What is judicial review and which SCOTUS case established judicial review? a. What is it? The Supreme Court established judicial review to challenge constitutionality issues of legislative and executive decisions, as well as court cases on individual action. SCOTUS gave itself the power of judicial review, aka the power to determine if laws are constitutional. b. Which case established it? Marbury vs. Madison 13. Checks and balances of the judicial branch. For federal judges of the judicial branch, there are no qualification requirements, they are nominated by the President and must be approved by the US Senate in a system called checks and balances. 14. Who approves Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) nominees? Senate 15. What are the three actions an appeals court can take if they accept the case? a. Action 1 - Remand decision b. Action 2 - Overturn the decision c. Action 3 - Keep the decision 16. Difference between NC District and NC Superior Court - NC Superior Courts have original jurisdiction for felonies and civil cases dealing with more than $10,000. The judge decides guilty/not guilty and issues the sentence. In the NC District Courts, they deal with cases with less than 10,000 (misdemeanors and civil cases). 17. What happens when you go to court? Diagram it below 18. What is a subpoena? A document issued by a court ordering a specific person to appear in court at some time for some specific purpose (kinda like a summons). 19. What does the US Attorney do? The person that is appointed by the president and prosecutes criminals on behalf of the federal government, defends the United States in civil cases, and collect debts owed to federal agencies when needed. 20. Requirements for Federal Judges - list them all For federal judges of the judicial branch, there are no qualification requirements, they are nominated by the President and must be approved by the US Senate in a system called checks and balances. 21. Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court today? John G. Roberts 22. What is a Writ of Certiorari? If one party of a case isn’t satisfied with the decision of the lower court, they can request the US Supreme Court to hear their case, which is called a writ of certiorari. This allows SCOTUS to hear cases that could have national significance or have precedential value. If the case is super important, SCOTUS can choose to hear it. 23. Diagram the SAD cake, include the cupcake, below. 24. What is stare decisis? The legal principle means that previous court cases set precedents for future cases. Previous court cases set the standard for the decisions of lower court decisions. The SCOTUS or any lower courts cannot reverse the decision set by a previous court, they must follow the precedent. 25. How can Congress respond if a law is ruled unconstitutional? 26. Which two types of cases does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction over? a. Type 1 case - Cases involving foreign diplomats b. Type 2 case - Cases between states 27. Exclusive versus Concurrent jurisdiction. Exclusive jurisdiction means that a case may only start at the State or Federal level. For instance, the NC district court has jurisdiction for all misdemeanor shoplifting cases. It doesn’t waste one court’s time. If the federal level court doesn’t need to hear this case, then the state level courts can have exclusive jurisdiction to hear all of these types of cases. On the other hand, concurrent jurisdiction means The case may start at either the State or Federal level, both have jurisdiction. It basically allows more than one court to have the authority to hear the same case. It allows cases to get through easily (through at least one court). Exclusive jurisdiction is the opposite of concurrent jurisdiction. 28. Diagram the NC SA(Sup)D Cake below.