Life Tenure

Justices serve for life, which provides independence from political pressure

Private Practices

-No individual lobbying, only group oral arguments and written briefs -Deliberations are private -Oral arguments are not televised

Who appoints justices?

Presidents appoint justices

External influences

Interest groups and public figures try to sway decisions indirectly

What does the supreme court do?

-Supreme court interprets laws within the constitution/statues. -The supreme court does NOT create law. -Limited to resolving legal disputes brought before it

Political impact

-Decisions often shape public policy. - Rulings can influence elections and party success

Public and political perceptions

-Politicians and the public often focus on political/policy outcomes -Nominee selection is often based on ideological leanings (liberal vs conservative) -legal experts may focus on legal reasoning

The justices claim to..

Interpret law objectively

The reality is that justices.

-have prior ideological and policy views -partisan affiliations and ideological leanings may affect votes -legal ambiguity means policy preferences often shape decisions

The court within the judicial system

- The U.S. has two court systems federal and state -federal courts only have jurisdiction where congress allows it -The supreme court sits at the top of the federal system and primarily hears appeals

Even though the court is somewhat insulated from government and society, what can influence the court?

-interest groups -president -congress

According to article III of the constitution, how long can a justice serve in office

-during good behavior -life

Ten states with small populations have...

A single appellate court

The other 40 have..

intermediate appellate courts below the state supreme court

Generally, DISTRICT courts hear all federal cases at the trial level

True

For appellate review, patent cases and some claims against the federal government go from district courts to the specialized Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

True

Federal courts can only hear cases congress has put under their jurisdiction

true

Most cases come to the supreme court under its appellate juisdiction

true

In 1988 congress converted the courts jurisdiction from..

mostly mandatory to almost entirely discretionary.

Under the constitution the supreme court justices are..

Nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate

In the Court's "Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices, the justices agreed to follow the Code of Conduct and other rules adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United States with some modifications

true

Of all the members of the support staff, who has the most direct effect on the Court's decisions

law clerks

supreme law clerks come to the court with experience in what

-law firms -government -U.S. courts of appeal

When the chief justice leaves the Court, the president can elevate an associate justice to chief and also appoint a new associate justice

True

How many justices does the constitution require

the constitution does not say

75% of law clerks graduate from..

-yale -harvard -stanford -chicago

During sitting the court hold sessions from?

Monday- Wednesday

Responsibilities of the supreme court law clerk

-reviewing petitions for certiorari -reading case material and summarizing them for justices. -provide memoranda to their justices and discuss cases with them before the conference -consult clerks for other justices to help in the process of winning support for opinions and reaching consensus

All of these justices served as law clerks

-Justice Neil Gorsuch -Justice Amy Coney Barrett -Justice Elena Kagan -Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson -Chief Justice John Roberts -Justice Brett Kavanaugh

An application for preliminary action ordinarily goes first to the

justice who has been assigned to the relevant circuit.

The justices do most of their work separately as a collective body.

False, their responsibilities are done collectively as a group

A stay prevents a lower court order from going into effect while the Supreme Court or a lower court considers final action in the underlying case.

true

What are some key points about stays and injunctions?

-Many involve efforts to shape public policy or political outcomes. -Some constitute the Court's final word in disputes over policy and politics. -Because these rulings are often so important, it is not surprising that a high proportion of them evoke dissents by justices who disagree with them. -Dissenting justices and commentators have criticized the Court for reaching important decisions without the full consideration that occurs when it decides cases on the merits and usually without writing substantial opinions to justify these decisions.

Who decides whether a justice should recuse themselves from a case?

Individual justices alone determine whether they should recuse.

Most recusals result from a justice's prior involvement in a case as a lower-court judge or in another capacity.

true

The Court may have a tie vote when only eight justices participate in a decision. A tie vote affirms the lower-court decision.

true

What does the chief justice do?

-presiding over public Court sessions and conferences -head of the federal court system. -appoints judges to administrative committees and some specialized courts. -issues a "Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary,.

Outside of the Supreme Court, some justices distance themselves from the news media and seldom made public appearances.

true

Some justices engage in these types of activities outside the Court

-making occasional visits to law schools and other legal groups -speaking with reporters from time to time - participating in public events

In recent administrations, the nominee selection process has been centered in..

the Office of the White House Counsel.

Administrations in the current era typically do a good deal of preparation even before there is an opportunity to make a nomination.

true

Which of the following nominees were faced with questions about their ethics?

-Clarence Thomas, allegations of sexual harassment -Brett Kavanaugh, accusations of sexual assault

Which of the following Justice's were "disappointments" in the sense that they did not turn out as conservative as many hoped.

-Justice John Paul Stevens -Justice David Souter

if a nominee has a long record of judicial votes and opinions on issues of federal law, as Sonia Sotomayor, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh did, presidents and their advisors can be fairly sure about their views on PUBLIC POLICY issues.

true

The main reason for the decline in the selection of personal acquaintances is that such nominees are vulnerable to charges of cronyism

true, cronyism is the practice of doing favors (jobs) for close friends or associates regardless of their qualifications or merit

About percent of all nominees to the Court—and all those chosen since 1975—have been members of the president's party.

90%

For a Democratic president, which of these are important personal attributes?

race, gender, ethnicity

President Trump took into account `gender` in his consideration in replacing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

true

Which of these characterize best the motives for seeking review by the Supreme Court

-advancing a direct personal or organizational interest -seeking to shape political outcomes or public policy

Political litigants often want to get a case to the highest court, where a victory may establish a national policy they favor.

true

Which of these are attributes of lawyers in private practice who appear before the Supreme Court?

-Work in large law firms -Work in very large law firms -Work in "boutique" firms specializing in appellate litigation

In the legal system as a whole, there is a positive correlation between the wealth of an individual or institution and the quality of the legal services available to that party.

true

What mechanisms exist for people with limited resources to secure legal representation before the Supreme Court?

-Specialists who sometimes offer their services at no cost -The Court itself appoints an attorney to represent any indigent litigant whose case it accepts if that litigant does not have a lawyer from another source. -Law school clinics to work on Supreme Court cases for no charge

Groups can enter the litigation process by submitting amicus briefs on the question of whether a case should be accepted or at the merits stage of accepted cases.

true

The interest groups that participate in Supreme Court cases can be placed in four broad categories.

-economic -groups based on personal attributes such as race, gender, age, and sexual orientation -broad ideological positions or more specific issue positions -governments and groups of government officials.

Today, attorneys general frequently submit amicus briefs on issues that do not affect state governments directly but on which they have strong policy views.

true

The small group of lawyers has more impact on the Court than any other set of attorneys.

lawyers in the Solicitor General's office of- the Justice Department

Which president issued a statement about a government brief that defended a statutory provision under which Puerto Rico residents were ineligible for certain security benefits. He said that "this provision is inconsistent with my Administration's policies and values," but he also said that there were good reasons for the "longstanding practice of defending the constitutionality of federal statutes, regardless of policy preferences.

Joe Biden

The supreme court composition is deeply political it is shaped by..

Legal credentials career trajectory political alliances strategic timing of appointments and retirements.

Nomination and confirmation process

165 total nominations and 116 confirmed justices as of 2023

The selection of justices has become more politically charged as

the courts increasing influence over policy -growing republican and democrat polarization

Age at appointment

typically 40s-50s, median 51

Types of litigants

-Individuals (67% of 2022 cases), often criminal defendants or prisoners. -Governments (69%): local, state, federal. -Businesses: frequent participants. -Most common pairing: Individual vs. Government (47%).

Motivations?

-Ordinary litigation: personal interest -Political litigation: policy change goals

The supreme court is shaped by

-The types of litigants and their motivations. -The expertise and background of attorneys. -The resources, goals, and tactics of interest groups. -The institutional leverage of the federal government. -The justices' own ideological and strategic calculations.