Cases from state courts end up in the federal judiciary when a __ is involved in a dispute. State courts have authority to decide federal questions when they are mixed with state law.

federal question

Judges in state courts are bound by two constitutional constraints in deciding cases that combine state / federal issues. 1: Judges at the state level must swear to obey the federal Constitution regardless of state law. If there is conflict, the __ requires federal law to be enforced over state law. 2: __ of federal law. Does the state’s supreme court have the authority to instruct lower courts in its state how to interpret a federal law?

1: Supremacy Clause 2:Interpretation

A jury trial in a criminal case is available under the __ when a __ months or more is a possible outcome of a trial

Sixth Amendment, jail term of six

How a civil case differs from a criminal case: (1) a criminal case involves jail /fines. A civil case seeks monetary damages or a __ (2) the government is always a party in a criminal case. a civil case is between __

declaration of rights, private parties

How a civil case differs from a criminal case: (3) the government’s burden of proof in a criminal case requires establishing guilt beyond a __. In a civil case the winning side is the one with the majority of evidence (4) states are under no constitutional mandate to provide __ in any civil case

reasonable doubt, juries

__ can only be based on a question of law that alleges an error(s) in procedure or application of a law occurred at the trial

Appeals

No juries exist in appellate cases; they are only found in trial courts and are used to determine __

questions of fact.

If a person declines a jury trial, the judge acts as __ (a bench trial). only the defendant can appeal. The government cannot appeal an acquittal. Either party can appeal after the verdict in a civil case.

both judge and jury

a person cannot be found innocent on appeal because an appeal only involves questions of law, not __

questions of fact.

Most states have three levels of courts in their judicial system: • Trial courts determine questions of __ • Intermediate appellate courts (in most states) sit without juries and handle questions of law made by__ at trial. • State supreme courts generally hear appeals from __. In states with no intermediate appellate court-- taken directly to the state’s highest court

fact, judges, intermediate appellate courts

habeas corpus petition to a federal trial court (a U.S. District Court): a claim that a violation of a __ took place.

federal constitutional right

A diversity suit: citizens of different states are involved in a __case.

civil

. If the amount in controversy exceeds__ the defendant (person being sued) has a choice between taking the case to state court or to a U.S. District Court.

$75,000

Appeals from a state’s judicial system are submitted from the state’s highest court directly to the __ but only the parts of the case that concern federal questions.

U.S. Supreme Court

Judiciary Act of 1789: jurisdiction was assigned initially to federal circuit courts. Certain cases are exempt from __ since they would be inappropriate for federal courts to decide. In deciding a diversity case, a federal judge will actually apply the appropriate state law that governs the situation.

diversity jurisdiction

The lone exception—Article VI, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution—requires each state to give __ to the judicial decisions of other states.

full faith and credit

Two conditions must be met in order for a case to be heard before a federal court: __

jurisdiction and justiciability.

Jurisdiction simply means that a court has the __to decide a case.

authority

Congress can only provide __ with the powers allowed by the Constitution

federal courts

An effort to remove an area of federal jurisdiction is typically intended to deny __ the power to decide controversial issues.

federal judges

The jurisdiction of federal courts can be established in one of two ways. First, the Constitution identifies certain topics as appropriate for federal courts: federal questions / . The second way the Constitution allows jurisdiction to be established in federal courts is where cases are brought by __.

admiralty and maritime law certain parties

There are four parties with this constitutional privilege: (1) the U.S.__, (2) one of the states, (3) citizens of different ___(diversity cases), (4) __ ambassadors and counsels.

government, states, foreign

Justiciable means that a dispute is a matter __ for a court to resolve.

appropriate

What Judges look for determining what could render a case irrelevant for judicial consideration: • Case or controversy: The dispute must involve parties with a genuine __ • Finality: A federal court’s decision must be __. Judges alone make judicial rulings. • Standing: The plaintiff must suffer personal damage to a __protected under federal law or the U.S. Constitution. • Political Qs: A federal court will not hear an issue that can be better handled by __ of government. • Time: Cases must reach federal courts at a __when the outcome of a decision could make a difference.

conflict, final, right, another branch, time

Only the requirement of a __ is mentioned in the Constitution (Article II, Section 2);

‘‘case or controversy’’

The federal judiciary today is divided into three levels: ___

trial, intermediate appellate court, and Supreme Court.

The __ with the broadest federal law enables Congress more flexibility in setting up courts because it is not restricted by the provisions of Article II

trial courts

(Article I) legislative courts, are typically assigned certain non-judicial duties, such as administrative roles, and the judges do not___. Most are nominated by the president and approved by the Senate to serve a specific term (8-15 years).

have a lifetime appointment.

current list of __ courts: Magistrate Courts, Bankruptcy Courts, Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, Tax Court, and Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

legislative

The workhorses at the federal level are the __U.S. District Courts.

94

trial courts hear all crimes against the U.S., federal civil actions, and diversity cases. Each state has at least one District Court roughly on population. Georgia has __ U.S. District Courts while California has four.

three

The number of judges assigned to a district ranges from __

two to twenty eight.

U.S. District Courts can also be found in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories: __

The Virgin / Northern Mariana Islands and Guam

Congress (1968) created __ to deal with minor matters such as preliminary hearings, warrants, bail, and lesser criminal offenses. U.S. District Court judges decide cases alone or with a jury.

magistrate judges

Federal law requires__ to write an opinion explaining their decision when sitting without a jury.

District Court judges

The Sixth Amendment awards the right to a jury trial in all federal criminal cases, but __ must be involved under the Seventh Amendment for the right to a jury trial to apply in a federal civil case.

$20

Most federal cases are resolved at the District Court level. Only about __ of decisions are appealed on the basis of a question of law.

10 percent

Congress created __ U.S. Courts of Appeal that have jurisdiction over a set of U.S. District Courts and federal agencies within a defined geographic region

12

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit takes all appeals from the U.S. District Courts located in __(nine District Courts).

Georgia, Florida, and Alabama

A __ (1982), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C., was launched to manage appeals involving patents jurisdiction are called U.S. District Courts.

thirteenth appellate court

The first type of federal courts (authorized under Article III) are limited to exercising only judicial powers. They are: U.S. District Courts,__, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Claims / International Trade

U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal,

The president nominates judges to serve on federal courts and appointment depends upon approval by the __.

U.S. Senate

Article III judges (federal) cannot be removed except by __, resignation, or impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate.

death

Article III judges: federal. limited to exercising only judicial powers. courts are U.S. District Courts, U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Claims, and U.S. Court of International Trade. The president nominates judges to serve on these courts, and appointment depends upon approval by the U.S. Senate. cannot be removed except by death, resignation, or impeachment Article I: legislative courts, U.S. Magistrate Courts, U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, U.S. Tax Court, and U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. nominated by the president and approved by the Senate to serve a specific term Or Article I: Congress created a second type of federal courts, the section dealing with the legislative branch. serves appeals from decisions by the Court of International Trade and the Court of Federal Claims.

__ does not spell out qualifications to be a federal judge

Article III

A federal appellate court has from __ (First Circuit) to twenty-eight judges (Ninth Circuit). The appellate judge in the circuit with the most seniority serves as__, although they can continue as a regular member of the court after that age.

six judge, chief judge until the age of 70

federal appellate court: In rare cases, all judges in a circuit—a requirement by Congress for appellate courts with 15+ members—will be present for a case in what is known as an __. hearings take place to deal with a controversial case or to review a panel’s ruling in the circuit on an important case.

en banc hearing

An en banc hearing may be requested by any member of an appellate court and is convened when at least a __of judges are in favor.

majority

The decision by a U.S. Court of Appeal is binding on all __ in its circuit.

U.S. District Courts and federal agencies

An appellate court does not have the authority to issue orders outside its __ jurisdiction. these contradictions can only be ironed out by the U.S. Supreme Court- about 15% of decisions.

geographic

Congress determines the number of justices on the Supreme Court. the size of the Court has ranged from 6 to 10 members. The current size of__ justices was set in 1869

nine

Two characteristics of the justices: they tend to remain on the Supreme Court a long time, about __ years, and graduated from Harvard or Yale.

seventeen

Justices: One member of the Supreme Court is nominated by the president to serve as Chief Justice of the United States, and the other eight members are known as __.

associate justices

The chief justice has formal powers not possessed by other justices: votes first assigns author of the court’s opinion if voting with the majority (if minority, the assignment is doled out by the __ with seniority) heads the __of the United States that administers all federal courts.

associate justice in the majority Judicial Conference

At least __justices are needed to decide a case.

six

If a tie occurs, the ruling of the last court decides the case—usually a U.S. The Court of Appeals or a state’s highest court. While the Supreme Court is considered to take cases on appeal, the U.S. Constitution assigns an original jurisdiction. In these, a case goes to the __, and justices serve as the trial court. The decision is final.

Supreme Court

Four types of cases constitute the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction: • Cases between two or more states. • Cases between a state and the United States. • Cases involving __ and foreign counsels. • Cases in which a state is suing a citizen of another __.

ambassadors, state/ foreign nation

Concurrent jurisdiction denotes that a particular type of case can be heard by __court.

more than one

The last category of original jurisdiction was restricted by the__(1795) to prevent a state from being sued by a citizen of another __under sovereign immunity.

Eleventh Amendment, state or a foreign country

Only cases between two or more states remain within the __ exclusive original jurisdiction. often involve disputes over borders or water rights.

Supreme Court’s

the tradition is for the Supreme Court to appoint a __ to examine the evidence and recommend an outcome

master (usually a retired federal judge)

he caseload of the Supreme Court comes from its __. under the Constitution (Article III, Section 2), federal appellate jurisdiction is assigned with ‘‘such exceptions and under such regulations, as the Congress shall make.’’

appellate jurisdiction

appellate cases are taken from the 13 U.S. courts of appeals, from the__ for the Armed Forces, from U.S. District Courts, and from the __ when a federal question exists.

U.S. Court of Appeals, highest state courts

avenues of appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court: (1) writ of __ (when federal law gives the automatic right to have a certain type of case reviewed by the Supreme Court) (2) writ of __ (lower federal court requests instructions on a point of law never before decided) (3) writ of __ (writ of appeal is not available).

appeal, certification, certiorari

The writ of certiorari (writ of cert) is the __ means of appealing.

primary

The Supreme Court uses the rule of four to determine which appeals: __

four justices vote to accept

Denial of a writ means that not enough justices believe a __ was raised that is worthy of review.

substantial question

The Supreme Court begins its regular session on the first Monday in October and continues until __

late June or early July.

The justices meet in conference on __ Since 1910, only justices have been allowed in the room. associate justice with least seniority responds to knocks at the door / collects papers sought by the other members. __ and is followed by the associate justices in order of seniority, with voting taking place in the reverse sequence.

Wednesdays and Fridays, the chief justice is allowed to speak first on whether to accept or deny petitions on the discuss list

Oral arguments are conducted Mondays through Wednesdays beginning in early October--__. Each side is typically allocated a __, and justices can interrupt at any time.

late spring with two-week breaks., half hour

The __, nominated by the president / confirmed by the Senate, argues cases in which the federal government is a party.

Solicitor General

During conference, the justices discuss and vote on cases heard at oral argument. majority vote determines winning party. If a member of the majority side: __ assigns the opinion writer If chief justice is on the losing side: the __ determines the author of the court’s decision

The chief justice associate justice in majority with the most seniority

If a majority (five justices) does not endorse both the outcome and the rationale for a decision, the Supreme Court issues a__.

judgment

. __ was created to ensure that people are treated the same in applying legal standards.

Stare decisis

An appellate court’s precedent binds only the __ within its jurisdiction. The U.S. The Supreme Court binds all courts, state and federal, when it decides a federal question.

courts and agencies.

Precedent is established when a __ agrees on the outcome and the rationale behind a decision.

majority

A precedent requires judges to follow the ruling of a __ in their jurisdiction when dealing with a case that presents similar facts

higher court

State courts will occasionally evade the __ ruling because a state can always ‘‘impose higher standards

U.S. Supreme Court

the concept of judicial review has come to include the following elements: • It is a power possessed by __, state and federal. • It enables acts of Congress or any public authority to be __. • If found to be in violation of the federal Constitution, the law or action is _ and does not have to be obeyed.

all courts, challenged, voided

The U.S. The Court of Appeals has control over its __

circuit

Judicial review is a hotly debated topic: • power is not mentioned in the __. • power is subject to abuse. A majority on the Supreme Court can interpret the Constitution to say almost anything, and the only way to reverse it is by amending the Constitution. Amendments (Eleventh, Fourteenth, Sixteenth, __, and Twenty-Sixth) have been adopted specifically to override the Supreme Court. •__ has been blamed for undermining separation of powers by enabling courts to write what amounts to legislation.

Constitution. Nineteenth. judicial review.

Judicial activists believe: the role of courts includes __ left by the Constitution’s vague language. it is the duty of judges to minimize potential social disruption caused by the lack of __. Constitution should change with society.

‘‘filling in the holes’’ , clear policy guidelines

Federal courts are called upon to engage in __ where judges are not examining a law but are trying to make sense of it.

statutory interpretation

__ is able to alter court interpretations of statutes easily-- they can reverse the judicial interpretation of a statute by re-writing the law.

Congress

Advocates of judicial restraint contend that __ should decide cases on the basis of precedent and overturn laws only when a conflict with the Constitution is unmistakable. They believe this approach is best accomplished when judges avoid making up policy.

judges