Article III of the Constitution
One supreme court
Inferior courts that Congress may establish
Judges hold office under good behavior
Set amount of money paid to them (Salaries can't affect their decisions)
Courts are supposed to be an independent branch of the government
Supreme Court's Original Jurisdiction
All cases affecting ambassadors, ministers and consuls.
Cases in which the state is a party
Suits between two or more states
Suits involving a state and a foreign government.
Original Jurisdiction
The first court to hear the case.
Appellate Jurisdiction
Not the first to hear the case, can only hear on appeal after a writ of certiorari is issued.
Characteristics of the trial court
Judges sit individually
Judges present in certain cases
Prosecution and Defense (Criminal) Plaintiff and Defense (Civil)
Courts of original jurisdiction
Decisions can be overruled
Characteristics of the appellate court
Panel of Judges
No juries present
Petitioner/ Respondent
Only have org. jurisdiction in special cases
Decisions are binding in lower courts
Types of Federal Court
United States Supreme Court (Court of last resort)
United States Court of Appeals
United States District Courts
Non-Article III Courts (Ex. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, U.S. Tax Court, Decision of US Magistrates, Administrative Law judges)
Types of state courts
State Supreme Court (Last Resort)
Intermediate Appellate Court (Appellate jurisdiction, have discretion when picking cases)
Courts of General Jurisdiction (Trial Courts, felonies)
Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (Minor trial courts)
Municiple Court
Having jurisdiction within the city.
Magistrate Court
Having jurisdiction within the county.
When can you appeal from the state level to the state level?
When there is a federal aspect to your case. Don't have to work your way up the ladder, can go straight to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Class Action Suit
Multiple people suing one party.
Fourth Amendment
Protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Need probable cause, and a specific description of where you're looking in order to be issued a warrant.
Seizure
interference with a persons property, or freedom of movement.
Probable Cause
Reasonable grounds to believe a crime has been or will be committed.
Warrant
a judge authorizing a police officer to make a search or arrest.
Fourteenth Amendment
No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty and property without due process of law.
Added to the constitution in 1868
Due Process
fair treatment through the normal judicial system, in matters of life liberty and property.
Selective Incorporation
Process through the US Supreme Court has applied the due process clause of the 14th amendment to extend the reach of the bill of rights to the states .
Supremacy Clause
Federal law is supreme over any other law.
Courts of original jurisdiction at the state level
circuit courts
Traditionalist View
Law is the logical interpretation of principal.
Judges are supposed to find the law through precedent or stare Decisis.
Similarly situated criminals will get similar sentences.
Cases that are improperly decided in the lower courts will be reviewed by the
Realist View
Decisions are made about what we do not know.
Judges make a decision and then go out and find decisions like it.
Similarly situated criminals will not always get similar sentences because of discretion.
Upper court myth; the real action is in the trial co
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Scott was a slave in Missouri
1833-1843 he was in Illinois a free state
When he came back to Missouri, Scott sued unsuccessfully in the Missouri courts for his freedom
Scott brought a new suit in federal court
Dred Scott Decision
Court ruled that no descendant from an American Slave is a citizen for Article III purposes
Therefore, Dred Scott was not a citizen and just a slave according to the Constitution.
Equal Protection Clause
Cannot deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Used to prevent states from treating individuals unfairly, because of race, national origin, citizenship status or gender.
Also prohibits laws that unreasonably and unfairly
Plessy v. Ferguson
State of Louisiana enacted a law requiring separate railway cars for blacks and whites
Homer Plessy, who was 1/8th black, sat in the "whites only" car of a Louisiana train
He refused to move and was arrested
Plessy appeared before the Louisiana district c
Plessy Decision
The state law is constitutional
According to the justices, separate facilities for blacks and whites satisfied the Fourteenth Amendment so long as they are equal.
"Separate but Equal"
Segregation does not itself constitute unlawful discrimination.
Brown v. Board of Education
1954.
This case was really the name given to five separate cases heard by the Supreme Court at the same time
In all cases, black children were being denied admission to public schools attended by white children.
Plaintiffs argued that this segregation dep
Brown v. Board Decision
Although the schools had equal buildings, curriculum etc, separating based on race creates a feeling of inferiority
Separate is inherently unequal
Maintained racial separation is unconstitutional
Looked at research study surrounding African American child
Crime Control Model
Repression of criminal conduct
Efficiency is key
Presumption of guilt
Focal point is a plea of guilty
Validating authority is legislation (Heavily relying on legislation to determine the fate of cases)
Not really an adjudication process. More of a quick f
Due Process Model
Focused on the formal structure of the law (Traditionalist/Optimistic view)
Rejection of informal fact-finding
Elimination of mistakes
Doctrine of legal guilt (People who are guilty and want to plead guilty should plead guilty, no one else)
Equality
Focal
Procedural Due Process
Procedure of the law has to be reasonable and fair.
Whenever the government threatens to take a life, liberty or property interest from an individual.
Substantive Due Process
Substance of the law has to be reasonable and fair.
Focuses on government regulation of conduct such as abortion, sexual conduct and certain family matters.
Michigan Case
Michigan Constitution
- Article 1 section 11 = Michigan's version of the 4th amendment
Case Study:
Background Information
- Sobriety Checkpoint Program
- Michigan drivers filed a class action suit against the police department
- Argued that the police did