Bitters 1 Brittany Bitters Professor Jamie Nelson Political Science 1100 27 February 2014 The Federal Government: The

Judicial Branch A government system is essential, without it society would live in anarchy, which is a natural state of being, a world of chaos and disorganization. A government is necessary to provide security and protection from criminal and foreign violence, to keep order, and resolve conflicts (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 2). The government is there to make the tough decisions and hopefully do what is best for the members of its society. In some cases too much government control occurs, leading to total control by a small group or single person and they cannot be removed from power (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 3). In order to avoid too much government control there must be a way to limit their power; the United States government system uses a checks and balance system splitting the governments power between three separate branches; the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 6). Although there are three branches this paper will focus on the judicial branch; on the basic functions of the branch, the importance of the branch, and how it works with the other branches. The most basic function of the judicial branch is to interpret laws this is capable of happening because of the U.S. court system. According to the book, American Government and Politics Today authors Steffen W. Schmidt, Mark C. Shelley II, and Barbara A. Bardes discuss

Bitters 2 that, The United States has a dual court system. There are state courts and federal courts (270). Every state has its own independent system of courts, including the District of Columbia. No matter what court system, whether its state or federal, there are specific requirements that must be met before any case can be brought to the courts. Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes state that, Two important requirements are jurisdiction and standing to sue (270). Jurisdiction is a geographic area that allows courts to hear and decide cases. A states jurisdiction only allows authority over residents within the states boundaries, but there are also federal jurisdictions that limit the federal courts. Article III, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution limits the jurisdiction of the federal courts to cases that involve either a federal question or diversity of citizenship (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 270). This shows that all the court systems have limitations. The next requirement that a case must have in order to go court is, standing to sue. Standing to sue means that the first must have a sufficient stake, which entails that they have suffered some type of harm, because of the action from the dispute in question; the second part of standing to sue requires a justiciable controversy, which is real and substantial (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 271). The federal court system is made of three different courts; first, the U.S. District, Second the U.S. Court of Appeals and third, the U.S. Supreme Court. The first of three courts of the federal court system, the U.S. District courts are of general jurisdiction, which allows them to hear from a broad range of cases. In this particular court it is considered a trial court, which is where trials are held and a testimony is taken (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 272). Most federal cases of any matter are usually heard in the district courts.

Bitters 3 If a party is not satisfied with the decision made in the district courts they are able to appeal it to the U.S. court of appeals. There are thirteen appeals courts, twelve of them are located within their judicial circuit and hear appeals from the corresponding district courts in their jurisdiction. The thirteenth court of appeals is the Federal Circuit, according to the book, American Government and Politics Today, they have, national appellate jurisdiction over certain types of cases, such as cases involving patent law and those in which the U.S. government is a defendant (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 273). The U.S. Appeal Courts does not initiate another trial; they only review the trial and try to find if an error was made throughout the duration of the trial. According to authors Schmidt, Shelley and Bardes, An appellate court will challenge a trial courts finding of fact only when the finding is clearly contrary to the evidence presented at trial or when there is no evidence to support the finding (273). If a party is still dissatisfied with the decision of the U.S. court of appeals then they are able to try and petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision, but the likelihood of this happening is extremely small (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 273). The U.S. Supreme court is the highest level court in the U.S. federal court system. Unlike the U.S. District courts that only do trial courts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals only reviews and appeal, the U.S. Supreme court can do both. They have original jurisdiction in some cases (foreign diplomats or ones that include a state party), and are able to hold trials but often only act as an appellate court (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 274). The U.S Supreme court is particularly selective when it comes to the cases they choose to hear. It is necessary for them to be that careful because the decisions they make significantly affects citizens lives and influences national policies (276). There are nine Supreme Court justices and they are appointed by the president and senate. The justices decide which cases they will hear, when they grant approval

Bitters 4 for a petition of review they issue a writ of certiorari, which is an order issued by a higher court to a lower court to send up the record of a case for review (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 277). In order to issue a writ the rule of four must occur, this is where at least four approve of the petition. When a petition is accepted they begin their court procedure, where they do not hear any evidence, but use abstracts, the record and briefs in order to determine the outcome of the case (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 277). They also allow oral arguments from the lawyers, but they can also question them throughout the process. When all is finished the nine justices meet and discuss the cases and determine which new petitions they will grant certiorari. When a decision is made they write out an opinion, which according to authors Schmidt, Shelley and Bardes includes, the Courts ruling on the issue or issues presented, the reasons for its decision , the rules of law that apply and other information (277). The Supreme Court ruling will either affirm, which is to declare the previous ruling valid, or reverse, to determine the decision to be invalid, the lower courts decision; but sometimes the decision made is remanded, which is when it is sent back to the original court for a new trial (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 277). The judicial branch is just as important as the other two branches; the executive and legislative branches. Each branch has its own responsibilities, for example one of the legislative branchs main duties is to make laws and the executive branch is supposed to enforce those laws. The judicial branch is meant to interpret laws and make sure the other two branches are being constitutional in their actions. The constitution did not initially provide the judicial branch with the task of judicial review, which is the power of the courts to determine whether a law or action by the other branches of government is constitutional (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 282), this was given to them by the United States Supreme Court after the decision made in the

Bitters 5 case of Marbury v. Madison. The importance of this and its significance for the judicial branch is that with this process the interpretation of the constitution changes with the time, and the supreme court and other courts are capable of adapting the changes of values with the present. At any point in time the judicial branch can interpret what the law is (Shelley, Schmidt, and Bardes 32). Due to the vital functions that each branch plays in our government system it was extremely important that there was an established set of checks and balances in order to prevent one branch or another from gaining to much control and trying to push their own personal agendas. Each branch is checked and checks the other branches to maintain balance in the United States government system. How the judicial branch works with the other branches is that the executive branch appoints the members of the judiciary. Also due to the fact that the executive branch is in charge of enforcing laws, if they do not agree with the decisions made by the judicial branch they may refuse to implement it, same goes for the legislative branch (Shelley, Schmidt, and Bardes 286). In the legislative branch they are in charge of funding, so although the courts make the ruling, the legislative branch on all levels, are the ones who are fund the rulings in order for it to continue. By not appropriating the funds for the ruling, it has been checked by this branch. In addition the legislative branch can make constitutional amendments, which can overturn court rulings, and they can also rewrite laws or create new ones to overturn court rulings (Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes 287). In conclusion, the U.S. government system is a separation of powers into three different branches; the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. Each branch has its own powers and functions but they are limited, and are controlled by checks from the branches to keep balance and avoid total control. The judicial branch is meant as a way to

Bitters 6 interpret the constitution and to make sure laws are constitutionally sound. This branch comprised of the U.S. Court System and it has both state and federal courts. The Supreme Court has national jurisdiction and when they reach a decision all courts must follow suit. The judicial branch is important and is a great way to make sure that as time progresses and values change, so does the interpretation of the constitution. This is to insure that the laws made and enforced, are what is best for society and not unconstitutional.

Bitters 7 Source Schmidt, Steffen W., Mack C. Shelley, and Barbara A. Bardes. "Ch 1: The Democratic Republic." American Government and Politics Today. Brief ed. United States: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. 1-12. Print. Schmidt, Steffen W., Mack C. Shelley, and Barbara A. Bardes. "Ch 2: Forging a New Government: The Constitution." American Government and Politics Today. Brief ed. United States: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. 19-37. Print. Schmidt, Steffen W., Mack C. Shelley, and Barbara A. Bardes. "Ch 12: The Judiciary." American Government and Politics Today. Brief ed. United States: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. 268-290. Print.