Chapter 11 The Judiciary: The Balancing Branch

Objectives To describe the differing forms of law on which the American legal system is based To gain an overview of the organization of the federal court system To study the major participants involved in selection of federal judges To discover how the Supreme Court operates To evaluate the role of judicial review in a democratic society

Vocabulary Administrative Law Adversary System Amicus Curiae Appellate Jurisdiction Civil Law Class Action Suit Common Law Concurring Opinion Constitutional Law Court of Appeals Court of Appeals Criminal Law Defendant Dissenting Opinion District Courts Equity Grand Jury Habeas Corpus Judicial Activist Judicial Restraint Judicial Review Justiciable Disputes Magistrate Majority Opinion Opinion of the Court Original Jurisdiction Petit Jury Plea Bargain Political Question Public Defender System Senatorial Courtesy Stare Decisis Statutory Law U.S. Marshal Writ of Certiorari

Guided Questions 1. Judges: The Balancing Branch a. How did the first judges of the Supreme Court shape its authority and scope? b. Why is our system called "adversarial"? c. What kinds of disputes do they hear? d. Why have class action suits become so important? e. Do judges make law? f. What is stare decisis? How does it affect what judges decide? 2. Federal Justice a. By what body was the federal court system established? b. What courts form the base of the federal judicial system? What do they do? c. What cases reach the Courts of Appeal? How do they relate to state courts? 3. Prosecution and Dcfense: Federal Lawyers a. What key role in the system do federal prosecutors play? b. What is the function of the Solicitor General? 4. How Federal Judges are Selected a. What groups have an input in the selection process? b. Why is the Senate Judiciary Comnilttee so importan? c. How much attention is paid to party, race, and sex in nominating judges? d. How important is ideology? e. Why is age such a vital factor? f. What role does ideology play? When applied to the Court, what is the meaning of activism and restraint? g. How did the nomination hearings of Bork, Souter, and Thomas differ? h. is change likely for the selection process of judges? i. What authority does Congress have over jurisdiction and membership of the Court? 5. How the Supreme Court Operates a. What devices give the Court an air of authority and respect? b. How does the Supreme Court decide what cases it will hear? c. What is the "rule of four? d. What procedure is used by the Court in hearing cases? e. Why are Court conferences so important'? f. Who writes the Court opinion? What if the vote is split? g. Why is such an effort put into consensus voting? h. How has the style of recent chief justices varied? i. Why is the implementation of many Court decisions long delayed? 6. Judicial Power in a Democracy a. Does oursystem of justice put power in the hands of unelected officials? b. Does public opinion have an impact? c. Who favors judicial activism? Judicial restraint? Are conservatives and liberals apt to change roles in this argument? Why? d. What can Congress do if it disagrees with a Court decision?

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