The Federal Judiciary and Supreme Court Flashcards
landmark Supreme Court case that established the power of judicial review for the federal courts
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
the power of the federal courts to review and declare congressional laws and executive acts void if they conflict with the Constitution
judicial review
notion that judges are confined to only applying explicit constitutional rules
judicial restraint
notion that judges can discover general constitutional principles, interpret them based on a certain philosophy, and apply them to specific cases
judicial activism
the guarantee against arbitrary action by the federal government and state governments
due process
the process of questioning and selecting impartial jurors
voir dire
principle that individuals in custody should be brought into court and shown the cause for their detention; it cannot be constitutionally suspended except during rebellions or invasions
habeas corpus
meaning “to make certain”; the Supreme Court can grant certiorari to review an appeal of a lower court’s decision
certiorari
meaning “let the decision stand”; the principle used in the U.S. that precedent should generally determine judicial decisions in similar cases; the notion is that precedent should only be overruled when a court determines that the prior legal reasoning was unsound
stare decisis
nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate; they hold lifetime appointments; however, they are subject to removal from office (via congressional impeachment/removal) if they commit criminal offenses or other improprieties
federal judges
94 district courts (89 courts in 50 states + DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands); they are the general trial courts of the federal judiciary; they handle both civil and criminal cases; these courts determine facts of a case and the winning party; evidence is presented, and witnesses are examined/cross-examined
U.S. District Courts
11 numbered regions (circuits) + the D.C. Circuit + Federal Circuit; they are the courts that hear appeals from district courts; no trials, no witnesses; no testimony; the focus is on procedural errors, not facts of a case
U.S. Courts of Appeal
established by Article III of the Constitution; it is the final court of appeal; the Constitution does not set a fixed size of the Supreme Court in the number of justices; in the event of a split decision at the Supreme Court, the lower federal court’s ruling will stand (the Supreme Court will not rehear oral arguments of the same case from the beginning)
U.S. Supreme Court
current Chief Justice is John Roberts; the Chief Justice (when in the majority) decides who writes the Court’s opinion
chief justice
Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Ketnaji Brown Jackson
associate justices
