U5 Organization and Structure of Judicial Branch Flashcards
What does Article 3 of the Constitution talk about?
Judge Terms, Jurisdiction, Treason, and Right to Jury Trial
What do the Judge’s Terms look like?
Judges operate independently from other branches and public. They serve for as long as they live so long as they have good behavior.
What do the judges jurisdict?
Either original cases that they hearing for the first time, or appellate cases that they are hearing based on appeals from other lower courts.
What is treason?
War against home country, aiding enemey.
What is the “Right to Jury Trial”?
A rough draft of the sixth amendment allowing citizens to check on accusations by the government.
What is the Judiciary Act of 1789?
It established organization of the federal court system which defined a three tier system. District courts at the bottom, circuit/appeal courts in the middle, and Supreme court at the top. It also created the Office of the Attorney General.
What are the District Courts?
94 total courts created by Congress with 700 total judges. They hear federal criminal and civil matters. They’re the trial courts so they’ll have original jurisdiction.
What are the U.S. Circuit/Appeal Courts?
11 regional courts created by Congress (plus an additional 2 for D.C. and Federal). There are 200 judges who sit in panels and take appeals from district courts.
What is the Supreme Court?
Created by Article 3 of the Constitution with the number of seats changing as they are appointed. They hear 80 cases of 8000 which is 1% from Oct. to June. They take appeals from circuit and top state courts. They follow the Writ of Cert and Rule of Four.
What is the Writ of Cert?
A petition from Supreme Court to a lower level court to review a case and instruct them to submit the entire record of the case.
What is the Rule of Four?
4/9 judges must agree to accept/hear case
When does the Supreme Court get original jurisdiction?
Only in unique cases from state issues.
