For your information…

The best way to reach the White House is to have been chosen as vice president in an earlier election. The vice-presidency is not a powerful office but it gets a man recognized everywhere. He does not have to spend years introducing himself to every party official in the country and trying every trick of money and hype to get his face in front of television cameras and his name in the newspapers.

In the 16 elections since World War II, nine had a vice-president or former vice-president as candidate of one of the two parties.

Section 4. Reading assignment.

Read the excerpt from “America and Americans” by j. Steinbeck on page __ and do the tasks which follow the text.
Read “The Full Text of President Clinton’s tv Address” on page ___ and answer the questions.
Read the excerpt from “The Moneychangers” by Arthur Hailey on page __ and answer the questions. Unit 3 the judiciary

Section 1. Read the text and answer the following questions.

TEXT

Why do you think Americans see the role of lawyers differently as compared to other nations?
Why was it necessary to establish the federal court system alongside the existing state system?
What cases come under the jurisdiction of federal courts?
How does the federal court system work? Do you think it is efficient?
Which is the only stage within the federal court system where jury trials are held?
For what purpose were the courts of appeals set up?
The Constitution is silent on the qualification for the Supreme Courts justices. On what merit then do you think they are appointed?
Why do you think the US is notorious for its high crime rates despite the time-tested legal system?

Issues of crime and justice have always held Americans’ attention. Americans are adjusted to bringing their claims for justice to the courts. There are very few countries where so many people treat the law as part of their everyday lives. Local, state, and federal courts handle approximately 12 million cases a year. The sheer number of Americans employed in the legal profession is overwhelming; there is one lawyer for every 440 Americans, whereas in Japan there is one lawyer for every 10,000 people.

Americans’ claims for justice rest on the provisions of the United States Constitution and the guiding principle of the US system of justice “Equal Justice under Law.” The Constitution, written in 1787, established a separate judicial branch of government which operates independently alongside the executive and legislative branches.

A system of state courts existed before the constitution was drafted. When the Constitutional Convention met in 1787, the delegates knew that the nation’s court system didn’t work well. Each state interpreted the laws of the United States as it saw fit. As a result, no court had the power to resolve conflicts among the states. In addition, court decisions made in one state had no legal force in any other state. The judicial anarchy led to the creation of the federal court system. Article III of the Constitution states:

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.

Out of that Congressional mandate emerged a three-level federal court system – district courts, the courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court.

The separate system of federal courts, which operates alongside the state courts, handles cases which arise under the US Constitution or under any law or treaty, as well as any controversy to which the federal government is itself a party. Federal courts also hear disputes involving governments or citizens of different states. All federal judges enjoy life tenure, although a judge who commits an offense while in office may be impeached. By granting federal judges life tenure the Constitution safeguards judicial independence. US judges are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

The first level of federal courts – the district courts exercise original jurisdiction in federal matters. That is, they serve as trial courts for both criminal and civil cases arising under the laws of the United States. The 50 states are divided into 89 districts so that litigants may have a trial within east reach. Additionally, there is one in the District of Columbia and one in Puerto Rico. The district courts are the courts where trials are held, juries are used, and witnesses are called.

Courts of Appeals (also known as circuit courts) stand midway between the district courts and the Supreme Court and were created in 1891 to ease the Supreme Court’s workload. The United States is divided into 12 separate appeals circuits, each served by a court of appeals with from 3 to 15 sitting judges. Appeals are normally accepted only on the basis of 1) an improper courtroom procedure or 2) an incorrect application of the law. Because the Supreme Court reviews only about 4% of the cases it is asked to consider, decisions made by the courts of appeals are usually the final word on most district court decisions.

The Supreme Court is the highest court of the United States. Under the American system of checks and balances, the Supreme Court often plays a crucial role in charting the course of American society. The nine justices who occupy the Supreme Court bench serve as the final decision makers on all questions of federal law. They also serve as the court of final resort for any lower court decisions that involve federal jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court is made of eight associate justices and a Chief Justice. The Constitution is silent on the qualification for judges. A Supreme Court justice may have been a Senator, an Attorney General, a teacher in a law school, or even the administrator of an agency, that acts like a court. Supreme Court justices are appointed by the president but must be confirmed by the Senate. The Justices hold their seats for life unless they resign, retire, or are impeached. Presidents are likely to appoint justices whose views are similar to their own, with the hope that these justices can extend some of heir power through the judicial branch. Thus, a president fortunate enough to fill several Supreme Court vacancies can change the Court’s philosophy for a generation.

The Constitution limits the Supreme Court to original jurisdiction over two types of cases: those that involve two or more of the states and those that affect foreign ambassadors and other public ministers. All other cases reach the Supreme Court on appeal from lower courts. A significant amount of the work of the Supreme Court, however, consists of determining whether legislation or executive acts conform to the Constitution. This is the power of judicial review.

In the past, Supreme Court rulings have given new protection and freedom to blacks and other minorities. The Supreme Court has nullified certain laws of Congress and has even declared actions of American presidents unconstitutional.

There are special courts of the United States, so called because they have jurisdiction over special subject matter. The title of each generally indicates its jurisdiction. The oldest is the United States Court of Claims (established in 1982), which hears claims of private individuals against the Government for breach of contracts, for injuries cause by negligent behavior of government employers. The Probate Court has jurisdiction over wills, estates, guardians, and minors. Other special courts include the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, the Tax Court.

The system of state courts looks like the three-layer system of Federal courts: general trial courts (different states give different names to these courts: circuit courts, superior courts, courts of common pleas, and country courts), state appeals courts and state supreme courts. A Supreme Court has the power to declare State law unconstitutional.

Standing at the bottom of the state courts pyramid are minor state courts. In some states, the judicial system begins with the justice of the peace courts (also known as magistrate courts or police courts), where the judge or magistrate (the justice of the peace) is elected by the community to resolve minor legal problems. They hear and decide on less serious cases, e.g. stealing or decide if there is enough evidence for a more serious case to go to a higher court. Some states also have special traffic courts, probate courts, courts of small claims, juvenile courts, and domestic relations (family) courts.

The municipal courts rank a step above the minor courts. They have replaced the older police and magistrate courts in many larger communities.

NOTES:

The Constitutional Convention

In February 1787, the Continental Congress, the legislative body of the republic, issued a call for the states to send delegates to Philadelphia to revise the “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union” (adopted by a Congress of the states in 1777). The Constitutional, or Federal, Convention convened on May 25, 1787. Although the delegates had been authorized only to amend the Articles of the Confederation, they pushed the Articles aside and proceed to construct a charter for a wholly new, more centralized form of government.

THE PATH TO THE SUPREME COURT

STATE COURTS FEDERAL COURTS

APPELLATE JURISDICTION