Supreme Court

• • Supreme Court
  • it’s the only court the US constitution actually created
  • highest court in the country
  • constitution allows congress to create other courts, which is how the federal court system was born
• • Two Court Systems
  • Which court to use depends on the laws involved in the case
• • Federal Court System: deals with disputes about laws that apply to the entire United States
  • Involves federal laws, the US constitution, or disputes between citizens of different states
• • State Court System: mostly deals with disputes about state laws
  • Has its own court system created by its own state constitution
  • Involves states laws, state’s constitution, or disagreements between citizens of these state
  • Usually resolve everyday issues; family matters, accidents, crimes, and traffic violations
• • Criminal Case: relating to the rights of citizens
• • Civil Case: relating to crime
  • When people have a disagreement that they can’t resolve on their own
  • When one side feels that the others side violated their rights
  • Goal isn’t to find if someone’s guilty or not, it’s to decide which side’s version of the story is correct
• • Trial Court
  • First court to hear a case
  • State and federal systems have trial courts
  • Federal System’s trial court is called a district court
  • Lawyers use evidence to try to prove that their client’s side of the story is true
  • Evidence can be almost anything
  • Jury trial: group of 12 people listen to the evidence and decides who wins the case
  • Decision is called the verdict
  • Bench trial: no jury, so the judge calls the verdict
• • Appellate Court
  • Affirm the trial court’s decision, letting it stand
  • Reverse the decision
  • Remand the case back to the trial court to start over
• • Appellate Court
  • Above the trial court
  • If a losing side thinks there’s been an error, they can ask a appellate court to review the verdict and replace it with a different decision
  • Reviews the trial court decision for error
  • Decisions must be followed by all trial courts
  • Federal system and most state systems have 2 appellate-level courts: Court of Appeals and a Supreme Court
  • Asking an appellate court to review a case is called making an appeal
  • Never a jury
• • Supreme Court
  • Reviews the appeals court decision for error
  • Decisions must be followed by all lower courts
  • Nowhere left to go after this court
  • Panel of 9 justices
  • Chooses which cases to take, and doesn’t take many
  • Often disputes about whether a law goes against the Constitution
  • Only the Supreme Court itself can reverse their decision
  • Power of deciding what’s constitutional is judicial review
• • Supreme court has power over federal laws
  • State supreme court has power over state laws
• • Plessy vs Ferguson
  • Summary of the Case: Louisiana law said that Plessy had to sit in the colored seat because he was 1/8 black, but he sat in the white compartment, and so he was arrested for sitting in the ‘wrong’ seat.
  • Outcome: His rights were not violated
  • Why It’s Important: Racial segregation was okay as long as conditions were equal on both sides. Segregation became legal for schools, transportation, restaurants, etc. It also inspired racist beliefs that are still here today.
• • Brown vs Board of Education
  • Summary of the Case: Brown had to walk through a dangerous path to get to school because he went to a school for colored people even though there was a school for white people nearby. The schools were segregated but of the same quality.
  • Outcome: It was unconstitutional.
  • Why It’s Important: Segregation became illegal. People are still racist to black and/or colored people even today.
• • Miranda vs Arizona 
  • Summary of the Case: Miranda wasn’t told his rights while being arrested, and he lost the court case because he didn’t know that he had the right to remain silent, and so the stuff that he said was used against him.
  • Outcome: His rights were violated.
  • Why It’s Important: Police nowadays have to tell people that they have the right to remain silent when they’re being arrested.
• • Giddeon vs Wainwright
  • Summary of the Case: Giddeon stole stuff and was caught doing so. He wasn’t appointed a lawyer and couldn’t afford one, so he had to defend himself but since he didn’t have much legal knowledge , he lost the case. 
  • Outcome: His rights were violated.
  • Why It’s Important: Now, anybody who can’t afford a lawyer is appointed one to defend them.