- •Unit 1 parliament
- •The british parliament
- •The pleasure was all mine.
- •Unit 2 monarchy
- •The British Monarchy
- •Unit 3 the houses of parliament
- •The house of lords
- •The house of commons
- •Unit 4 elections
- •The election procedure
- •Voting, electoral (2), sovereign (2), election, residence, recommendations, elections, approved, electorate, voters.
- •Unit 5 political parties
- •System of political parties
- •Unit 6 government
- •System of government
- •Unit 7 local government
- •System of local government
- •Unit 8 Government
- •System of Government
- •Unit 9 Organization of the Federal Government
- •President
- •The Executive Branch
- •The Legislative Branch
- •The judicial branch
- •The United States Court system
- •Unit 10 Congress
- •How Congress Decides
- •Unit 11 political Parties
- •System of political parties
- •Unit 12 Local Government
- •System of Local Government
- •Revision
- •Sources
- •Contents The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- •The United States of America
The judicial branch
The third branch of the federal government, the judiciary, consists of a system of courts spread throughout the country, headed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Article III of the Constitution states the basis for the federal court system:
The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.
With this guide, the first Congress divided the nation into districts and created federal courts for each district. From that beginning has evolved the present structure: the Supreme Court, 11 courts of appeals, 91 district courts, and three courts of special jurisdiction. Congress today retains the power to create and abolish federal courts, as well as to determine the number of judges in the federal judiciary system. It cannot, however, abolish the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court, consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices. The Court decides whether laws are constitutional - that is, consistent with the US Constitution - when cases appealed from lower courts raise this question. It also acts on disputes involving the national government, or two or more states, or citizens of different states.
The lower federal courts are the circuit courts of appeal and district courts. The power of the federal courts extends both to civil actions for damages and other redress, and to criminal cases arising under federal law.
Appointed for life, the judges of all the federal courts can be removed from office only for misconduct and after trial by the Senate. Impeachment is considered a drastic measure, one that has been used on only rare occasions in the United States. The House of Representatives has voted articles of impeachment just 17 times in the history of the country. Thirteen of the 17 persons who have been impeached were federal judges.
The judicial system relies on the service of citizens as members of juries in federal, state and local courts. Every American of legal age is subject to jury duty, unless he or she can show that such service would constitute a severe personal hardship. Grand juries have enormous powers to investigate wrong-doing by public officials as well as private citizens. Trial juries sit in judgment of their fellow citizens charged with violations of the law.
The judicial system is premised on a belief in the equality of all individuals, in the inviolability of human rights and in the supremacy of the law. No individual or group, regardless of wealth, power or position, may defy these principles. No person, for any reason, may be denied the protection of the law.
9.22. Answer the following questions:
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How many justices are there in the Supreme Court?
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Name the lower federal courts.
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What term are the judges of the federal courts appointed for?
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Discuss the following chart. Compare the court system of the USA with that of your country.