Chapter 20: Supreme Court Decision Making

1. Section 1
   1. Objectives
      1. Be able to characterize the cases that come before the Supreme Court
      2. Define precedent
   2. Tools for Shaping Policy
      1. Using Judicial Review
         1. Derived from the case of Marbury v. Madison
         2. Allows all federal courts to declare laws and acts of government to be unconstitutional and therefore null and void
      2. Interpretation of Laws
         1. Slightly less important than judicial review
         2. Tell what the laws mean
            1. Primarily by addressing definitional issues
            2. Words like "reasonable" or "fair", etc.…
      3. Overturning Earlier Decisions
         1. One of the basic principles of law making is stare decisis, which means let the decision stand.
         2. Means that once a court makes a ruling on a case, it will serve as the precedent, or model, for all future cases of similar makeup.
            1. For example if it is found that evidence found in a car as the result of a dog search is inadmissible in court in one case, it will probably be inadmissible in all cases.
   3. Limits on the Supreme Court
      1. The Supreme Court does not give equal attention to all types of cases
         1. Most of its cases deal with the constitution and bill of rights
         2. Some appeals from prisoners looking to have their decisions overturned
         3. Cases that deal with the interpretation of the meaning of the law
         4. Cases involving power disputes between different states, or a state and the federal government.
      2. Limits on Cases
         1. The Supreme Court will only accept cases when it feels its ruling will make a difference
         2. Will not give advisory opinions, or rule on a law that has not been challenged in court
         3. The person bringing the case must have suffered real harm. They will not accept theoretical cases.
         4. The case must involve a substantial federal question
      3. Lack of Enforcement power
         1. The court has no officers who it can direct to enforce its rulings
         2. If the executive branch does not enforce rulings of the Supreme Court, there is nothing that can be done.
2. The Supreme Court at Work
   1. Section 2 Objectives
      1. Explain the three ways that cases reach the Supreme Court in its appellate jurisdiction.
      2. Describe the three types of opinions the court may deliver.
   2. How Cases Reach the Court
      1. On Appeal
         1. When one of the parties in a case believe a wrong decision was made by the lower court.
         2. Almost always deals with Constitutional interpretation.
         3. Most requests to the court on appeal are dismissed ( not heard ).
         4. Make up about 10% of the courts cases.
      2. Writ of Certiorari
         1. When the Supreme Court asks for the records of a case to be sent to them for review.
         2. Most of the cases that the court hears come from this method.
         3. Cases do not necessarily have to deal with the constitutionality of a law or action.
      3. Certificate
         1. When the lower court asks the Supreme Court to review its decision and the reasons it reached that decision.
         2. Lower court wants to see if they made the right legal decision.
   3. Steps in Deciding Major Cases
      1. Submitting Briefs
         1. Attorneys from each side give the court written explanations of their point of view
         2. May also get amicus curiae briefs
            1. Friend of the Court
            2. From others who have information relevant to the case
      2. The Conference
         1. Fridays are meeting days where the justices debate what they have heard throughout the week
         2. No notes are taken at the meetings
         3. A majority is required to overturn the judgment
      3. Writing the Opinion
         1. What is an opinion?
            1. Legal reasons why the decision was reached
            2. Unanimous Opinion
               1. When all the justices vote the same way
            3. Majority Opinion
               1. Reasons why those in the majority voted the way they did
            4. Concurring Opinion
               1. Also written by those on the "winning side" but says " I agree with the decision, but I agree for a reason different that that stated in the majority decision"
            5. Dissenting Opinion
               1. Written by those who "lost" the case and they want to say why they disagree with the majority.

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