# Presentation: 377413

## A Federal Judiciary 

- Supremacy of federal Law
- Local orientation of lower courts
- Citizen access to justice

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## Debates on the Judicial System 

- Geographical extension of the court system
- Supreme Court justices on circuit
- Right of appeal to the Supreme Court
- Balance of federal and state jurisdiction
- Managing caseloads
- Institutional independence

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## The Constitutional Outline 

- One Supreme Court
- Optional “inferior” courts
- “Judicial power” of the United States
- Cases under the Constitution, laws, and treaties
- Admiralty and maritime
- Disputes between citizens of different states

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## Judiciary Act of 1789 

- Three types of courts:
- Supreme Court—appeals from state and federal courts
- Circuit courts—most important federal trials, some appeals
- District courts—admiralty and maritime cases, lesser crimes and suits

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## Protecting Local Legal Cultures 

- Judicial districts within state borders
- Use of state rules and procedures
- Residency requirements for district judges
- Circuit riding for Supreme Court justices

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## Politics and Competing Visions for the Courts 

- Judiciary Act of 1801
- Full federal jurisdiction
- New circuit judges
- No circuit riding for justices
- Republicans restore the system of 1789

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## Courts for an Expanding Nation 

- New circuits for new states
- The limits of circuit riding
- Establishment of circuit judgeships, 1869

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## Federal Jurisdiction

- New government responsibilities:
- Copyright
- Land claims
- Bankruptcy
- Slave trade
- Circuit courts, 1875—all federal questions

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## The Significance of the Circuit Courts 

- Supreme Court justices’ interact with lawyers and the public
- Understanding local variations in the law
- Defining federal law in the trial courts

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## A Burdened Judiciary 

- An unmanageable Supreme Court docket
- Balancing the need for speedy justice with a right to review
- Implications of restricting appeals

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## Establishment of Courts of Appeals

- Courts of appeals in every circuit
- New circuit judges
- Final jurisdiction in many cases

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## Redefining the Role of the Supreme Court 

- Certiorari
- Limiting circuit duties
- Expanding discretionary jurisdiction
- Emphasis on constitutional questions and circuit disparities

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## Insuring Timely Justice 

- New courts and multiple judgeships
- New types of judges:
- Magistrate judges
- Bankruptcy judges
- Growth of court staff

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## Institutional Independence 

- Judicial Conference
- Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
- Federal Judicial Center

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center

## An Enduring Federalism 

- Three-tiered judiciary preserves federal system
- Uniform national law
- Access to justice

- Prepared by the Federal Judicial Center