Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sotomayor
Alito
Kagan
come from:
Congress/laws. Appeals by lower courts related to those laws that set a
precedent.
A decision that sets an example for future similar cases.
Arguments about rules and laws occur, naturally. Determine if an action by a party is constitutional or
not.
Does it go against a law or principle/goal of the USC?
The winning side is the Majority. The losing side writes the Dissenting Opinion.
government and the 50 States are. It will hear appeals. If you dont like a lower courts ruling, you can take it here.
The Court will only hear cases that deal with the
in the Constitution, or when there is no basis in the Constitution for that law.
Not just anybody can take its case here. Why? Usually hears only between 60-100 cases per year. SCOTUS carefully selects the cases it will hear, then argue.
the nation. This is called Judicial Review. Remember: Congress creates the courts and decides the number of judges.
Supreme Court Federal District Courts
Courts for:
Taxes International Trade Armed Forces Land/Property Disputes)
country, see map). They are the Regional courts in our nation below the SCOTUS. President appoints these judges for life, too. 3 Judges per district, so 33 in total. Hear the disputes/appeals from all states within their district. They only deal with federal laws and hear the disputes of