TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENTS:
Chapter 12, "The Judiciary: The Balancing Branch,"
pages 311-336.
U.S. Constitution, Article III, Sections 1 & 2.
OUTLINE & STUDY GUIDE:
I. The Nature and Scope of the Judicial Power [Textbook, pages
312-313]
A. The Basis of the American Judicial Process [312]
1. The Adversary System
B. The Essentially Passive Nature of Judicial Power [312]
1. Justiciable Disputes
2. Standing to Sue
C. Class Action Suits [312]
1. Definition and Description
2. The Requirements That Must Be Met by Class Action
Litigants
D. Political Questions [312]
1. Definition
2. Examples
E. How Judges Make Law [312-313]
1. How Legislatures Make Law
a. How Legislative Statutes and Judge-Made Law
Differ
2. Why Must the Courts Make Law
F. Adherence to Precedent [313]
1. The Rule of Stare Decisis
a. Stare Decisis--A Definition
b. Stare Decisis--How Restrictive?
II. The United States Courts and Federal Justice [Textbook,
pages 313-319; U.S. Constitution, Article III, Sections 1
& 2]
A. The Judicial Power of the United States
1. U.S. Constitution, Article III, Section 1
a. In What the Judicial Power of the U.S. National
Government Is Vested
B. The Jurisdiction of the United States Courts
1. U.S. Constitution, Article III, Section 2, Para-
graph 1
a. Legal Cases and Controversies Coming within
the Jurisdiction of the U.S. Courts
C. Article III Courts--The Constitutional Courts of the
United States [313-318]
1. Federal Courts of General Jurisdiction
a. The U.S. Supreme Court
(1) Original Jurisdiction
(a) Original Jurisdiction--A Definition
(b) The Original Jurisdiction of the
U.S. Supreme Court--Cases Coming
within the Original Jurisdiction of
the Supreme Court [Article III,
Section 2, Paragraph 2]
(2) Appellate Jurisdiction
(a) Appellate Jurisdiction--A Definition
(b) The Appellate Jurisdiction of the
U.S. Supreme Court--Cases Coming
within the Appellate Jurisdiction of
the Supreme Court [Article III,
Section 2, Paragraph 2]
b. The U. S. District Courts--Federal Courts of
Original Jurisdiction
(1) Criminal Cases
(a) Federal Offenses
(b) Grand Juries
(c) Petit Juries
c. Federal Magistrate Judges
(1) Method of Selection
(2) Terms of Office
(3) Functions
d. U.S. Courts of Appeals
(1) Number
(2) Importance and Function
(3) Scope of Appellate Jurisdiction
(4) Method of Operation
(5) Federal Judicial Circuits
D. Federal Judges--U.S. Supreme Court Justices, Judges of
the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and U.S. District Court
Judges
1. Method of Selection
2. Terms of Office
3. How a Federal Judge May Be Removed from Office
Prior to His or Her Death or Resignation
