The Government's Branches: Judicial Edition

This is PART THREE of the branch series. One branch each day for three days. This episode will answer all your questions on how a case travels from the federal courts to the supreme court, the role of the supreme court, and more. Enjoy!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Red White and You, a podcast dedicated to informing the public about our American history and civics in an accessible, digestible way. Because let's be honest, we all need a little bit of a refresher course. I'm your host, Evan Hyman Muchnick, and today it's part three and day three of our series of branches that are not related to trees. Judicial branch, welcome to the pod, and let's get into it. Okay, so the judicial branch. What? Who is you? Um, well, the judicial the judicial branch um not only is meant to be mispronounced by Evan, but they're also responsible for interpreting laws and ensuring that laws are applied fairly under the constitution. Um, if you think that this podcast ref references the constitution a lot, the first three words that the judges wake up to are we the people. Like the constitution is everything over there. Um and the US federal court system has three main levels, um, at the bottom, district courts, then the court of appeals, and then at the tippity top, the Supreme Court. So, fun fact, uh, the Supreme Court of the United States is the only court specifically created by the Constitution. All other federal courts, like district courts and appeals courts, were created by Congress. So, district courts. Um, district courts are where most federal cases begin. They are responsible for trials and for fact-finding. There are a total of 94 federal judicial districts across the U.S., and each district has at least one judge, court staff, federal prosecutor, um, and defense attorneys. Um, and this is where the trial process occurs. So loyal lawyers present evidence, witnesses testify, uh, juries may decide the verdict, and judges oversee the trial. Um, you can watch suits for some more court law stuff, all of that fun stuff. Um, but district courts handle, um, they handle federal crimes like bank robbery, drug trafficking, all of that bad stuff, um, civil cases involving federal law and also dispute disputes between citizens of different states, but they also tackle some constitutional cases. And after the trial, the judge or jury makes a decision. And if someone disagrees, they can appeal to the United States Courts of Appeals. Okay, so now let's talk about the appeals courts. Perfect segue. Thank you very much. Um, the middle ground, the the appeals courts are the middle ground between district courts and the supreme court. And these courts review decisions from district courts to make sure that law was applied correctly. Something important to note is that they do not hold trials. Um, they really just are a panel of judges. They look at written briefs from lawyers, oral, oral arguments. They do not hear witnesses or review new evidence because this is not what? Not a trial. Yes. Um, so the U.S. is divided into 13 circuits, 11 regional circuits, one DC circuit, and one federal circuit. You can think of these circuits as zones or areas of the country where one appeals court reviews cases from the federal trial courts in that specific circuitslash zone. The court of appeals can affirm the lower court, so agree with their decision. They can reverse the decision, and they can also send the case back to the lower court for another trial. And if someone still disagrees with the outcome, they may be able to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. And the Supreme Court is pretty much the final level for trials and decisions. And a case will start at the district courts, obviously, and then slowly appeal its way on up to the Supreme Courts. So, what does the Supreme Court do? How does it work? Well, there are nine justices total, um, one chief justice and eight associate justices. Um, justices are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, and they serve lifetime terms unless they retire, resign, or are impeached. And the court usually hears cases that involve constitutional questions, disputes between states, important federal law issues, or appeals from the U.S. Court of Appeals. And some examples of case are cases about freedom of speech, voting rights, or presidential power. And that presidential power one we've seen a lot recently. So, how do cases reach the Supreme Court? The justices vote on whether to hear the case, and if four of the nine justices agree, the court hears the case. This is called the rule of four. Pretty self-explanatory. And to make decisions, the judges hear the arguments, and hashtag trial happens. After hearing the arguments in the trial, the justices, the justices discuss privately. They vote, they write majority opinions, and sometimes they write dissenting opinions. And boom, that's how the Supreme Court works. And the whole freaking judicial branch works. And it's also the end of our branches of government three-day crash course. Yay! I love it. Um, a few closing questions I have for you. Right now, the Supreme Court is facing a large issue. Judges are failing to be independent as they are being appointed and confirmed by our presidents, which has been going on for a really long time. But biases right now, it feels that they're stronger, and the strength of the constitution, though, is weakening, especially in the executive branch. Right now, we need a Supreme Court that is apolitical and focused on the Constitution only, not influenced by politics. How do we make sure that that happens? Does this call for the end of lifetime terms? If politics are changing so fast, why is the Supreme Court having the same opinions for tens of years? Just some things to think about because democracy is important to know, especially now. We need people informed so that they can engage because that is what America is by the people, and those people are knowledgeable and informed people. I will see you when I see you. Thank you so much for listening and have the best day. Come back for the next episode of Red, White, and You. Bye.