What is the relationship between the Supreme Court and the federal government?

How the Supreme Court Works

The Supreme Court is:

• The highest court in the country
• Located in Washington, DC
• The head of the judicial branch of the federal government
• Responsible for deciding whether laws violate the Constitution
• In session from early October until late June or early July

How a Case Gets to the Supreme Court

Most cases reach the Court on appeal. An appeal is a request for a higher court to reverse the decision of a lower court. Most appeals come from federal courts. They can come from state courts if a case deals with federal law.

Rarely, the Court hears a new case, such as one between states.

1. Dissatisfied parties petition the Court for review
   Parties may appeal their case to the Supreme Court, petitioning the Court to review the decision of the lower court.

2. Justices study documents
   The Justices examine the petition and supporting materials.

3. Justices vote
   Four Justices must vote in favor for a case to be granted review.

What Happens Once a Case is Selected for Review?

1. Parties make arguments
   The Justices review the briefs (written arguments) and hear oral arguments. In oral arguments, each side usually has 30 minutes to present its case. The Justices typically ask many questions during this time.

2. Justices write opinions
   The Justices vote on the case and write their opinions.

   The majority opinion shared by more than half of the Justices becomes the Court’s decision.

   Justices who disagree with the majority opinion write dissenting or minority opinions.

3. The Court issues its decision
   Justices may change their vote after reading first drafts of the opinions. Once the opinions are completed and all of the Justices have cast a final vote, the Court “hands down” its decision.

   All cases are heard and decided before summer recess. It can take up to nine months to announce a decision.

Every year:

The Court receives 7,000-8,000 requests for review and grants 70-80 for oral argument. Other requests are granted and decided without argument.

About the Justices:

There are nine Justices:

• A Chief Justice, who sits in the middle and is the head of the judicial branch.
• Eight Associate Justices

When a new Justice is needed:

• The President nominates a candidate, usually a federal judge.
• The Senate votes to confirm the nominee.
• The Court can continue deciding cases with less than nine Justices, but if there is a tie, the lower court’s decision stands.

Justices are appointed for life, though they may resign or retire.

• They serve an average of 16 years.

“You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” James Madison, Federalist No. 51, 1788

The framers of the U.S. Constitution wanted the federal government to have only limited power.  Therefore, they limited the kinds of cases federal courts can decide.  Most laws that affect us are passed by state governments, and thus state courts handle most disputes that govern our daily lives.

Federal courts also serve an important role.  They defend many of our most basic rights, such as freedom of speech and equal protection under the law.

This is the fundamental idea behind Federalism, which means a government in which power is divided between one national government and other, smaller state or regional governments.

Dual Court System

Jurisdiction of the Courts:  State vs. Federal

• General Jurisdiction

  State courts are courts of "general jurisdiction". They hear all the cases not specifically selected for federal courts. Just as the federal courts interpret federal laws, state courts interpret state laws. Each state gets to make and interpret its own laws. This helps the states retain power, and makes sure that the national government does not become too strong.

• Types of Cases

  About 90% of all the cases heard in the American court system happen at the state level. Examples include:

  • A crime that is a violation of state law. Most criminal activity falls in this category, such as robbery, assault, murder, and many drug-related crimes.
  • A controversy arising out of the state constitution or other state laws.
  • A case in which the state is a party, such as state tax violations.
  • Most real estate cases, malpractice, personal injury cases, and contract disputes.
  • All family, divorce, custody, inheritance and probate cases.
  • Most traffic and juvenile cases.

• Limited Jurisdiction

  As the framers wrote the Constitution, some feared that the federal courts might threaten the independence of the states and the people. To combat this fear the framers set up a federal court system that can only hear cases in special circumstances. We call this having“limited jurisdiction.” Since the federal courts can only hear certain kinds of cases, most of the day-to-day cases that courts deal with happen in state courts.

  Basically, federal courts hear only 2 types of cases; those that raise a "federal question" and those involving “diversity of citizenship".

• Federal Question Cases

  These cases involve the U.S. Government, the U.S. Constitution or other federal laws. Examples include:

  • A crime that is a violation of federal law, such as bank robbery, drug cases, guns, or kidnapping.
  • Civil cases based on federal laws, such as laws prohibiting employment discrimination, or laws regulating securities trading or competition (anti-trust).
  • Cases involving interstate commerce or interstate criminal activity.
  • A controversy arising out of the U.S. Constitution or other federal laws, such as a violation of a protection guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
  • A case in which the United States is a party, such as Social Security claims or federal tax violations.
  • A controversy between two states.
  • A case involving foreign governments such as international trade or foreign treaties.
  • All bankruptcy, patent, copyright, Native American, and maritime cases.

• Diversity of Citizenship Cases

  These cases involve disputes between two parties not from the same state or country. Examples include:

  • Between citizens of two different states.
  • Between a U.S. citizen and a citizen of another country.
  • NOTE: The case must involve a claim for at least $75,000 in damages – if not then it must be filed in state court instead.

• More About State Courts

  State court systems vary from state to state, and each is a little different. As you can see from the chart above, the state court system of Missouri is very similar to that of the federal courts. Both have trial courts at the lowest level to hear both civil and criminal cases. The Missouri circuit courts hear cases that arise under Missouri law or the Missouri Constitution. The federal district courts hear cases that arise under federal law or the U.S. Constitution. The second levels are the appellate courts, which hear appeals from the trial courts. Both the state and federal systems have a Supreme Court, to serve as the “court of last resort.”

  Generally the state and federal systems do not overlap, but there are rare cases when a case might be appealed from the Missouri Supreme court to the United States Supreme Court. These cases usually involve the U.S. Constitution, and often deal with issue of civil liberties or civil rights.

  States are allowed to make their own laws, so long as they do not violate the Constitution of the United States. This allows the states to make the laws that are important to their region and populace. Because all the states have their own state constitutions and legal codes, the states must have courts to interpret their laws, just as the national government must have courts to interpret federal law and the U.S. Constitution.

  To find out more about the Missouri State Courts, visit their website by clicking here.

State Courts vs. Federal Courts

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