Judicial System

Michael C. LeMay, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at California State University-San Bernardino, USA.

• Preface1. Background and HistoryIntroduction: An Overview of the Judicial SystemPre-Constitution Judicial System- Colonial Era: 1600 to Late 1700s- The Articles of Confederation PeriodThe Federal Court System Established by the U.S. Constitution- District Courts- Special CourtsAppellate Jurisdiction Courts of Special Subject MatterState and Local Judicial SystemsCourt Systems in Each StateBibliography2. Problems, Controversies, and SolutionsIntroductionProblem 1: The Bewildering Complexity of the American Judicial SystemProblem 2: Judicial EthicsProblem 3: Screening of Federal Judicial NomineesProblem 4: Forced Arbitration AgreementsProblem 5: Gender Bias in the Judicial SystemProblem 6: Increasing Partisanship of the U.S. Courts and Judicial SystemsProblem 7: Inequity in the Judicial System—Racial and EthnicProblem 8: Lack of Minority Judges on the BenchProblem 9: Oversight RelationshipsProblem 10: Public Defender IssuesProblem 11: Juries in the Judicial SystemProblem 12: Structural ProblemsProblem 13: Unqualified JudgesBibliography3. PerspectivesIntroductionRemote Control: How Appellate Court Online Hearings Can Help Offset Judiciary Budget Cuts, Taraleigh Davis"Let 'em Play, Ref": The Superabundance of Law in the United States, Troy W. HinrichsThe Supreme Court, the Incorporation Doctrine, and the States, Timothy R. Johnson and Rachel HoustonThere Are Reversals and Then There Are REVERSALS, Scott MerrimanThe Judicial System from a Clerk's Perspective, Dennis McKinneyCongressional Oversight of the Federal Judiciary, Mark C. MillerCourts and Administrative Agencies: A Central Feature of Modern Policymaking, Joseph PostellTransgender Rights and the American Judicial System, Chuck Stewart4. ProfilesIntroductionOrganizations- Alliance for Justice (AFJ)- American Association for Justice (AAJ)- American Bar Association (ABA)- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)- American Constitution Society (ACS)- American Heritage Society- American Judicature Society (AJS)- Brennan Center for Justice- Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)- Cato Institute Center for Constitutional Studies (CICCS)- Center for American Progress (CAP)- Center for Individual Rights (CIR)- Center for Justice and Democracy (CJD)- Center for the Study of Law and Religion (CSLR)- Economic Policy Institute (EPI)- Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies- Federal Judicial Center (FJC)- Institute for Justice (IJ)- Law and Economic Center (LEC)- Legal Information Institute (LII)- National Constitution Center- Olin Foundation- Pew Research Center- Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)- The Sentencing Project- U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)- U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee- U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS)- Vera Institute of Justice (VIJ)People- Samuel Chase (1741–1811)- William O. Douglas (1898–1980)- William M. Evarts (1818–1901)- Clarence Earl Gideon (1910–1972)- Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–2020)- Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948)- Edward "Ted" Kennedy (1932–2009)- Patrick Leahy (1940–)- John Marshall (1755–1835- Thurgood Marshall (1908–1993)- Ralph Nader (1934–)- Barack Obama (1961–)- Sandra Day O'Connor (1930–)- William Rehnquist (1924–2005)- John Roberts (1959–)- Antonin Scalia (1936–2016)- William Howard Taft (1857–1930)- Roger Taney (1777–1864)- Donald Trump (1946–)- Earl Warren (1891–1974)Bibliography5. Data and DocumentsIntroductionData- Figure 5.1 Map of the Geographic Boundaries for U.S. District Courts and Circuit Courts of Appeals- Figure 5.2 New York State Judicial System Flowchart- Figure 5.3 Louisiana Courts Structure- Figure 5.4 Line Graph of the Combined State and Federal Imprisonment Rates per 100,000 Residents, by Race and Ethnicity, 2008–2018- Figure 5.5 Lifetime Likelihood of Imprisonment for Persons Born in 2001; White, Black, Latinx; Men and Women- Table 5.1. Year States Were Admitted to the Union, by Year Admitted- Table 5.2. Number of States Using Assorted Methods of Judicial Selection- Table 5.3. Federal Judges Impeached, 1804–2010- Table 5.4. Federal Judicial Nominees by Rate Not Qualified by ABA, 1989 to 2019- Table 5.5. Chief Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court- Table 5.6. Methods of Judicial Selection in State Court SystemsDocuments- Document 5.1: Article III, the Constitution of the United States- Document 5.2: Excerpts from the Judiciary Act of 1789- Document 5.3: Excerpts from Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)- Document 5.4: Judiciary Act of 1869- Document 5.5: Excerpts from Miller v. Texas (1894)- Document 5.6: The Nonpartisan Court Plan (Missouri Plan)- Document 5.7: Excerpts from the Legal Services Corporation Act of 1974- Document 5.8: Excerpts from United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez (1990)- Document 5.9: Excerpts from Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn et al. (2011)- Document 5.10: Description of the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980, Amended March 12, 20196. ResourcesIntroductionPrint Resources- Books- Leading Scholarly JournalsNonprint Sources- Websites- Films7. ChronologyGlossaryIndex