The American judicial system plays a central role in setting and enforcing the legal rules under which the people of the United States live. U.S. courts and laws, though, are complex and often criticized for bias and other alleged shortcomings, The U.S. Supreme Court has emerged as a particular focal point of political partisanship and controversy, both in terms of the legal decisions it hands down and the makeup of its membership.
Like other books in the Contemporary World Issues series, this volume comprises seven chapters. Chapter 1 presents the origins, development, and current characteristics of the American judicial system. Chapter 2 discusses problems and controversies orbiting around the U.S. justice system today. Chapter 3 features a wide-ranging collection of essays that examine and illuminate various aspects of the judicial system. Chapter 4 profiles influential organizations and people related to the justice system, and Chapter 5 offers relevant data and documents about U.S. courts. Chapter 6 is composed of an annotated list of important resources, while Chapter 7 offers a useful chronology of events.
Author(s): Michael C. LeMay
Series: Contemporary World Issues
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 402
City: Santa Barbara
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Preface
1. Background and History
Introduction: An Overview of the Judicial System
Pre-Constitution Judicial System
Colonial Era: 1600 to Late 1700s
The Articles of Confederation Period
The Federal Court System Established by the U.S. Constitution
District Courts
Special Courts
Appellate Jurisdiction Courts of Special Subject Matter
State and Local Judicial Systems
Court Systems in Each State
Bibliography
2. Problems, Controversies, and Solutions
Introduction
Problem 1: The Bewildering Complexity of the American Judicial System
Problem 2: Judicial Ethics
Problem 3: Screening of Federal Judicial Nominees
Problem 4: Forced Arbitration Agreements
Problem 5: Gender Bias in the Judicial System
Problem 6: Increasing Partisanship of the U.S. Courts and Judicial Systems
Problem 7: Inequity in the Judicial System—Racial and Ethnic
Problem 8: Lack of Minority Judges on the Bench
Problem 9: Oversight Relationships
Problem 10: Public Defender Issues
Problem 11: Juries in the Judicial System
Problem 12: Structural Problems
Problem 13: Unqualified Judges
Bibliography
3. Perspectives
Introduction
Remote Control: How Appellate Court Online Hearings Can Help Offset Judiciary Budget Cuts
“Let ’em Play, Ref”: The Superabundance of Law in the United States
The Supreme Court, the Incorporation Doctrine, and the States
There Are Reversals and Then There Are REVERSALS
The Judicial System from a Clerk’s Perspective
Congressional Oversight of the Federal Judiciary
Courts and Administrative Agencies: A Central Feature of Modern Policymaking
Transgender Rights and the American Judicial System
4. Profiles
Introduction
Organizations
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)
Bibliography
5. Data and Documents
Introduction
Data
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 Systems
Documents
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, 2019
6. Resources
Introduction
Print Resources
Books
Leading Scholarly Journals
Nonprint Sources
Websites
Films
7. Chronology
Glossary
Index
