In light of the three different appellate courts decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court elected to hear the case against President Obama's healthcare legislation. While the most recent decision found in favor of the constitutionality of the law, "the Supreme Court agreed to hear appeals from just one decision, from the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, the only one so far striking down the mandate" (Liptak 2011).
Although the U.S. Supreme Court is the final court of appeal, the fact that it has only recently stepped in to rule upon the healthcare legislation shows the breadth of authority that lies in the hands of federal appellate courts. The U.S. Supreme Court, depending on its composition, has specifically selected certain kinds and types of federal court decisions to review to shape the law of the land -- during the New Deal, its focus was upon economic legislation, reflecting the conservative nature of the Court, while today's court has focused areas of the law which remain particularly murky, such as regulation of the Internet ("Judicial review," The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, 2011).
Still, federal appeals courts handle matters as diverse as interstate commerce and civil rights laws, just like the Supreme Court. One First Amendment case recently settled by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled "unanimously that the lawsuit against an advanced placement history teacher at Capistrano Valley High School" was invalid (Ritchey 2011). A student had charged that the teacher's hostile remarks about creationism violated the Establishment Clause, or the barrier between church and state, while the court stated that the teacher's challenge...
Obtaining a warrant to take blood sample of a person suspected of drunk driving but has refused to take breath test takes longer time and undermines the essence of time in this process. The Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. together with other judges; however, expressed discomfort with what they termed government sanctioned bodily intrusions using sharp needles (Liptak, 2013). Missouri prosecutors' petition was occasioned by a case where one
Also an excellent resource for court jurisdiction information. Henry, Matthew and Turner, John L., "The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's Impact on Patent Litigation." American Law Review. Vol. 55, 1. February 2005. Pp. 332-342. This outlines the impact of the courts on the patent and patent law environment. A great source of information on patent law history and its political and legal impact. Kaheny, Erin B., Haire, Susan Brodie, and Benesh,
b. Civil -- Civil cases involve disputes between two parties. In these cases the person or entity who files the suit (the plaintiff) claims that the other person or entity (the defendant) has failed to fulfill a legal obligation to the plaintiff. The plaintiff may request the court to require the defendant to either fulfill the obligation or make monetary restitution. III. Federal Court System a. Jurisdiction -- The jurisdiction of federal
The district courts hear cases first, if the case is of federal jurisdiction. If a party decides to appeal a ruling, it goes to an appellate court. The appellate court will not hear a case that has not already passed through the district court. Moreover, when it does hear a case it does not re-try the case on its merits, but merely seeks to see if there was an
During the 70's and 80's some of these opportunities were eliminated by the actions of the Burger and Rehnquist courts but habeas corpus actions remain a major problem for both systems and our a source of much acrimony. In 1996, Congress amended the federal habeas corpus statute in order to provide some clarification as to how habeas corpus was to be applied and interpreted nationwide. XI. The Eleventh Amendment and
U.S. v AOL: AOL case was a lawsuit involving collusion between the executives from AOL and PurchasePro Inc. (PPRO) with the sole intention of overstating revenue. The 37% overstated revenue would make executives to believe that PurchasePro Inc. had achieved its sales forecasts, which would in turn contribute to inflation of the company's stock price. Due to their contributions, some of the executives involved in this illegal agreement and fraud would
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