reorder judiciary apgov

1- Put the first 5 steps in "how a justice is nominated and confirmed by the president/senate" in the correct order; start with step 1 and work your way to step 5

• The Senate Judiciary Committee interviews the nominee and gives the nominee an extensive questionnaire to fill out. Committee staff and the FBI complete a background check on the nominee.

• Interest groups run advertisements in favor of or against a nominee, (usually just at the Supreme Court level). Public relations campaigns are aimed at convincing general public and Senators to support or oppose the nominee.

• President selects potential candidates with advice from White House Counsel, Attorney General, and lawyers from the Department of Justice law office who compile a list of potential nominees.

• President submits the name(s) to the Senate.

• President interviews or meets with candidate in private before the name is made public.  

2- Put the last 4 steps in "how a justice is nominated and confirmed by the president/senate" in the correct order; start with step 6 and work your way to step 9

• If the full Senate majority votes to confirm, nominee is approved. Nominee takes oath and becomes the next Justice.

• Senate Judiciary Committee holds a televised hearing in which members question the nominee about their background and qualifications.  Confirmation hearings usually examine a nominee’s past decisions and public statements. Confirmation hearings typically last several days.

• Full Senate votes on confirmation of nominee.  A simple majority is required. However, filibusters by minority party can prevent a vote on a nomination from coming to floor.  With a closely divided Senate, this has become a common tactic and powerful tool used by minority party to block a nomination.

• Senate Judiciary Committee, led by the chairperson, holds a vote on whether or not to recommend the nominee for confirmation.

3- Put the first 5 steps in "how a justices make decisions on the supreme court" in the correct order; start with step 1 and work your way to step 5

• Litigants (counsel) submit briefs to the Supreme Court for the Justices to review. The briefs contain statutes, constitutional provisions, and precedents for their side of the argument. Interest groups, state and local governments, and individuals, and other organizations file amicus curiae (means “friends of the court”) briefs. These briefs contain information, evidence, and perspectives not included in litigants original briefs.

• The Court hears oral arguments. The Chief Justice calls the case and lawyers present their arguments. The Justices are allowed to interrupt and ask questions at any time. The Chief Justice generally allows 30 minutes per side, although technically each side gets an hour.

• Federal district courts/courts of appeals render a decision on a given court case

• Litigants who lost the original case appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and file a petition for a writ of certiorari (in Latin means “made more certain”).

• The nine Justices consider the case and review the petition separately. If four Justices believe an issue has not been resolved satisfactorily or consistently by the lower courts, the petition (sometimes called the “cert”, short for writ of certiorari) is granted (called the “rule of four”).

4- Put the next 4 steps in "how a justices make decisions on the supreme court" in the correct order; start with step 6 and work your way to step 9

• If the Chief Justice is in the majority, he assigns the writing of the opinion to himself or another justice. If he is not in the majority, the most senior associate justice in the majority assigns it. The writer circulates the draft among the others, who suggest revisions.

• Three opinions may be written: the majority opinion, the official opinion of the Court; the dissenting opinion, consists of Justices who do not agree with the majority, and sometimes a concurring opinion may be written by Justices who agree with the majority, but have different reasons for agreeing with the majority.

• Friday conferences are held for the Justices to meet and discuss cases. Often the discussions are informal. The Chief Justice initiates discussion of the case. Each justice is asked to give their opinion and express their viewpoint then each associate justice casts a vote-in order of seniority. The vote of the Chief Justice counts the same as an associate justice’s vote.

• The Court reaches a tentative decision based on votes during the Friday conferences. Once decisions have been made, an opinion of the legal reasoning behind the decision must be formally stated.

5- Put the next 4 steps in "how a justices make decisions on the supreme court" in the correct order; start with step 10 and work your way to step 13

• Sometimes, years later, the court will revisit old precedents and overturn them. Because of changing time and changing politics.

• The Court’s print shop, in its basement, prints the opinions to prevent leaks to the media

• Court decisions carry legal authority, but courts have no power to enforce them. They depend on other branches, and state officials to enforce their decisions. This process is called judicial implementation, the process by which the court decisions become policy that affects the behavior of others.

• The Supreme Court announces its decisions and distributes the opinions to the general public