The Judicial Subsystem

In this segment of the course, we will cover the

The American Legal Tradition

1. The American Legal System
   a.  English Common Law Tradition
       i.  King Henry II
       ii.  King John and the Magna Carta
   b.  Innocent Until Proven Guilty
   c.  Trial by Jury of Your Peers
   d.  Case Law

2. The Hierarchy of American Law
   a.  Federal Law
       i.  U.S. Constitutional Law
           a.  U.S. Constitution
           b.  U.S. Supreme Court Decisions
           c.  Treaties and the Law of Nations
       ii.  U.S. Statutory Law
       iii.  U.S. Administrative Law
   b.  State Law
       i.  State Constitutional Law
       ii.  State Statutory Law
       iii.  State Administrative Law
       iv.  Local Charters
       v.  Local Ordinances
       vi.  Local Administrative Law

3. Basic Principles of American Federalism
   a.  National Supremacy
   b.  Delegated Powers of National Government as enhanced through the Implied Powers
   c.  Reserved Powers of the States

4. Law of Nations and International Law
       a.  International Customary Law
       b.  Treaty Law
       c.  General Principles of law
       d. Judicial Decisions of International Tribunals
       e.  Writings of Publicists

5. Law, Morality, and Ethics

The American Court System

1. Dual Court System

2. Staffing the Federal Judiciary

3. Bringing Cases before the Federal Judiciary

4. The U.S. Supreme Court

5. Bringing Cases to the Supreme Court