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                                    6.1 %u2022 The Constitution and the Federal Judiciary 191%u2022 Federal judges have life tenure, which protects their independence from Congress and the president.%u2022 The Constitution places no requirements on the necessary qualifications to serve in the federal judiciary, but experience, ethical integrity, and legal accomplishment are important factors and can help smooth the confirmation process.%u2022 Presidents tend to nominate individuals with whom they share similar philosophies and approaches to constitutional interpretation, but there is no guarantee that a justice will behave as expected once confirmed.KNOW %u2022 federal judiciary: the branch of the federal government that interprets the laws of the nation. (p. 187)%u2022 Supreme Court: the highest level of the federal judiciary, which was established in Article III of the Constitution%u00a0and serves as the highest court in the nation. (p. 187)%u2022 original jurisdiction: the authority of a court to hear a case first, which includes the finding of facts in the case. (p. 187)%u2022 appellate jurisdiction: the authority of a court to hear and review decisions made by lower courts in that system. (p. 187)%u2022 Federalist No. 78: essay by Alexander Hamilton that the federal judiciary would be unlikely to infringe upon rights and liberties but would serve as a check on the other two branches. (p. 188)THINK %u2022 Why do you think the Founding Fathers wanted the federal judiciary to be the most independent branch of government?%u2022 Why did the Founding Fathers give the judiciary less power than the other branches?6.1 Concept ApplicationJudges should not by party or for any other reason be united to the other branches. Nor should they be involved on their own initiative and authority in the redirection of the wealth of the society. Hamilton understood that the judicial spirit of independence, the judicial culture, would be essential to the arduous task of resisting encroachments by the other branches. He also understood that judges would exercise discretion, but that there was a distinction between the exercise of judgment and the guided exercise of discretion on the one hand and the imposition of personal will and preference on the other. He saw the importance of courageous judges to the preservation of individual liberty and to the amelioration of oppressive legislation. Judges in this Republic, protected by life tenure, would unite integrity and fortitude to wisdom and knowledge of the law. And this knowledge of and fealty to the law, gained through practice and study, would be the bulwark against judicial overreaching.Even if the authority of the founding generation were not enough, it seems that, in fact and over time, their beliefs have proven themselves: Indeed, it is not possible to have a successful democracy without a fair and impartial judiciary, and it is not possible to have a fair and impartial judiciary that lacks independence in both of its aspects. Are there examples of successful democracies where the judicial function is dependent or subsumed in the other branches such that the judicial branch lacks institutional independence? Are there successful democracies where the judges lack decisional independence but are routinely subject to pressure or external command or inducement? The answer is %u201cno.%u201dAmericans need to have faith in the independence, fairness, and impartiality of our judges because they look to our courts as the place where they can get a fair shake whether their complaint is with the government or a business or a neighbor. That is a huge entrustment.42%u2014David F. Levi, Judicature, 104(2), 2020After reading the scenario, please answer A, B, and C below.A. Describe the argument about democracy made in the scenario.B. In the context of the scenario, describe how judicial independence impacts citizens%u2019 views about government.C. Explain how the Constitution protects judicial independence.%u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.
                                
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