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Introduction
As you hopefully remember from your middle and high school classes, there are three branches of government: legislative, judicial, and executive. The basic framework is the same at the state and federal level. The Constitution (federal or a state constitution) is the "instruction manual" for our government. It lays out the responsibilities of and places restrictions on each branch of government. The legislative branch proposes and passes laws (called statutes), which are then enforced by the executive branch and interpreted by the judicial branch. One very important role of the courts (judicial branch) is to make sure the legislative and executive branches do not exceed their authority under the Constitution. For example, if the state assembly in Pennsylvania passes a law making it a crime to complain about legislative pay raises, irate taxpayers would likely sue the State of Pennsylvania. The court that hears the case would strike down the Pennsylvania law and declare it unconstitutional because it would violate the U.S. Constitution as well as the Pennsylvania Constitution. Similarly, if the federal government passed a law regulating building heights in Pennsylvania, a court would strike down that law as well because the U.S. Constitution does not give the federal government the power to regulate building heights within a particular state.
Just as the U.S. Constitution outlines what Congress can and cannot do, when Congress creates an independent agency like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the statute that creates the agency acts as that agency’s “constitution,” limiting what the agency is allowed to do.
Spectators listen as Florida Supreme
Court spokesman Craig Waters, at the podium, announces the Supreme Court's response
to the U.S. Supreme Court in Tallahassee, Fla., Monday, Dec, 11, 2000.
Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, you will be able to
- Describe the role of the three branches of government;
- Demonstrate the sources of law;
- Describe the role of courts and precedents;
- Explain the basics of how a legal case proceeds and the role of appellate courts in the U.S. legal system;
- Use some legal Web sites;
- Analyze a court case;
- Learn the basic justifications for free speech.
To continue with this unit, click on the "next" link at the top
or bottom right hand side of this page.
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Sample Use of Precedent
Congress or a state legislature (the legislative branch) creates laws (called statutes), which are enforced by the President or the Governor (the executive branch). The job of the courts (the judicial branch) is to interpret those laws and make sure they are enforced fairly. The court is responsible for making sure the law does not violate the Constitution (both federal and state constitutions). In other words, did Congress exceed its authority in creating the law?
The same is true for administrative law (regulations passed by agencies such as the FCC or FTC or the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection). In these cases, the courts make sure the agency did not exceed the authority of the legislature (which created the agency) AND did not exceed the Constitution (state or federal). While there are different names for each level of analysis, the process is basically the same.
As discussed in the textbook, most cases begin in a trial court. The trial court has two major tasks:
- Determine the facts of the case
- Apply the law to the facts
To determine the facts, the judge or jury listens to testimony from witnesses and examines the evidence and then decides what are the facts (did she hit him with a hammer?). Once the jury determines the facts, it then applies the law to those facts (is this murder, an accident, or self defense?). Either side can APPEAL the case to an appellate court if they think the trial court did not follow the correct trial procedures or did not apply the law correctly. However, unless there is NEW evidence, it is difficult to appeal the facts (whichever version of the facts the jury believes becomes the truth even if the jury is mistaken).
All of the levels of analysis rely on precedents. For example, assume Congress passes a law banning loudspeakers in public parks. The court will decide whether Congress has that authority or if it violates your First Amendment rights. Assume that the court upholds the law (in other words, the law is VALID and Congress DOES have the right to create that law). This creates a precedent. Ten years later, Congress passes a new law banning cell phones in public parks. When the court analyzes the cell phone law, it will look at the earlier case about loudspeakers to see if that case offers guidance. The court will look at the similarities and differences in the laws AND in the facts of each case. The court will then decide if it is appropriate to accept the precedent (the ruling in the first case) or distinguish the case (saying there are important differences in either the facts or the laws so the court is not going to base its decision in the new case on what it decided in the old case).
Note that a court in California does not have to follow the precedent created by a court in Pennsylvania even if the laws and the facts are identical. Courts only have to follow precedents from higher courts that have jurisdiction over their region. Here is a fictional example to help you understand the basics of the legal system:
Suzy Q. v. State of Pennsylvania
Law: No motor vehicles are allowed on the sidewalk
Case: Suzy gets a ticket for riding a moped on the sidewalk
Trial (judge or jury)
- Determine the facts: Did Suzy ride on the sidewalk?
Witness 1: yes
Witness 2: no
Witness 3: no—but testimony not allowed in trial (this witness was wearing only one contact lens)
Jury decides: YES. Suzy rode her moped on the sidewalk. Note that this now becomes an accepted FACT even if the witnesses were wrong and Suzy was never on the sidewalk!
- Apply the law: Did Suzy violate the statute?
Test: (1) riding on the sidewalk (2) in a motor vehicle
- Yes. Suzy rode on sidewalk (jury said yes, so it is now an accepted fact)
- Is a moped a motor vehicle?
What did the legislature mean by motor vehicle: cars and trucks only? OR any object with wheels and a motor? Judge decides that a moped IS a motor vehicle. This is a legal question, rather than a factual question, so it is up to the judge to decide, not the jury. Therefore Suzy is guilty. |
Suzy APPEALS to the appellate court
Suzy cannot appeal the facts as determined by the jury, but she can appeal (1) if the procedures were followed correctly, and (2) whether the law was applied correctly. Suzy's lawyer argues that:
- Judge was wrong to exclude the third witness from testifying (procedural error)
- Judge was wrong to decide a moped is a motor vehicle (applied the law incorrectly)
These are legal questions that the appeals court has to answer. The appeals court essentially has three choices:
- Appeals court AFFIRMS the lower court's ruling (judge was right to exclude the witness and judge was right to say a moped is a motor vehicle, therefore Suzy is guilty)
- Appeals court REVERSES the lower court's ruling (moped is not a motor vehicle, Suzy is innocent)
- Appeals court REMANDS the case. Judge should have allowed jury to hear the 3rd witness: send it back to the trial court and let a new jury hear all the witnesses. The new jury may still decide that Suzy rode on the sidewalk even after hearing from all three witnesses. So the ultimate outcome may still be the same (Suzy is guilty). But if the new jury decides that Suzy never rode on the sidewalk, then she is innocent.
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Note: The appeals court can say the trial court got one question right but the other question wrong. So the court could say that a moped is a motor vehicle, but the judge should have allowed the third witness (in which case the case is remanded for a new trial). OR the appeals court could say that a moped is NOT a motor vehicle, in which case it doesn't matter about the witness since even if Suzy was on the sidewalk, she didn't violate the law.
Appellate rulings creates precedents: Assume the appeals court affirmed the lower court's ruling. This creates two precedents that can be used in future cases:
- okay for a judge to exclude a witness with only one contact lens
- a moped is a motor vehicle
Now in future cases, judges can exclude witnesses with one contact lens and in future cases, a moped will be considered a motor vehicle.
Normally, the appeals court will explain its reasoning in the court's opinion. The opinion helps future courts figure out when they should apply the precedent. Here is an excerpt from the fictional appeals court's opinion:
The trial court was correct in concluding that a moped is a motor vehicle for the purpose of this statute. In the legislative committee report that accompanied the bill (which became the law), the committee wrote. "The purpose of this law is to protect pedestrians from injury caused by fast moving motorized vehicles. These vehicles often have substantial mass, since they are usually made out of steel, and can travel at a high rate of speed."
The moped has a 10 hp engine and weighs 75 lbs. Furthermore, similar models can attain speeds of 20-25 mph. It seems clear that the legislature meant to include vehicles such as the moped in question in this case. While it is true that the moped has very effective brakes and highly controlled steering, we believe it still poses a substantial risk to safety when used on a sidewalk. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
New Case: David D. v. State of Pennsylvania
Dave gets a ticket for riding a motorized skateboard on sidewalk. The skateboard has a 5 hp engine and can travel up to 15 mph. Both sides agree he rode on the sidewalk (no dispute about the facts). Therefore, the only job is to apply the law—SUMMARY judgment by a judge.
Is a motorized skateboard a motor vehicle? What are the similarities between the moped in the first case and the skateboard in the second case? What are the differences? Based on the appeals court’s decision in the first case, do you think a skateboard should be considered a motor vehicle for the purpose of this law?
For most cases there are some precedents that support a "yes" answer to the legal question and other precedents that support a "no" answer. The job of lawyers on each side is to convince the court to follow the precedents that support their side and ignore the precedents that support the other side!
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Unit Activity
The following unit activity has three parts.
Complete each part in turn within one Word document, separating each part with its relevant header (Part One, Part Two, Part Three). When all parts are complete, upload this work into the unit drop box as described below.
Part One (40 points)
Find the following two cases online and "brief" each case. Instructions for how to find and brief a case are available under the Lessons tab.
- Tinker v. Des Moines School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
- Bethel School District v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986)
After briefing each case, answer the following questions:
- What are the important similarities and differences between the facts in these two cases?
- Which differences do the Supreme Court focus on to distinguish the two cases?
- Do you agree with the Court’s reasoning? Why or why not?
Part Two (30 points)
Analyze what you think the outcome would be in the following hypothetical case based upon the two precedents you have read in the Tinker case and the Fraset case.
Jane Doe v. Plainview School District
Jane Doe is a 12-year-old student at Plainview Middle School. Jane attended a New Kids on the Block Concert and purchased a t-shirt that said "Drugs Suck!" She wore the shirt to school the next day. Her teacher said the shirt was inappropriate because the word “suck” has a sexual connotation and she sent Jane to the principal’s office. The principal expressed his distaste for the shirt's language and told Jane that she had violated Rule One. Rule One states that a student does not have a right to engage in conduct that will cause a disruption, disturb, or interrupt any school activity. An example of a Rule One violation is the wearing of clothing that distracts other students or that interferes with the classroom participation of other students. When Jane refused to change shirts, the principal suspended her from school for one day.
Jane sued the school district for violation of her First Amendment rights. Jane argues the phrase "Drugs Suck!" has an anti-drug message and is not offensive. The principal and school district argue the word has a sexual connotation and is not appropriate for use by children in middle school. They are also concerned that students would think the school is condoning the use of the word “suck” if Jane is allowed to wear the shirt. |
Based on the two precedents you have read in Part One, how would a court decide this case. You should include quotes from the two precedents as appropriate.
Part Three (30 points)
Browse through at least three of the Web sites listed on the Legal Resources page (or other communication law Web sites). For each Web site, answer the following:
- Name of organization
- What is the organization’s mission or focus?
- Find two current issues that the organization is concerned about. For each issue, answer the following questions:
- Summarize the issue.
- Why is the organization concerned?
- Does the issue involve the federal government, state or local government, private businesses, or something else? (Did a town pass an ordinance? A company create a new privacy policy? Did an ISP restrict access to content?
- Is there a current court case or legislative bill related to the issue? If so, what is it?
Please submit this assignment to the drop box named Unit 1 Activity. Do not attach your Word document to the drop box. Instead copy and paste the content from your Word document directly into the drop box. Maintain the Word document for your personal record.
This concludes Unit 1.
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