Aim: How are federal judges appointed?

Appointment of Federal Judges

The US Constitution authorizes the President to appoint anyone that the Senate will confirm.◦ These include; Federal Judges,

attorney's, legal scholars, law school professors, former members of Congress, and State Court Judges.

◦ Most of the time Presidents appoint people from their own political party to make certain they will uphold their policies.

The National JudiciaryName of Court Year

Created

# of Court

s

# of Judge

s

Term in

Years

United States Supreme Court- Highest Court in Country- Court of Last Resort

1789 1 9 Life

District Court 1789 94 677 Life

Court of Appeals 1891 12 179 Life

Trade Court 1926 1 9 Life

Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces

1950 1 5 15

Tax Court 1969 1 19 15

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

1982 1 12 Life

Court of Federal Claims 1982 1 16 15

Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims

1988 1 7 15

Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Restraint Judicial Activism- These judges

believe that they have the right to change law based on their personal beliefs through the decisions they make. Especially in the cases of civil rights and social welfare issues.

Judicial Restraint- These judges believe in following the constraints of the US Constitution and following precedent or previous decisions handed down in similar cases.

Compensation of Federal Judges

The US Constitution authorizes congress to set the salary of federal judges. The salary cannot be lowered while a judge is serving his/her term. ◦ As of January 2010:

Federal District Judges were paid $174,000 per year

Federal Circuit Court Judges were paid $184,500 per year

Associate Justices of the US Supreme Court were paid $213,900 per year

Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court was paid $223,500 per year

All Federal Judges are given a $21,000 per year expense account

Court Employees Court Clerk: Is in charge of the day to

day operations of the court. The Clerk makes certain the courtroom is ready for the Judge and that case can proceed.

Deputy Court Clerks: Assist the Court Clerk with the Operation of the courtroom.

Bailiffs/Court Officers: Protect the Court and it's employees.

United States Marshall's: Federal Law Enforcement Officers who arrest and transport prisoners.

Court Reporters/Stenographers: Court Officials who record all proceedings. Every Supreme Court Case has transcripts typed and are digitally recorded.

Magistrates: Federal District Court Judges can hire magistrates who will may issue warrants, hear evidence to determine if it's admissible, set bail, and can even hear some trials for minor federal crimes.

Bankruptcy Judges: Appointed by the Federal District Courts they hear bankruptcy cases.

United States Attorney: The US is broken down into districts. Each district gets a lead prosecutor known as a United States Attorney. He/She then has dozens of Deputy US Attorneys.