The Judicial System: A Reference Handbook provides an authoritative and accessible one-stop resource for understanding the U.S. judicial system and its place in the fabric of American government and society. The American judicial system plays a central role in setting and enforcing the legal rules under which the people of the United States live. U.S. courts and laws, though, are complex and often criticized for bias and other alleged shortcomings, The U.S. Supreme Court has emerged as a particular focal point of political partisanship and controversy, both in terms of the legal decisions it hands down and the makeup of its membership. Like other books in the Contemporary World Issues series, this volume comprises seven chapters. Chapter 1 presents the origins, development, and current characteristics of the American judicial system. Chapter 2 discusses problems and controversies orbiting around the U.S. justice system today. Chapter 3 features a wide-ranging collection of essays that examine and illuminate various aspects of the judicial system. Chapter 4 profiles influential organizations and people related to the justice system, and Chapter 5 offers relevant data and documents about U.S. courts. Chapter 6 is composed of an annotated list of important resources, while Chapter 7 offers a useful chronology of events.

Table of Contents:
Preface, 1 Background and History, Introduction: An Overview of the Judicial System, Pre-Constitution Judicial System, 6 Colonial Era: 1600 to Late 1700s, 6 The Articles of Confederation Period, 7 The Federal Court System Established by the U.S. Constitution, 8 District Courts, 13 Special Courts, 15 Appellate Jurisdiction Courts of Special Subject Matter, State and Local Judicial Systems, Court Systems in Each State, Bibliography, 2 Problems, Controversies, and Solutions, Introduction, Problem 1: The Bewildering Complexity of the American Judicial System, Problem 2: Judicial Ethics, Problem 3: Screening of Federal Judicial Nominees, Problem 4: Forced Arbitration Agreements, Problem 5: Gender Bias in the Judicial System, Problem 6: Increasing Partisanship of the U.S. Courts and Judicial Systems, Problem 7: Inequity in the Judicial System—Racial and Ethnic, Problem 8: Lack of Minority Judges on the Bench, Problem 9: Oversight Relationships, Problem 10: Public Defender Issues, Problem 11: Juries in the Judicial System, Problem 12: Structural Problems, Problem 13: Unqualified Judges, Bibliography, 3 Perspectives, Introduction, Remote Control: How Appellate Court Online Hearings Can Help Offset Judiciary Budget Cuts, 133 Taraleigh Davis "Let 'em Play, Ref": The Superabundance of Law in the United States, 136 Troy W. Hinrichs The Supreme Court, the Incorporation Doctrine, and the States, 141 Timothy R. Johnson and Rachel Houston There Are Reversals and Then There Are REVERSALS, 146 Scott Merriman The Judicial System from a Clerk's Perspective, 149 Dennis McKinney Congressional Oversight of the Federal Judiciary, 152 Mark C. Miller Courts and Administrative Agencies: A Central Feature of Modern Policymaking, 156 Joseph Postell Transgender Rights and the American Judicial System, 160 Chuck Stewart 4 Profiles, Introduction, Organizations, 168 Alliance for Justice (AFJ), 168 American Association for Justice (AAJ), 168 American Bar Association (ABA), 169 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 170 American Constitution Society (ACS), 172 American Heritage Society, 173 American Judicature Society (AJS), 174 Brennan Center for Justice, 175 Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), 176 Cato Institute Center for Constitutional Studies (CICCS), 176 Center for American Progress (CAP), 177 Center for Individual Rights (CIR), 177 Center for Justice and Democracy (CJD), 178 Center for the Study of Law and Religion (CSLR), 179 Economic Policy Institute (EPI), 180 Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, 180 Federal Judicial Center (FJC), 182 Institute for Justice (IJ), 182 Law and Economic Center (LEC), 183 Legal Information Institute (LII), 184 National Constitution Center, 184 Olin Foundation, 185 Pew Research Center, 186 Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), 187 The Sentencing Project, 188 U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), 189 U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, 190 U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS), 191 Vera Institute of Justice (VIJ), 192 People, 193 Samuel Chase (1741–1811), 193 William O. Douglas (1898–1980), 194 William M. Evarts (1818–1901), 196 Clarence Earl Gideon (1910–1972), 197 Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–2020), 198 Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948), 201 Edward "Ted" Kennedy (1932–2009), 203 Patrick Leahy (1940–), 204 John Marshall (1755–1835), 205 Thurgood Marshall (1908–1993), 206 Ralph Nader (1934–), 208 Barack Obama (1961–), 209 Sandra Day O'Connor (1930–), 210 William Rehnquist (1924–2005), 211 John Roberts (1959–), 212 Antonin Scalia (1936–2016), 213 William Howard Taft (1857–1930), 215 Roger Taney (1777–1864), 216 Donald Trump (1946–), 217 Earl Warren (1891–1974), 218 Bibliography, 5 Data and Documents, Introduction, Data, Figure 5.1 Map of the Geographic Boundaries for U.S. District Courts and Circuit Courts of Appeals, 232 Figure 5.2 New York State Judicial System Flowchart, 232 Figure 5.3 Louisiana Courts Structure, 233 Figure 5.4 Line Graph of the Combined State and Federal Imprisonment Rates per 100,000 Residents, by Race and Ethnicity, 2008–2018, 233 Figure 5.5 Lifetime Likelihood of Imprisonment for Persons Born in 2001; White, Black, Latinx; Men and Women, 234 Table 5.1. Year States Were Admitted to the Union, by Year Admitted, 234 Table 5.2. Number of States Using Assorted Methods of Judicial Selection, 236 Table 5.3. Federal Judges Impeached, 1804–2010, 237 Table 5.4. Federal Judicial Nominees by Rate Not Qualified by ABA, 1989 to 2019, 238 Table 5.5. Chief Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, 240 Table 5.6. Methods of Judicial Selection in State Court Systems, 241 Documents, Document 5.1: Article III, the Constitution of the United States, 242 Document 5.2: Excerpts from the Judiciary Act of 1789, 243 Document 5.3: Excerpts from Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), 250 Document 5.4: Judiciary Act of 1869, 252 Document 5.5: Excerpts from Miller v. Texas (1894), 253 Document 5.6: The Nonpartisan Court Plan (Missouri Plan), 254 Document 5.7: Excerpts from the Legal Services Corporation Act of 1974, 257 Document 5.8: Excerpts from United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez (1990), 260 Document 5.9: Excerpts from Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn et al. (2011), 262 Document 5.10: Description of the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980, Amended March 12, 2019, 264 6Resources, Introduction, Print Resources, 267 Books, 267 Leading Scholarly Journals, 299 Nonprint Sources, Websites, 305 Films, 306 7 Chronology, Glossary, Index,