Constitutional Law & Federal Courts:

The Start & Heart of America

Presentation by:
Haig Panossian, Esq.

March 17, 2016

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES

Constitution is the supreme law of the land - no law
may be passed that contradicts its principles.
The Constitution is organized into three parts:
- Preamble, describes the purpose of the document
and Government.
- Seven Articles, establishes how the Government is
structured and how the Constitution can be changed.
- Amendments, lists changes to the Constitution; the
first 10 are called the Bill of Rights.
The Founding Fathers established three main
principles on which our Federal Government is based:
- Inherent rights for all Americans
- Self-government, or Government by the people
- Checks & Balances by Separation of powers

Separation of Powers - three

branches of government, each
with its own powers and duties.

Checks and Balances - Each

branch checks the powers of
the other two branches

Legislative Branch to make the laws.

Executive Branch to enforce the laws.
Judicial Branch to interpret the laws.

The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States.
Its main task is to decide cases that may differ from the U.S. Constitution. When the
Supreme Court rules over a case, it is usually deciding arguments about the meaning
of laws, how they are applied, and whether they violate the Constitution.
The ability to decide if a law violates the Constitution is called judicial review. It is
this process that the judiciary uses to provide checks and balances on the legislative
and executive branches.
Once the Supreme Court makes a decision in a case, it can only be changed by a
later Supreme Court decision or by changing or amending the Constitution.

Supreme Court Justices & Judicial Independence

Supreme Court is made up of These constitutional protections allow judges to make

only 9 judges called justices unpopular decisions without fear of losing their jobs or
having their pay cut. For example, the Supreme Courts
who arent democratically
elected - theyre nominated by decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954
the President & confirmed by declared racial segregation in the public schools to be
the Senate - and serve for life. unconstitutional. This decision was unpopular with large
segments of society at that time. Some members of

Different than other

branches:
- Legislative branch is made
up of 535 democratically
elected members of Congress
- Executive branch is headed
by a democratically elected
President limited to only two
4-year terms

Congress even wanted to replace the judges who made

the decision, but the Constitution wouldnt let them.

Obergefell v. Hodges Explained

Obergefell v. Hodges, it's background, and why same-sex marriage is now

legal. A run through of the major arguments in the Supreme Court case
Obergefell v. Hodges which legalizes gay marriage in all 50 states.