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Questions tagged [judiciary]

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in a country, state or an international community. The judiciary mainly interprets and applies the law, but can in some systems create law.

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary can also be thought of as the mechanism for the resolution of disputes. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the judiciary generally does not make statutory law (which is the responsibility of the legislature) or enforce law (which is the responsibility of the executive), but rather interprets law and applies it to the facts of each case. However, in some countries the judiciary does make common law.

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Do countries (with rule of law) exist where a court can require the legislature to vote on a law in order to clear ambiguities?

I thought of this due to Roe V. Wade being recently overturned. From my understanding, (and if I am mistaken, then just take this as a hypothetical) it is not clear to everyone whether the constitution allows states to limit the right to abortions.…
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Can Congress overrule Marbury v. Madison by statute?

Can the United States' Congress pass a statute (by simply majority of both houses, then signed into law by the President) which says: Using the power granted to us by Article III, Section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court is…
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What happens if a judge disregards a mandatory minimal sentencing law?

What happens if a judge disregards the mandatory minimum sentence and sentences the convicted to time served or some other lesser amount of time? Would this judgement be binding? What would happen to challange it, and would the judge face…
Evan Carroll
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Why is the federal judiciary of the United States divided into circuits?

There are many questions (and answers) on this site pertaining to circuit splits. It is also my understanding that rulings/interpretations made by courts are binding on all lower courts within their circuit until repealed by a higher court. My…
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What is a municipal court?

I am studying for a Master's in Legal Translation. (I am French) I need to understand what a "municipal court" is. Is it like our "Tribunal de Police" for speeding on the road, noises during the night and others petty things of the same kind? Or is…
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In the United States, must state courts follow rulings by federal courts of appeals?

In the United States, must state courts follow rulings by federal courts of appeals?
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Do judges have managers?

Typically it seems all us cases have a judge. Theres also a lot of different types of courts. Are all the judges at the same job level? Do they have managers? Who are they? Do they performance metrics they have to meet? What are those metrics?
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Why does the USA not have a constitutional court?

I know the Supreme Court of the United States will hear constitutional matters, but why does United States not have a judicial branch specifically for constitutional matters?
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How does a judge decide how to examine an unrepresented defendant giving evidence?

It is my understanding that if a defendant in a criminal case in the Crown Court decides to represent themselves, and further decides to give evidence personally, the judge in the trial puts questions to them before they are cross-examined by the…
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At what point could courts in England no longer legally create new Common Law offenses?

Common Law offenses, of course, were crimes created solely through case law rather than statute. At what point was the legal authority of courts in England to create new Common Law offenses abolished? In a practical sense, the actual creation of new…
Robert Columbia
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If legislative intent is considered when interpreting laws, why don't lawmakers attach a note to the law explaining their intentions?

When a judge is deciding whether a law applies to a particular case, they often look at historical documents or transcripts of legislative proceedings to determine whether the lawmakers would've intended the law to apply in this case. For instance…
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Have there been attempts to manage quality of judicial work?

When judges make judicial errors of law (those later identified by higher courts on appeal; not to be confused with judicial misconduct), they are not affected beyond possible damage to their public image, personal pride and further career…
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If an appeals court orders a lower court to throw out a case, can this be appealed by the lower court?

Background On June 24th, 2020 in a 2 - 1 vote, a Washington appeals court ordered Judge Emmet Sullivan to throw out the case against Michael Flynn because both the prosecution and the defense wanted the case dismissed: By a vote of 2-1, the…
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Does Marcus J Ball have a realistic case against the Judges?

Since the extensive lying in the Brexit Referendum Marcus J Ball has been trying to prosecute Boris Johnson for the offense of Misconduct in Public Office. The case was initially successful, however when it reached the High Court it was shut down in…
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Who decides the priority of extradition requests in the UK

Related to What is the priority of potential extraditions in Assange case? Julian Assange has been arrested and convicted for failure to appear in court. The USA has requested his extradition to face charges of conspiring to access classified DoD…
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