The Judicial Branch of the government is made up of judges and courts. Federal judges are not elected by the people. They are appointed by the president and then confirmed by the Senate. There is a hierarchy of federal courts in the United States. At lowest level are 94 U.S. District Courts which cover different regions of the country and handle most federal cases. Above the District Courts are the 13 Courts of Appeals. At the top of the Judicial Branch is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has the final say. The United States Supreme Court Building Federal judges are appointed for life. They can only be removed from office by death or by impeachment from Congress. This is to allow judges to make decisions based on their conscience and not on what they feel they need to do to get elected. The job of the courts is to interpret the laws of the Congress. They do not make laws. They also only make decisions on actual cases where someone has shown that they have been harmed. (source: http://www.ducksters.com/history/us_judicial_branc... )

In your notes:

1. Explain the job of the Judicial Branch.

2. Why are district judges appointed instead of elected?

3. Outline the different levels of the Judicial Branch in a way that makes sense to you. If you want to get really creative use the drawing feature to make yourself a pictogram!