A Look Inside a Federal Courtroom

Do you think of Law and Order when it comes your knowledge of the court system? How about that other Judge Judy or The Good Wife? Since the old days of Perry Mason and L.A Law, people have been influenced by how these shows portray judges, lawyers, and the legal system.  But everyone needs to remember that TV is entertainment, not real life. 

There are many places to find accurate information about the courts, though. The United States Courtswebsite released a videothat shows what actually happens in a federal courtroom. You can watch the students in the video as they explain a federal case and how a judge determines the final outcome. The “You Be the Judge” video series is highly recommended.

 

Judicial Votes Count

With so much focus by the national media about next year’s presidential election, it might be easy to overlook the fact that there’s an election this year. 

The Nov. 3 ballot includes 56 municipal court judicial races in 29 Ohio counties. 

Unfortunately, many voters will not complete their ballot because they won’t cast a vote in the judicial races. A major reason cited for this drop-off in voting is because of a lack of information about the candidates running for judge. 

JudicialVotesCount.org is a new website designed to provide voters with the information they need to make an informed decision in judicial races. The candidates have provided details about their legal background and why they are running for the judgeship.

The website also contains valuable information about the important role of judges and the duties of courts at all levels in Ohio – something that teachers might find useful in their classroom instruction.

The website was developed by a partnership among Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron, the Ohio Newspaper Association, and the Ohio Association of Broadcasters.

Voters should consider adding JudicialVotesCount.org to their list of resources for future elections. It’s a good way to get quality information about judicial candidates.

Ohio Lawyer Helped Write the 14th Amendment

Many prominent Ohioans have helped shape the foundation of the United States. You may not know that an Ohio congressman was the main writer of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

John Bingham, a prominent lawyer, judge, and Ohio congressman served as a judge advocate in the Abraham Lincoln assassination trial and as a prosecutor in Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trials. He died in Cadiz, Ohio in 1900. 

Although the Fourteenth Amendment has five separate sections, the words most often quoted come from section one:

“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” 

This language has been interpreted many times by the U. S. Supreme Court in landmark cases such as Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, and Roe v. Wade.  And recently in Obergefell v. Hodges, the court relied on the amendment in a 5-4 decision that guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry.

The Fourteenth Amendment was passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868. The words that John Bingham helped write have great vitality, living on nearly 150 years later.