Court Structure in Srilanka

In the U.S. judicial system, a defendant found guilty in a trial court can normally appeal to a higher federal court. These federal courts, or appellate courts, review decisions made by trial courts (Neubauer, 2010). Appellate courts can be on the federal and state level, but do not hold trials or hear new evidence. These courts consist of a judge, or a lawyer, or a group of either one, who read the transcript of the trial and whether the previous decision correctly or incorrectly followed the law (Neubauer, 2010). Similar to trial courts, the federal government and most states have made two different types of appellate courts: intermediate, which hear all cases, and supreme courts, which can pick and choose the cases heard (Neubauer, 2010). Even though there are many different types of courts within the judicial system of the United States, the role of the judge stays constant throughout the majority of branches.

The court system is divided into a three level hierarchy. The first level is superior/family court, the second is The Provincial Court, and the third is The Supreme Court of Canada. This hierarchy makes a system of appeals and if the losing part in a lower level feels that the judge or jury did not look at all the evidence, or they feel they were unjustly tried they have the right to appeal to higher courts. Appeals make the court system more unprejudiced and fair, which help those who may have been wronged or unfairly represented have another trial with a new panel of judges or jurors. A person can have up to thirteen judges looking over their case. Together, they can all guarantee that there will be a correct decision and whatever that decision is will be fair. Appeals are important and favourable to have, especially if there truly was a mistake and it will be fixed. Of course, one must have concrete evidence that there was an error. This provides confidence for Canadian citizens that The Canadian Independent Justice System is not a threat to

    Limited jurisdiction courts only have jurisdiction in specific in only well-defined areas of law. General jurisdiction courts have general jurisdiction over all subject matters within their local jurisdiction.

The Courts of Special Jurisdiction or limited jurisdiction are limited to handling cases such as family matters, bankruptcy, patents, copyrights, probate, traffic, juvenile courts and small claims courts for cases under $5,000.00.(Understanding Federal and State Courts)

In the case R v Davis, there are two different parties involved. The first party is Davis who is the appellant. And the second party is the Queen who is the respondent. The appellant’s role in this case to bring forth the appeal based on the trial court’s decision as they find there was error made in the decision of the trial judge. In this case, the appellant made three grounds of appeal with only two being heard; one being the judge made error in the law via Davis’s Charter rights being breached through excessive force, and two being the judge gave insufficient reasons for the accused being guilty. [28]

All magistrates begin their magisterial career in the adult court where they deal with crimes which can have the most widespread impact on communities; for example, anti-social behaviour and alcohol-related incidents. Magistrates’ courts are also the first stage in dealing with more serious crimes such as rape and murder, which are then referred on to the Crown Court.

The process of the court granting writ of certiorari deals with the appeal of the case and then traveling through the appellate courts until it finally reaches the Supreme Court.

The next court appeal is the Victorian High Court. This is the next court higher than the supreme court and is the only court that can decide whether the decision is too harsh or not severe enough. Therefore the high court can change decisions made by the supreme court judge.

Is where a magistrate will hear the prosecution’s evidence and decide if it sufficient enough to send the accused to the District or Supreme Court for trial.

Municipal Courts were created by the State Legislature and incorporated in each of the states’ cities. Larger cities have multiple Municipal Courts, the number depending on the city’s population and needs. Such courts have original jurisdiction over the enforcement of city ordinances. Moreover, Municipal Courts have concurrent jurisdiction, along with Justice of Peace Courts, in Class C misdemeanor cases originating within city limits. Municipal Courts have no jurisdiction over most civil matters and other functions include issuing search and arrest warrants.

The three tiers of the American federal court system consists of the Supreme Court, District courts which are also referred to trial courts, Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court.

Because appeal is from a summary judgment, this case is subject to de novo review. The de novo standard of review allows the Appellate Court to find that the

Magistrates pass the most serious crimes (e.g. murder, rape and robbery) to the Crown Court. Magistrates decide if the defendant should be:

The United States court system is the institution were all the legal disputes in the american society are carryed out and resolved. However, one single court is not enough to resolve every single dispute in society and that is why the court system is made up of two different courts, the federal courts and the state courts. Moreover, the federal and state courts are made up of several divisions made to handle legal disputes differently depending on its seriousness. For example, the state court is made up of trial courts of limited jurisdiction and probate courts were cases and disputes originate and then move up to trial courts of general jurisdiction, intermediate apellate courts, and courts of last resort respectively depending on the case.In contrast, the federal court consists of district courts, territorial coutrs, tax court, court of international trade, claims court, court of veterans appeals, an courts of military review which then move on to courts of appeals respectively and may ultimately end up in the United States supreme court. In addition, cases from state court may also appeal into the federal court system but not the other way around.

Whenever an appellate court reverses a trial court decision, it instructs that court to rehear the case using the correct law and procedures. If the court sees that a “gross miscarriage of justice” is being done or that an error was obviously committed, they will usually overturn the trial court’s decision (Coffin, 85). In the vast majority of cases, the decision of a Court of Appeal is final. The state Supreme Court does not review the vast majority of cases – it steps in to resolve new or disputed questions of law. It is also the highest state appellate court for civil matters (supreme.courts.state