When the founding fathers of the United States began to conceive the notion of how the nation's legal system should work, they were determined we should have a country that operated differently and more effectively than the one left behind in the days of British control. They decided that states should have the power to make and govern their own laws and also the ability to enforce those laws. This did not eliminate the need for federal court systems, however, and so the dual court system was born. The dual court system is the formal name for the way our country's legal system works. The dual courts it refers to are the federal and state court systems. The state court system is constructed of local and state courts that are under the …show more content…
Like the state court system, the federal court system also has its foundations in the United States Constitution and in colonial law. Specifically, Article III Section 2 of the United States Constitution gives the federal courts jurisdiction over federal laws and treaties (Schmalleger, 2009). In general, this means that federal courts have purview over cases that cross between states or have clear federal jurisdiction such as terrorism cases or cyber crime. In the federal court system, there is only one of the three tiers that is actually mandated by United States Constitution. This is the Supreme Court of the United States. It was formed in 1869 and has always had one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. As the name suggests, the Supreme Court is the final and "supreme" word on any case that it hears. The Supreme court rules on appeals and also has jurisdiction over certain proprietary cases like those involving high ranking diplomats of both the United States and other foreign nations (Supreme Court of The United States, 2011). The other two tiers of the federal court system are the federal district courts and the court of appeals. The kind of cases handled by the federal district courts are cases relating to alleged Constitutional violations, maritime cases, cases that directly involve a state, cases involving the federal government, and cases that include foreign governments or citizens. The
The supreme court is the highest, most important court in the United States and the titles of the men and women who serve on the high court are associate justices. There are over nine judges who are on the supreme court, eight are associate justices and one is the chief justice. They are all appointed by the presidet but they are approved by the senate. The term of office for the nine judges who serve for the high court is for life. There are over 91 district courts, which are the lowest courts, and 12 appellate courts. Three courts that are part of the federal judicial system are the Court of Military Appeals, United States Claims Court, and United States Tax Court. The nine type of cases the Supreme court and federal courts have jurisdiction over are the constitution, federal laws, treaties, law governing ships, the United States government itself, ambassadors or public ministers, two or more state governents, citizens od different states and a state or its citizens versus a foreign country or foreign citizen. The process of checking the laws of our land is called the judicial review. When the supreme court declares a law unconstitutional, it means that the law goes against the constitution of the United States. In order for a person to be convicted of treason two witnessess must testify, telling the exact same story and/or the accused must confess in a
The American legal system consists of two separate levels of court, defined as federalism, which together administer and enforce the laws in the United States. Federalism distributes the government powers between both the federal governments and the state governments, which ensures that the power of the national government is decentralized.
The difference between federal courts and State courts is that State courts are usually established by a state themselves and Federal courts are established under the U.S. Constitution to decide disputes involving the Constitution and laws passed by Congress.
The U.S. District Courts, the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court are governed by Article III of the US Constitution. They also include two special courts: (a) the U.S. Court of Claims and (b) the U.S. Court of International Trade. Often times than not the two
The federal courts have power to decide only those cases over which the Constitution gives them authority. These courts are located principally in the larger cities. Only carefully selected types of cases may be heard in the federal courts.
The dual court system permits the federal administration restricted access into each jurisdiction problems and state law is not allowed to be involved in the federal judicial system, without there being some type of encounter at the state or federal stages. Federal courts have the authority to resolve only the cases in which the Constitution allows them to have power over. These types of courts are to be found in the bigger only; specific cases are allowed to be received within the federal courts. For instances, the cases that are allowed to be viewed in the federal courts are cases that include the United States government and other officers that are being sued. The dual court system is not the only part of the story, each level there is a different court chain of command. States often have limited jurisdiction courts, such as traffic courts, trial courts and appellate courts, and supreme courts (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worrall, 2011). Each trial court adjudicates different offenses. Appellate courts consider different matters depending on where they lie in the court hierarchy. Appeals from state courts can sometimes be heard in the federal courts. Higher-level courts can control the actions and decisions of lower courts, but not the other way around. Despite the apparent complexity, each court has its place. The main focus of the court system is to uphold the law, protect citizens and their rights and resolving
The dual court system differentiates between the state and federal court systems. The federal court system was established in accordance with constitutional law, which allows Congress to ordain federal courts that are separate from and external to the Supreme Court but which also deal with federal legal matters. These separate federal courts are referred to as "inferior courts," in relation to their position in the hierarchy with the Supreme Court at the summit. Each of the inferior courts established by Congress has a specific and unique jurisdiction.
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.
The American court system has two different components: the court systems of the various states and territories and then the federal court system. Each state's court system is unique, but most of them generally follow the same basic structure as the federal court system. The first level of court is the trial court. In the United States these are the U.S. District Courts. There are also a variety of trial-level courts with specialized purposes, such as tax courts and admiralty courts.
However in the United States we have what is referred to as a dual court system. A dual court system can be defined as a judicial system comprising federal- and state- level judicial systems. A dual court system separates federal and state courts. According to the book a dual court system is advantageous and desirable because it is parallel to federalism. Federalism is a system of government where power is constitutionally divided between central governing body and various constituent units. In the United States, the federal government makes laws, but federalism also gives the state’s power to make their own laws (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worral, 2011). The Founding fathers saw it as a way to serve as check on an abusive or tyrannical government.
The criminal justice system holds trials on cases. Most cases are dealt with outside of court. If a case is significant enough and is approved, then it goes to the state court. Most cases do not pass the state court, but if someone objects to the state court’s decision, then the case may go to the federal court. Another way a case is able to be held at the federal court is if the case involves two different states and involves over $70,000. According to crash course, there are four different scenarios in which the federal courts have original jurisdiction (case goes directly to federal court without the interaction of state or local courts). In all of these scenarios the cases must be brought in an original district court. The first scenario is in cases where the law at issue is a federal law. The
There are 94 different federal trial courts call District Courts. The role of these district courts are to hear civil and criminal cases. Those district courts are broken down into 12 different regional circuits, each of the 12 regional circuits have their own court of appeals. These court of appeals deals with appeals within their circuit. Those appeals are then heard and their fate is then decided based on the record that was given before the District Court. All the cases that involve juvenile issues, child custody and Dupree cases, inheritance/probate cases, real estate, as well as most cases that involve criminal prosecution, personal injury cases, disputes and contracts, as well as public health cases. Each state handle local laws, has its own police, and court system. Each court system has its own Supreme Court which is known as the court of last resort. Local crimes in cases go before their local courts and from there it's it is decided whether or not the case goes before the state, supreme, or federal court.
The Federal Court System is divided into three different sections. These are the District, Circuit, and Supreme Courts. All three of these courts have their own Function, jurisdiction, and system. All of these courts only have juristic over federal issues and cannot interfere with state laws and issues. State cases can be brought to the federal courts, but a federal court can only add additional charges if it is seen as illegal by federal or constitutional law.
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.
When the United States Constitution was established, the founding fathers devised the core of the court system that is present in today’s society. The state and federal government each have a version of a Supreme Court which is typically led by a Chief Justice. The states level Supreme Court Justice governs the issues that pertains to the citizens within the respective state. These individuals will also take part in hearings or proceedings that impact of law of the state and hear constitutional cases with regards to the state. On the federal side, a Supreme Court Chief Justice will operates more on a national