Distinguishing Features of the Major Court Systems Essay

The primary functions of lower courts consist of processing minor offenses but these courts will sometimes process felonies as well, without sentencing the defendant. Major trial courts take the processed felony cases and complete them; in major courts the defendants who are charged with felony crimes mainly enter a plea of guilty or not guilty, which then leads to a trial (Neubauer, 2010). The second component of our dual court system consists of appellate courts.

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)

For starters let’s begin with a criminal court which is a court that has jurisdiction to try and punish offenders against the law. The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure are criminal proceedings in U.S. district courts, the courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court. Their purpose is to provide a simple and fair court proceeding. The original rules were observed by the Supreme Court in 1944, and then later on in 1954 congress took over the rules of criminal procedures and it has been edited multiple times most recently in 2014. However, a civil court is another type of civil process and it is very different from criminal court.

The next step in the ladder is the District Court; like the Local Court, it has both Criminal and Civil Jurisdiction, however it hears most indictable offences in jury trials. The Supreme Courts Trial Division has original civil and criminal jurisdiction, but it only hears the most serious of criminal cases (like murder or terrorism). Additionally, its’ Court of Appeal hears direct appeals from the District Court and Supreme Court trial division – it usually only hears appeals regarding questions of law and not fact.

The Federal court system and the California court system has similar structures that can be viewed as a three-layer pyramid. For example, on the very top of the pyramid in regards to the federal court system there is the United States Supreme court. Secondly, in the middle of the pyramid there is the United States Court of Appeals. Lastly, on the very bottom of the pyramid is the United States District Courts. On the other end, California’s highest court is known as the Supreme court. In the center of the pyramid for California is known as Court of Appeals. Lastly, at the very bottom of the courts for California is known as the Superior Court. In contrast, the difference is the very bottom of the pyramid where the Federal court

verdict based on the facts of the case. One judge is allowed in this type of trial. These courts are

The state trial courts of general jurisdiction are the district courts. The district court has exclusive jurisdiction on felony cases, as well as divorce cases, cases involving title to land, and election contest cases. It shares jurisdiction with the county courts, and in some case justice of the peace courts, for civil cases the lowest limit for hearing a case is a mere $200 in controversy, while in Justice of the Peace courts can hear cases up to $5,000. In a "catchall" provision it hears all cases in which jurisdiction is not placed in another trial court.

Reasoning: Determining jurisdiction is critical because jurisdiction not only allows the party to know whether that court is entitled to adjudicate a dispute, but it can also help determine which laws are applicable, which can make a difference in a party's recovery. For example, Georgia and Delaware might have different laws regarding damages so that Elle may have an advantage in one court as compared to another court. In order for a court to be able to exercise jurisdiction, the court must have some connection to either the parties or to the event in question. Therefore, the possibilities for jurisdiction include: the district court for the state of Georgia, the district court for the state of Delaware, or one of the state courts for either Georgia or Delaware. In order for federal jurisdiction to apply, the circumstances of the case must meet the requirements for diversity jurisdiction. Diversity jurisdiction refers to that federal court jurisdiction involved when the parties involved are from two

Other jurisdictions may use another agency such as the prosecutor’s office, or a social service agency to decide whether the case should go to juvenile or criminal court.

Federal and state are the main court cases in the United States. Juries are required in federal court, and are used in less than once percent of civil cases are decided by juries. Almost all of the states, however in certain cases, can have a civil jury trail. The United States is one of the very little amount

The U.S has a dual court system including state and federal courts. The federal court system is limited and cases brought to the federal court usually involve a federal question based on the U.S constitution, treaty, or law. The federal court also takes cases that involve diversity of citizenship. A judicial requirement is that there must be sufficient stake to justify bringing a sue.The federal court system consists of a three-tiered model. It includes U.S district courts, U.S court of appeals, and the U.S supreme court. The U.S district court is where trials take place and where testimony is taken. The court of appeals reviews the record of a trial to determine whether there was an error that took place. The U.S supreme court is the highest

Many years ago, before courts existed matters was handled in a privately or informally. This often led to violence and unjust treatment of innocent people. During the rise of the Greek City States and the Roman Empire law enforcement became a public affair instead of private. (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worral, 2011). Along with this movement became formalized courts and other criminal justice institutions. This allowed for law enforcement matters to be handled in a more civilized manner for resolving human conflict.

In the case of Margolin v. Novelty Now the appropriate court for this lawsuit depends upon several factors. In personal jurisdiction the book states that the courts are given the power to provide a decision in affecting the rights of individuals (Kubasek). In this case, the court will give a decision giving rights to Mr. Margolin, and taking rights from Novelty Now. For subject matter jurisdiction, a certain specified court will be able to hear the case This means, that it must be decided which court hears the case, whether state or federal jurisdiction. Since this case contains three different states, the federal court system must be the one to hear the case. In this case, minimum contacts must be determined to decide if a certain state will have power to assert personal jurisdiction over a defendant from another state (Kubasek). In this case, it must be decided if New York will take personal jurisdiction of the defendants residing in California, or Novelty Now residing in Florida.

The two basic types of courts in the United States are trial courts and appellate courts. These two types of courts have two entirely different functions. The job of a trial courts is to determine questions of fact. Appeals courts, on the other hand, must determine questions of law. Appellate courts have the right to overrule jury verdicts and judges decisions due to the fact that an appellate court typically concerns itself solely with issues of law. An appeal is not the time to retry the case or to reargue the facts. In civil matters, either party can appeal the decision of the trial court. Usually in criminal matters, however, only the defendant may appeal a criminal conviction and the state is not

The State Supreme Court's jurisdiction also covers disputes where one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or more is claimed for personal damages. It also hears appeals from lower courts or Supreme Court cases where a single judge has made the decision. In the situation where an appeal is made against a single judge's decision this is heard by the full bench of the Supreme Court. This usually means that three judges hear the appeal.