Historical Development of the U.S Court Systems

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 state intermediate courts hear appeals from the trial court (Goldman and Cheeseman 10). These courts review the record from the trial court to determine errors that can ultimately modify or reverse the decision in a case. The highest state courts (commonly known as

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 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 U.S. Constitution created a strong government structure for the United States known as federalism. Both the federal and state governments must have their own court systems to apply and interpret their own specific laws. Both federal and state constitutions attempt to do this by specifically spelling out the jurisdiction of their own court systems. For example, U.S Constitution gives Congress the power to make uniform laws concerning bankruptcies, a state court would lack jurisdiction in this matter. Since the Constitution does not give the federal government authority in most matters concerning the regulation of the family, a federal court would lack jurisdiction in a divorce case. This is the main reason why there are two separate court systems in America. The federal court system deals with issues of law relating to those powers implicitly granted to them by the U.S. Constitution. The state court systems deal with issues of laws relating to those matters that the U.S. Constitution did not give to the federal government or deny to the states.

Basically, there are two types of federal courts: constitutional and legislative. Constitutional courts are presided over by the Supreme Court and

At some stages, some appeals courts may hear oral arguments from the attorneys or even a hearing with witnesses, but most of it is on paper. Each appeals court can refuse the appeal, send it back for retrial for verdict or sentence only, or back to the lower appeals court for rehearing. But once it's into appeal, the State can also appeal the appeals court rulings before anything else happens, and that makes it different from the trial where the State can't appeal a not guilty verdict.

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.

The Supreme Court, which is often referred to as the Court of last resort,” is the highest court within our court system. Only an original ruling by the Supreme Court can change a pre-existing one. They have the authority to decide appeals on all cases taken to federal court or those that have been brought to a state court that handles federal law. Once one of the circuit courts have made a decision on a case, all parties involved in the case can choose to appeal their case to the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can decide whether or not to hear a case as where the circuit courts can not . The parties involved in the case are required to petition the court. If the petition is granted, the circuit courts will take briefings and hear arguments. If the petition is not granted, the lower court's judgment stands. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in a case. The Supreme Court oversees many types of cases such as most cases involving federal laws or regulations, international and interstate commerce, and cases involving commodaties and securities, to name a few. Where a case was filed depends on the avennue it would take in order to reach the Supreme Court. A Case can start in either the Superior Court or District Court. Cases wouls start in the district court if they involve

Jurisdiction is import for the operation of American courts because it is the basis behind who has the authority to hear certain cases, where those cases must be heard, and. There are three types of jurisdiction that always have to present in order for a court to have power to make any decisions. They are; subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, and geographic jurisdiction.

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

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

. While state courts tend to have general jurisdiction, federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Federal Courts have limited subject matter jurisdiction bestowed by U.S. Const. Art. III, sec. 2. The federal courts are have jurisdiction to decide federal questions (28 U.S.C. § 1331) as well as cases or controversies between two different states or diversity jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. § 1332). There are also specific court jurisdictions. Bankruptcy court can only hear bankruptcy claims, Tax court hears tax claims. Federal District Courts have original jurisdiction in federal criminal and civil cases. The U.S. Courts of Appeals have appellate jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction as well as some general original

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.

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