The United States Courts: The Federal Court System

In 1789, each of the thirteen states had already establish a judicial system such as criminal and civil cases. The United States Constitution is the original document in which it established fundamental laws for the national government as well as protecting the right of the citizens. The U.S Constitution was designed to avoid too much power in the system of checks and balances. As years went by, the Constitution began to adapt to the modern changes. Subsequently, the judicial system began to full fill the U.S Constitution’s purpose. Both Federal and State have their own jurisdiction and functions as stated in the Constitution. However, in recent years the judicial system has been broken due to lack of structure in law on the book and law in action.

The courts play a huge role in the criminal justice system. The dual court system of the United States (U.S.) was established through the U.S. constitution. The court systems have a multiple purposes and elements of court. Federal and state court system is what makes up the dual court system of the U.S. Today the U.S. court system is what it is today because of previous legal codes, common law, and the precedent it played in the past. Making the U.S. court system a vital role in the criminal justice system..

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 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 federal system of government in the United States shares power between the federal government and the state governments. Our political system dictates that both the federal government and each of the state governments have their own court systems. Therefore, while the Constitution states that the federal government is supreme with regard to those powers delegated to it, the states remain supreme in matters reserved to them. Both the federal and state governments need their own court systems to apply and interpret their laws which are done by specifically spelling out the jurisdiction of their respective court systems.

Before the adoption of the United States Constitution, the U.S. was governed by the Articles of Confederation. These articles stated that almost every function of the government was chartered by the legislature known as Congress. There was no distinction between legislative or executive powers. This was a major shortcoming in how the United States was governed as many leaders became dissatisfied with how the government was structured by the Articles of Confederation. They felt that the government was too weak to effectively deal with the upcoming challenges. In 1787, an agreement was made by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a national judiciary needed to be established. This agreement became known as The Constitution of the

Over the last 224 years, the US court system has been continually evolving. At the heart of these changes, is the belief that the Constitution establishes basic practices that must be followed at all times. This has led to the development of a legal structure that is based on case precedent and oversight (which are augmented with constitutional ideas). The combination of these factors has meant that the judicial branch is continually transforming. To fully understand the way this is taking place requires examining the dual court system and how this compares to other countries. Together, these different elements will highlight the way the US judicial system has developed in comparison with other regions of the world. (Couser, 1992, pp. 14 29)

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 manner in which the federal court system is organized has been up for debate ever since its' inception over 200 years ago. Where currently we always hear about arguments between the Democrats and Republicans, late in the 18th century the fight was between the anti-Federalists and the Federalists. The beginning of this fight is rooted in two landmark decisions, Article Three of the U.S. Constitution and the Judiciary Act of 1789.

Was Grove City College subject to federal requirements because its students received federal grants? Did the provisions of Title IX violate the First Amendments rights of the College?

The federal courts came about beginning in 1789 when Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 (Neubauer & Fradella, 2008. pg. 65). However, there was a lot of controversy in regards to the act because advocates feared that a strong national government would weaken individual liberties and be a threat to the power of state courts (Neubauer & Fradella, 2008. pg. 65). The act even though federal, still had some ties to the state level courts. One of the first issues was the boundaries of the federal district courts would not encompass more than one state. The second was the selection process would ensure that federal judges would be residents of their districts and lastly, the lower federal courts would have limited jurisdiction (Neubauer &

There are three different tiers within the federal court system. There are only one Supreme Court. It is the highest court in the United States. The lower courts below the Supreme Court can actually have cases roll over to the Supreme Court. Then you have U.S. Courts of Appeals. There are thirteen Appellate courts. The appellate courts deal with making sure the law was applied correctly in trial court. Appellate court doesn’t have a jury all they have is three judges. Then there is District Courts, which there are ninety-four around the country. They try to resolve disputes between people and try to figure out which one if right and wrong. Trail courts have

The Judicial system in America has advanced and developed for hundreds of years, early development of corrections was usually left to the local Sheriff’s and other law enforcement officers. In the 1820’s America developed the first penitentiary in Pennsylvania with the building of Eastern State Prison. Along with this prison are the early beginnings of organized corrections officers in America. Through the years, as more prisons and jails were built, the need for better trained, ethical, and professional individuals were required to staff and maintain positive control over criminal inmates. Today, corrections officers hold the responsibility for the custody, control, and safety of correctional inmate’s nations wide. The training, professionalism, and leadership, required for the corrections officer has advanced over time, as the challenges for public safety grows.

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.

There are three women on the Supreme Court, one of whom is Latina, and there is one black justice serving on the Supreme Court (Brown, 2016). This is a major issue. The United States, the “melting pot”, has an extreme lack of diversity in their court system. This is an issue that affects several aspects of society. Decisions made by judges will affect the lives of men, women, and their families. The decisions made by judges can also create law. Unlike political officials, the people do not always have the power to vote judges into their positions. Instead, the people hope that their peers with the power to affect the system choose a candidate that will fight for them. Often times, this does not happen.