© 2003 prentice-hall, inc. 1 chapter 8 the courts

© 2003 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1

Chapter 8

The Courts


Early Court Systems1629

Massachusetts Bay Colony General

Court served as the legislature as well as the court.


Massachusetts Bay Colony

• made laws• held trials• imposed

sentences

Consisted of:• governor• deputy governor• 18 assistants• 118 elected

officials


By 1639, the colony had grown substantially in population, and the colonists had migrated out from Boston.



To respond to growth, county courts were established in the outlying areas. The General Court became a court of appeal.



Pennsylvania1700’s: “Every man could serve as his own lawyer.”


Common Peacekeepers• They served as

referees in disputes.

• The decision of peacemaker was binding.

Pennsylvania


• The system lasted until 1766.

• It was somewhat similar to today’s “dispute resolution

centers.”

Pennsylvania


Prior to 1776Prior to 1776•All colonies had fully

functioning courts.• There was a lack

of “trained” lawyers.

Early Court Systems


• Most colonies restricted the number of lawyers allowed to practice.

• Between 1695 and 1769, New York allowed only 41 lawyers to practice law.

Early Court SystemsPrior to 1776Prior to 1776


Federal Judiciary Act of 1789

• trial courts of limited jurisdiction• trial courts of

general jurisdiction • appellate courts

3 Tier Model for Court System3 Tier Model for Court System


Lower Trial Courts Lower Trial Courts • Lower trial courts are where cases

“begin.”• Some states refer to them as

“magistrate’s courts.”• Pleas are entered.• Bail may be set.• A trial is conducted if case is “minor.”

State Trial Courts


Authorized to hear:• misdemeanors• family disputes• traffic violations• small claims

State Trial CourtsLower Trial Courts Lower Trial Courts


• rarely hold jury trials

• no transcripts

• do not maintain detailed records of cases

State Trial CourtsLower Trial Courts Lower Trial Courts


State trial courts maintain records only on:• charge• plea• finding• sentence

State Trial Courts


44 states have this type of court.

State Trial Courts


• also called superior courts• can hear any type of

criminal case• often provides first

level of appellate review

Trial Courts of General JurisdictionTrial Courts of General Jurisdiction

State Trial Courts


State Trial CourtsTrial Courts of General JurisdictionTrial Courts of General Jurisdiction

• If a court hears a case on appeal from a lower court, it has a

new trial called a “trial de novo.”

• A new trial is necessary because there were no transcripts

from lower trial court.


Adversarial ProcessAdversarial Process• State and defendant

become combatants.• Prosecutor represents the

state while the defense counsel represents the accused.

State Trial CourtsTrial Courts of General JurisdictionTrial Courts of General Jurisdiction


State Trial Courts

•court of appeals39 States

•state supreme courtall 50 states

Appellate Courts Appellate Courts


• does not typically conduct a new trial• reviews transcripts

from lower trial courts when considering an appeal

• affirms most lower court convictions

State Trial CourtsAppellate Court Appellate Court


• appellant - The side initiating the appeal.

• appellee - The side opposed to the

appeal.

State Trial CourtsAppellate Courts Appellate Courts


It is considered the court of “last resort” at the state level.

State Supreme CourtState Supreme Court

State Trial Courts


Cases can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court if they are based on a claimed violation of the defendant’s rights as guaranteed under federal law or the U.S. Constitution.

State Trial CourtsState Supreme CourtState Supreme Court


Keeney v. Tamayo-Reyes (1993)

U.S. Supreme Court ruled: “A respondent is entitled to a federal evidentiary hearing [only] if he can show cause for his failure to develop the facts in the state-court proceedings.”

Appellate Cases


Justice Byron White wrote: “It is hardly a good use of scarce judicial resources to duplicate fact-finding in federal court merely because petitioner has negligently failed to take advantage of opportunities in state court proceedings.”

Appellate CasesKeeney v. Tamayo-Reyes (1993)


Herrera v. Collins (1993)

Evidence of innocence is no reason for a federal court to order a new trial if constitutional grounds are lacking.

Appellate Cases


Appellate Cases

Herrera was on Texas death row at the time.

Herrera v. Collins (1993)


“Where a defendant has been afforded a fair trial and convicted of the offense for which he was charged, the constitutional presumption of innocence disappears.”

Appellate CasesHerrera v. Collins (1993)


• New Jersey - 1948 - first state court administrator appointed

• prepare, present, oversee budget of state court system

• direct state court personnel and evaluate personnel for promotion

State Court Administrators



• serve as liaison to state legislature• collect and publish court

statistics• analyze flow of cases,

assess backlogs



•assign judges to judicial districts

•develop training programs for judges


Dispute Resolution Centers

• first programs - early 1970’s• Community Assistance

Project in Chester, PA• Night Prosecutor

Program inRochester, NY


• Currently, there are over 200 programs nationwide.

• The intent is not to assign blame, but to resolve disputes.

• The centers work closely with the justice system.

• Some believe that these programs can reduce the load facing the nation’s courts.

Dispute Resolution Centers


U.S. Federal Courts

U.S. Supreme Court building, Washington, D.C.


Article III, Section 1“One Supreme Court, and such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”

Established by the U.S. ConstitutionEstablished by the U.S. Constitution

U.S. Federal Courts


Article III, Section 2

• Federal courts are to have jurisdiction over cases arising

under the Constitution, federal law, and treaties.

• Federal courts are to settle disputes between states and to have

jurisdiction in cases where one of the parties is a state.

U.S. Federal Courts


Three Types/Levels of CourtsThree Types/Levels of Courts

U.S. Federal Courts

•U.S. district courts

•U.S. courts of appeals

•U.S. Supreme Court


U.S. District CourtsU.S. District Courts

• lowest level of federal

court • authorized by

Congress as part of

the Judiciary Act

of 1789

U.S. Federal Courts


Supreme Court & Courts of Appeal


U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals


•There are 94 courts.•Each state has at

least one district court.

U.S. District CourtsU.S. District Courts

U.S. Federal Courts


District courts are also located in:• Puerto Rico• District of Columbia• U.S. Territories (Guam, Virgin

Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands)

U.S. Federal CourtsU.S. District CourtsU.S. District Courts


• U.S. federal courts are considered the trial courts of the federal system.

• District courts are courts of “original jurisdiction.”

• There are 650 district court judges.• Federal judges are appointed

by the President and confirmed by the Senate. They serve for life.

U.S. Federal Courts


Magistrate Judges• assist federal judges• 369 full-time magistrate judges• 110 part-time magistrate judges

Responsibilities include:• conducting arraignments• setting bail• issuing warrants• trying minor offenders

U.S. Federal Courts


2000 - 67,745 criminal cases and 259,517 civil cases were filed in U.S. District Courts.

U.S. Federal Courts


U.S. Courts of Appeals• often referred to as

“circuit courts”• review cases on appeal

from U.S. district courts and U.S. Tax Court

• 167 appeals court judges


• 12 regional courts• 1 U.S. Court of Appeals

for the Federal Circuit• established in 1982• consists of merger of:

• U.S. Court of Claims • U.S. Court of Customs

and Patent Appeals

U.S. Courts of Appeals


Hear appeals from the following courts:• U.S. Court of Federal Claims• U.S. Court of International Trade

• U.S. Court of Veterans Appeals



Hear appeals from the following courts:

• International Trade Commission• Board of Contract Appeals• Patent and Trademark Office• Merit System Protection Board



• The Constitution guarantees a right to appeal.

• A defendant’s right to appeal, however, has been interpreted to mean the right to one appeal.



Therefore, the U.S. Supreme Court does not hear every appeal by defendants dissatisfied with the decision of a federal appeals court.



U.S. Supreme Court• The U.S. Supreme

Court consists of nine justices, eight of whom are referred to as Associate Justices.

• The ninth justice presides over the Court as the Chief Justice.


Supreme Court Justices:• are nominated by

the President• are confirmed by the Senate• serve for life

U.S. Supreme Court


U.S. Supreme CourtChief Justice: William Rehnquist (appointed 1972)Associate Justices:• John Paul Stevens (appointed December 1975)• Sandra Day O’Conner (appointed September

1981)• Antonin Scalia (appointed September 1986)• Anthony Kennedy (appointed February 1988)• David Souter (appointed October 1990)• Clarence Thomas (appointed October 1991)• Ruth Bader Ginsberg (appointed August 1993)• Stephen Breyer (appointed August 1994)


U.S. Supreme Court• The Supreme Court has limited

original jurisdiction.• It does not conduct trials except in

disputes between states and some attorney disbarment.

• It reviews the decisions of lower courts.

• Four Justices must vote in favor of a hearing for a case to be heard.


U.S. Supreme Court• The Court issues a “writ of

certiorari” to a lower court.• Usually the Court only

reviews cases which involve a substantial federal question.• Of 5,000 requests for review,

only about 200 are heard.


Writ of Certiorari• A writ issued from an appellate

court for the purpose of obtaining from a lower court the record of its proceedings in a particular case.• In some instances, this writ is a

mechanism for discretionary review.


Judicial Reviewjudicial review - The power of a court to review actions and decisions made by other agencies of government.• It is probably the

U.S. Supreme Court’s greatest power.


Judicial Review• While judicial review was not explicit

in the U.S. Constitution, it was anticipated by its framers.

• Alexander Hamilton, in the Federalist Papers, wrote

that through judicial review, the Court should ensure that the “will of the people” would be supreme over the “will of the legislature.”


Marbury v. Madison (1803)The Supreme Court forcefully asserted its power of judicial review. Chief Justice John Marshall wrote an opinion establishing the Court’s authority as final interpreter of the U.S. Constitution by declaring “it is emphatically the province of the judicial department to say what the law is.”

Judicial Review


• first appearance

•pretrial release and

bail

Pretrial Activities


• the grand jury• the preliminary hearing•arraignment and plea

Pretrial Activities

© 2003 prentice-hall, inc. 1 chapter 8 the courts

Documents

sentence state trial

new trial

county courts

superior courts

functioning courts

magistrates courts

pennsylvania slide

court system slide