chapter 18: the federal court system
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Chapter 18: The Federal Court System. Ashton Leyens, Caroline Rudkin, & Jaclyn Sterman Soroko. Federal Courts. Inferior Courts: The lower federal courts, those beneath the Supreme Courts Two Types Constitutional Courts Special Courts. Creation of the National Judiciary. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Chapter 18:The Federal Court
SystemAshton Leyens, Caroline Rudkin, & Jaclyn
Sterman Soroko
Federal Courts Inferior Courts:
The lower federal courts, those beneath the Supreme Courts
Two Types Constitutional Courts Special Courts
Creation of the National Judiciary The framers created a national judiciary in
a single sentence in the Constitution “The judicial Power of the United States shall
be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish” (article III section 1)
Dual Court system The national judiciary has 120 courts all across
the country Each of the 50 states has their own courts
Constitutional Courts
94 District Courts
12 U.S. Courts of Appeals
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. Court of International
Trade
Also called article III courts or regular courts. Created by congress to exercise “judicial Power of the United States”
Types of Jurisdiction Jurisdiction:
The authority of a court to hear a case Exclusive
The cases that can only be heard in federal courts Concurrent
Both federal and state courts can hear the cases Original
The court in which the case is first heard Appellate
A higher court that previously heard the case
District Courts Federal Trial courts
Created in the Judiciary act of 1789 94 courts
Federal Judicial Districts There are 89
District Court Jurisdiction Have it over most cases that have been heard in federal
courts. Criminal Case: a defendant is tried for committing some
action that congress has declared by law a federal crime Civil Case: Anything else that is not crime related
Example: bankruptcy, postal, tax, civil rights, public lands…
The Courts of Appeals Created by congress in 1891
Created to relieve Supreme Court of the burden of hearing appeals from the district courts
12 Courts of appeals in the judicial system Docket: a list of cases to be heard
The Supreme Court The ultimate exercise of judicial power rests
with the Supreme Court The final authority on the meaning of the
constitution Marbury vs. Madison
The supreme court’s first case where their power of judicial review came into play.
The effects: Supreme Court claimed acts of congress unconstitutional Laid the foundation for the judicial branch’s role in
developing the American system of government.
Supreme Court Jurisdiction Two classes of cases
Those to which a state is a party Those affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers, and consuls How cases reach the Court
Out of 8,000 cases only a few hundred are chosen Most reach by writ of certiorari
An order by the Court directing a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review.
Another way is a certificate When the lower court is not clear about the procedure
or the rule of law that should apply in a case
Court Operations Oral arguments
When the case is heard Briefs
Written documents filed with the Court before oral arguments begin
Conferences Wednesdays and Fridays justices meet in conference discussing the
oral arguments Opinions
Majority: the Court’s opinion Precedents: examples to be followed in similar cases that may arise Concurring: to add or emphasize a point that was not made in the
majority opinion Dissenting: written by justices who do not agree with majority
opinion.
Special Courts
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Territorial Courts
Courts of the District of Columbia
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Armed Forces
U.S. Court of Appeals
for Veterans Claims
Also called Legislative Courts or Article I courts. Created by congress “to constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court”
Court of Federal Claims The government cannot
be taken to court unless congress says they are open to suit.
It hears local cases as well as cases from constitutional courts
DC Courts
Territorial Courts Created by congress
for the nations territories
Tax Court Hears only civil cases
involving disputes over tax laws
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces Military Commissions Military courts equals
courts-martial Serves disciplinary
needs of armed forces Not part of federal
court system
Court like boards but not part of the court martial system
Court of Appeals for the Veterans Claims Newest court in the federal
judiciary Hears appeals from the decisions
of an administrative agency
A Time to Kill The following
slides are themes that were seen throughout the movie that relate to government.
Jury Selection Jury members are selected randomly from
the community and are supposed to represent your piers. This system is designed to create impartial juries. However, in the movie, racism does not allow for the jury to be unbiased, but racism is not a tangible thing can be removed.
Change of Venue This is the legal term
for moving the trial to a different location. Jake is well aware that Carl Lee cannot receive a fair trail at the local court and files for a change of venue. He had hoped to find a more sympathetic and less racist jury by changing the venue.
Justice! Moral rightness based on, in this case, law.
In this peculiar case, justice would have been served either way. Yes, Carl Lee killed the 2 boys, but he was the only one who was going to punish them for their crime.
THE END!