I The Court System a Last branch of government that was added almost as an after thought b Article Three of the Constitution created the U S Supreme court but not any other court they then gave congress the ability to establish other inferior courts c Types of Courts i Courts of Original Jurisdiction there is no jury ii Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction 1 Trial court 2 3 The jury will determine the facts and the judge decides In direct contact with the parties to the lawsuit the questions of law a This means that the judge looks at the legal question ex Is it negligent for a driver to go through a light after it turned yellow b The jury looks at the factual issues ex Did the person go through the yellow light 4 A bench trial is where the judge will decide both and 1 Hears cases on appeal 2 No in contact with the 3 4 Reviews are then recorded for errors 5 The decisions made in the appellate court it established Judges then called Justices precedent and binds everyone in that jurisdiction 6 Who can appeal Everyone entitled to one appeal a b In a civil case either side can appeal In a criminal case only the defendant can appeal Why If you re found not guilty you can t be tried again double jeopardy d Selection of judges i The state judge is elected by people where federal judge is appointed by the President of the United States ii Federal Judges are appointed for life e Federal Courts i Highest to lowest Supreme Court Appellate Courts Trail Courts other Federal courts outside the Judicial branch ii District court is court of original jurisdiction iii 94 Federal District courts ex PA has three federal district courts iv What kinds of cases to these courts hear 1 Cases involving federal law 2 Diversity of citizenship in which dispute involves more than 75 00 3 Cases involving the US Constitution 4 Certain courts have been created to hear trials for very specific matter such as taxes etc v Thirteen Circuit Courts of Appeals 1 Eleven circuits that hear appeals from the district courts 2 One circuit for Washington D C 3 One circuit hears appeals regarding the U S Government 4 We are part of the third circuit a Made up of federal courts from Delaware NJ PA vi Supreme Court of the United States and the Virgin Islands 1 The highest court 2 Does not have to hear the case if you appeal again from the circuit court you re only entitled to one appeal 3 Final decision maker of all legal issues 4 Binds everyone in the Unites States by its decision 5 Supreme Court is a court of both original jurisdiction and a court of appellate jurisdiction a Cases of Original Jurisdiction occur when it Involves an ambassador of a country Involves the consulate of a country Involves disputes between two states i ii iii 1 Ex New Jersey versus New York a Dispute over the Statue of Liberty b New Jersey won 6 Nine Justices of the Supreme Court 7 About 8 000 cases appealed and taken to the Supreme Court but the Supreme Court will hear less than 300 cases 8 Supreme Court looks to see if conflicts have been 9 decided in different circuits Justices meet Wednesdays and Fridays and review recent appeals and to decide whether or not they will hear the case 10 Rule of four four justices must agree to hear the case 11 What is the name of an appeal to the state Supreme 12 United States Supreme Court today tends to be before the court Court Allocator conservative 13 Kennedy is the swing vote on the Supreme Court goes back and forth between liberal and conservative decisions 14 Supreme court seems o be business friendly rules in favor of big business vii State Court 15 Supreme Court begins their session the first Monday of October and goes until the Summer Supreme court issues most of their decisions in the Summer 16 Falwell versus Flynt freedom of speech 1 Highest to lowest Supreme Court Superior Court common wealth court Common Pleas Court Special Courts magisterial district judges Philadelphia Municipal Court Philadelphia Traffic Court Pittsburgh Municipal Court 2 Trial court court of original jurisdiction is the Court of Common Pleas 3 The Jury System a Right to a jury trial is one of the basic building block of American democracy the US accounts for 95 of the jury trials in the world Jury system is contained in the sixth and seventh amendments to the Constitution b c Not every trial you are entities to a jury i Amount involved in a civil case must be ii Criminal trials must warrant at least six more than 20 months in jail d Jurors e Jury Selection Process i Don t usually understand legal issues involved in the cases ii They vote of prejudices iii They tend to be plaintiff oriented iv Can be swayed by good attorney v In a criminal case you must have all twelve jurors agree unanimous vi Civil cases there are eight jurors and there must be 5 6ths agreement of the jury i Perspective jurors are questioned by the ii iii judge In England they summon 12 people and ask if they will be fair to both sides In the United States the attorneys talk to the jurors iv Attorney s can strike a juror for challenge for cause or discretionary challenges 1 Challenge for cause a Bias or prejudice 2 Discretionary challenges b Unlimited number of people can be knocked off the jury Judge makes final decision c a Attorney decides who they want to knock off for whatever reason It is a limited number of people b