Chapter 2 The Court System September 5th 2014 2 3 Trail and Appellate Courts Learning Objectives Learn the differences between the state and federal constitutions Understand subject matter jurisdiction Distinguish the work of trial and appellate courts Explore the state and federal court systems Differences Between State and Federal Constitutions Many American cities have both state and federal courthouse hearing different types of cases involving o Different laws o Different law enforcement agencies o Different judicial systems Procedures Civil Procedure Rules governing litigation in civil cases Criminal Procedure Rules governing litigation in criminal cases United States has fifty one separate legal systems o One federal and fifty in the states Subject Matter Jurisdiction or state court Rule of subject matter jurisdiction dictate whether a case is heard in federal o Subject matter jurisdiction Authority of a court to hear cases in a specific subject area or matter Lawsuits involving state laws are heard in state courts Child custody adoption property and probate laws are state laws o Probate Legal process of administering a deceased person s property Federal Court Subject Matter Jurisdiction Limited to cases involving o Federal question Any case involving a federal law or the federal Constitution gives rise to subject matter jurisdiction in federal courts o Original jurisdiction Small category of cases that allows the U S Supreme Court to hear a case for a first time rather than on appeal Example Lawsuits between states State and Federal Court Systems Federal court can hear a case involving a state law o Diversity jurisdiction Power of federal courts to hear a case based on state law if all plaintiffs are from different states than all defendants and damages claimed exceed seventy five thousand dollars Allows a party apprehensive about receiving a fair trial over opponents home court advantage to seek a neutral forum to hear its case through removal Removal Process of moving a case from state court to federal court under diversity jurisdiction There is a hierarchy within both federal and state court systems The U S Supreme Court is the highest in the country and all courts are bound to follow as per stare decisis o Sate Decisis Literally let the decision stand Doctrine that requires lower courts to follow prior precedents in similar cases by higher courts whenever possible Trial and Appellate Courts Under court administration system there are ninety four judicial courts in the country Single judicial districts or multiple judicial districts is based on the population of the state Districts are named for their geographical location Work of Trial and Appellate Courts As a trial court U S district courts hear civil and criminal trials o Trials may be bench trials or jury trials Bench trial A case heard only by a judge wherein the judge acts as both trier of law and trier of fact Witnesses testimonies are recorded into a trial record o Trial Record The transcript of all proceedings related to litigation at a trial court along with accompanying paperwork such as memoranda and briefs At the conclusion of a trial if the loosing side is unhappy with the outcome it is entitled as a matter of right to appeal the U S Circuit Court Appeals o There are thirteen circuit courts of appeals in the Untied States spread geographically through the states A party loosing an appeal at the circuit court level can appeal to one more time to the U S Supreme Court for review A trial court of general jurisdiction accepts most types of civil and criminal cases o General Jurisdiction Power of a court to hear a broad array of civil and criminal matters without limitation Other courts of limited jurisdiction at the state level are traffic court juvenile court family court or small claims court o Limited Jurisdiction Type of jurisdiction in which a court is restricted to hearing cases in a specific subject matter or threshold damages amount The trial record is forwarded to the appellate court for review whenever an appeal is filed o Trial court s duty is to figure out the facts of the case Fact finding is important in judicial process and great deal of deference is given to the judgment of the fact finder o Trier of Fact Fact finding entity such as a jury On appeal the appellate judge cannot substitute his her interpretation of the facts for that of the trier of fact o Even if the appellate judge believes the trier of fact was wrong o The issues on appeal are limited to questions of law Questions of law Strictly legal issues such as which evidence to admit that are resolved by the judge during a trial Remand Deference to the trier of fact means that appeals are rarely won o Even if a litigant is successful in persuading a court of appeals that legal error has taken place it doesn t automatically win the case o Best remedy a litigant can hope is for the court of appeals to issue a remand Remand Process of sending a case from an appellate court back to the trial court for further action in accordance with the appellate court s instructions
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