2 The Court Systems MAIN TOPICS Judges Overview of the American court system How an injured party can seek relief in the courts Jurisdiction Which court has the power and the authority to decide the case Relations between court systems JUDGES FEDERAL JUDGES Federal judges are nominated by the President Confirmed by a majority vote in the US senate Lifetime appointment May be removed from office only if Congress impeaches them intricate impeachment process and rarely happens Job security guarantees that judges are independent and free from political pressure STATE JUDGES Judges chosen by variety of methods Elected appointed or mixture of both methods Unlike federal court most state judges serve fixed terms Evidence indicates that with elected judges the average in tort cases are larger and out of state companies are treated more poorly than in states with appointed judges See exhibit 2 1 JUDICIAL IMMUNITY jurisdiction A judge is absolutely immune from suit for damages for judicial acts taken within his her Without this judges may fear being sued by unhappy party to a lawsuit Is this always best What about performance Acts outside duties Judges also Purpose have committee on judicial conduct right to appeal court Purpose to protect the system from undue influence on judicial decision making judges are not concerned with the relative power of parties who appear in See Davis v West p 28 CASE DAVIS V WEST Houston Reporting Service HRS provided court reporting services for attorney Davis depo EXPLAIN HRS billed Davis was never paid 1 Sued for 1083 98 deposition plus attorney s fees interest costs Davis did not defend judge entered a default judgment big mistake 2 HRS began collection efforts verdict Court Order 1 appointed Radoff as receiver in the case Court Order 2 commanded Radoff to take possession of all monies in deposit by Davis in financial institutions Radoff sent letter from HRS attorney asking for payment Radoff sent letter to Davis s bank demanding that the bank turn over 4 144 91 to Radoff Bank did Judgment satisfied HRS was paid receivership closed 3 Davis sued Radoff for abuse of process Tort arising from one party making a malicious deliberate misuse or perversion of regularly issued court process civil or criminal not justified by the underlying legal action It is a common law intentional tort Trial court granted summary judgment for Radoff as he was entitled to derived judicial immunity Davis appealed immunity for judges HELD affirmed Rafoff is cloaked with derived judicial immunity same for person as absolute Judicial immunity can attach to certain non judges when judges delegate their authority appointing another to perform services for the court as an officer of court Texas use the functional approach looks whether the person seeking immunity is intimately associated with the judicial process Also that person exercises dictionary judgment comparable to that of the judge Functional approach focuses on nature of the function performed if person s conduct is like the delegating judge Radoff is cloaked with derived judicial immunity Every action whether good or bad honest or dishonest well intentioned or not is immune as applied to the function undertaken QUESTIONS 1 Why did Radoff ask for and get 4 144 91 when the amount owed was 1 083 98 a Remember that the judgment for HRS was for 1 083 98 the rest of the amount is for attorney s fees court costs receiver cost and interest Those numbers can run up fast 2 How did nonpayment affect a lawyer s code of ethics If cheat someone go big or go home a b Why did this happen to Davis Drugs mental instability hard headed too busy OVERVIEW OF THE AMERICAN COURT SYSTEM ORGANIZATION OF THE COURT SYSTEMS Both state and federal court systems have Lower Courts courts of original jurisdiction Where disputes are initially brought and tried Generally known as trial courts Look at issues of fact Appellate Courts courts of appellate jurisdiction Where lower court decisions are reviewed Look at issues of law THE FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM U S Supreme Court U S Court of Appeals Federal District Court Specialized Federal Courts FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT Courts of original jurisdiction GJ Use juries or judge as trier of fact Trial courts deal in issues of facts Federal trial courts also use judicial officers called magistrates 94 federal districts in the court system U S COURT OF APPEALS 12 courts Usual rule there is the right to appeal to this court 3 judge panels deal in issues of law and review most decisions En banc proceeding means all active judges in a circuit will hear a case SPECIALIZED FEDERAL COURTS Limited SUBJECT MATTER jurisdiction Ex U S Bankruptcy Courts Ex Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit takes appeals from U S District Court in patent trademark and copyright cases U S Court of Federal Claims U S Court of International Trade U S Tax Court Only court whose jurisdiction is based on subject matter See exhibit 2 2 2 3 THE U S SUPREME COURT Highest court in the country Appellate review court Cases usually heard by 9 justices Term begins First Monday in October in Washington D C Receives thousands of petitions each year Issues about 70 80 opinions per term Reviews cases from U S District Courts U S Courts of Appeals Highest Courts of the States Review is through Writ of Certiorari Often deal with Constitutional decisions If writ not granted lower court decision is final THE TYPICAL STATE COURT SYSTEM State Court of Original Jurisdiction Where case is first brought deals in issues of fact Usually called District Court But in NY is called the Supreme Court SC Circuit Court General Sessions Common Pleas State Court of Appellate Jurisdiction Deals with appeals and issues of law Usually called Court of Appeals Can have different names District Court of Appeals in FL Appellate Division in NY State Supreme Court Second appellate review dealing with issues of law Usually called Supreme Court but in NY is called Court of Appeals Also specialty courts RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE IN THE U S CODE TITLE 28 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern procedural aspects of litigation Pleadings Discovery Trial procedures Relevant motions States are free to develop their own procedural rules Most adopt the federal rules of civil procedure or rules very similar to them What must they comply with Constitution JURISDICTION Jurisdiction power or right of a court to hear and decide the case Several courts may have jurisdiction over a given case Court must have