FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM: Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction! Vocab: Original Jurisdiction Appellate Jurisdiction Ruling Opinion Precedent Litigants Subpoena

OVERVIEW  District courts, Courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court = ____________________________  Each layer has its purpose and structure  District Courts & Courts of Appeals are below the Supreme Court  Origin: ___________________________ which established district and circuit courts  Dual Court System: Made up of both Federal and State courts (dual = two)  Jurisdiction: The authority to hear and decide on a case  Two types for Federal Courts:  Exclusive: Only they (the Court) have the authority to hear the cases (ex. When State law is involved, the case is heard in a State court)  Concurrent: Either a Federal or State court could hear the case due to both a Federal AND State law being broken

LOWER COURTS  District Courts: Lowest level of the Federal system  Usually have original jurisdiction (authority to hear cases for the FIRST TIME)  94 District courts (every state has at LEAST one of them)  Are responsible for determining facts in a case: will decide if a person is guilty or innocent  Are the ONLY Federal courts in which witnesses testify and juries hear cases and reach verdicts

CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS  Are between the district courts and the U.S. Supreme Court  Also called Federal appeals court, Courts of Appeal, or Appellate courts  Differ from Trial courts  Do NOT decide on whether innocent or guilty  Don’t decide which party wins in a lawsuit  Have Appellate jurisdiction (authority to review the FAIRNESS of a case appealed from a lower court)  May review the decisions of Federal regulatory agencies if it is decided the agency acted UNFAIRLY  Can appeal a case if it is felt the judge made a mistake  Based on how the judge interpreted the law  12 United States courts of appeals  1982: Congress created a 13 th (for patent laws or international trade, which is headquarted in D.C.)

RULINGS & OPINIONS  Panel of three or more judges review the record of the case from the Trial court  The panel rules ONLY on whether the original trial was a FAIR one  Decision is known as a ruling (an official decision that settles a case and helps establish the meaning of the law)  Can decide in three ways –  1) Uphold the result of the trial (leaves verdict unchanged)  2) Reverse the result of the trial (Take this action if they think original judge made an error in procedure/interpretation of the law)  3) Remand the case (send the case back to the lower courts to be tried again)  Decisions of Courts of Appeals are FINAL unless they are appealed, which are made to the Supreme Court

RULINGS & OPINIONS  Judges write an opinion (detailed explanation of the legal thinking behind the court’s decision)  This opinion sets a precedent for all courts and agencies within the district  Can be used as the basis for a decision in a later, similar case  Does not have the force of law but is still very powerful legal argument  Most judges follow precedents in nearly all cases  Principles of the Legal system  No Fed court may initiate action (judge or Justice may not seek out an issue and ask both sides to bring it to court)  Must wait for litigants (parties to a lawsuit) to come before them  Precedent comes from British law  All courts in the country MUST follow precedent set u Supreme Court

FEDERAL JUDGES  Chief decision makers in the Judicial branch  More than 650 judges serve on the district courts (each court has two judges)  Each Appeals court has anywhere from 6 to 28 judges  Supreme Court has 9 judges; they go by the proper term Justice  Appointing Process  Article II, Section 2 says the Pres. appoints Judges  Senate has to approve, though (simple majority is needed)  Vacancies arise when a Judge resigns, retires, or dies  When naming a judge, the Pres. Follows a process called Senatorial Courtesy (President first submits the name of a candidate to the Senators from the candidate’s State. If that candidate objects, the Pres. Picks a new one)  Presidents are CAREFUL to choose someone who will be approved by the Senate

TERM OF OFFICE  Federal judges: for life  Can only be removed from office through the process of impeachment  Framers gave this power to the judges in order to keep them free from public or political pressure when hearing cases  Judges don’t work alone  Have clerks, secretaries, court reporters, etc  Each district has three key officials  1) Magistrate: Do much of a judge’s routine work (Issue court orders & warrants, hear preliminary evidence in cases, decide if people should be arrested or not, and an act as the judge if in minor cases)  2) United States attorney: Prosecute people accused of breaking the law  3) United States Marshal: Make arrests, collect fines, and take convicted persons to prison (they also protect jurors and deliver subpoenas, or a court order that requires a person to appear in court