The Federal Court System

Equal Justice for All In 1940 The Supreme Court upheld an act which put thousands of Japanese Americans in interment camps.

Equal Justice for All Later the U.S. would acknowledge the injustice of the camps. In the Ex parte Endo decision the Supreme Court ruled that, regardless of whether the United States Government had a right to exclude people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast during World War II, they could not continue to detain a citizen that the government itself conceded was loyal to the United States.

Equal Justice for All Federal Courts like the Supreme Court make up the third branch of government under Article III of the Constitution. Courts use the law to settle disputes and determine guilt or innocence of a person charged with a crime.

Equal Justice for All The Supreme Court is at the top of the Federal system. The goal of the legal system is to make sure every person is treated in the same way.

Those accused of a Crime: Equal Justice for All Those accused of a Crime: Right to a public trial Right to a lawyer Presumed innocent until proven guilty Right to have case reviewed for mistakes on appeal.

Ideally equal justice is hard to achieve. Equal Justice for All Ideally equal justice is hard to achieve. Judges have their prejudices. Communities are not without prejudices. Poor do not have the money to spend for the best legal help.

The Federal Court System Under Article III Congress was given the power create lower federal courts. 1789 the Judiciary Act established federal district cts. Circuit cts of appeal. In 1891 Congress created federal Cts. Of Appeals.

The Federal Court System The Federal Courts are a 3 tiered system Supreme Court Courts of Appeals District Courts

Cases Heard in the Federal Courts Courts must have jurisdiction to hear and decide cases. Jurisdiction- Courts authority to decide and hear cases

Cases Heard in the Federal Courts Cases involving the Constitution If the law in question involves an issue that is applicable to the constitution it must be heard by the federal courts. Examples: Right to bear arms Freedom of speech Freedom of religion

Cases Heard in the Federal Courts Violations of Federal Law A person accused of a federal crimes will be charged and tried in federal court. Examples: Kidnapping Counterfeiting Tax evasion Others such as bankruptcy

Cases Heard in the Federal Courts Disputes between States Disagreements among or between state governments are heard Example: A Colorado River water dispute between California and Arizona. Storing nuclear waste from Washington in Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

Cases Heard in the Federal Courts Disputes between Parties from Different States Law suits among citizens from different states are settled in Federal Courts. Examples: 1. An insurance claim from someone in Arizona is not settled with some one in Missouri.

Cases Heard in the Federal Courts Suits involving the federal Government The U.S. government may sue someone. Example: Defense contractor does not finish making missile parts on time. A mail truck hits a private citizen, who in turn can sew the Federal Government.

Cases Heard in the Federal Courts Suits involving Other Countries and treaties Any dispute between any foreign government and the U.S. is heard in federal Court. Example: 1. Canada interprets the NAFTA agreement in a different way than the U.S.

Cases Heard in the Federal Courts Cases based on Maritime Law These laws concern acts and crimes in the high seas. This could concern mutiny on a ship. It recently concerned a dispute of found treasure off the coast of South Carolina.

Cases Heard in the Federal Courts Cases involving U.S. diplomats Should a U.S. diplomat break U.S. law in a U.S. embassy in a foreign country, the federal courts would handle the case.

Relation to State courts For most of the cases described the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over state courts. In some cases the state and federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction meaning the state and federal courts share jurisdiction.

Relation to State courts concurrent jurisdiction Cases that violate both state and federal law may be tried in either court. In issues involving disputes of value more than $50,000, it must be tried in Federal Court.