The State court system vs. the federal court system Benchmark: SS.7.C.3.11: Diagram the levels, functions, and powers of the courts at the state and federal levels.

Two Court Systems: Federal and State The judicial branch is divided into two parallel court systems: federal courts and state courts.

The Constitution of the State of Florida Where do courts get their power and jurisdiction? The Constitution of the State of Florida United States Constitution Federal courts deal with issues granted to them by the U.S. Constitution and federal law. State courts deal with issues granted to them by their constitutions and state statutes. They also handle legal issues not granted to the federal courts.

STATE vs. FEDERAL FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM STATE COURT SYSTEM State S.C. County Courts -Think Judge Judy State S.C. U.S. Supreme Court District Courts of Appeal U.S. Courts of Appeal Circuit Courts -Criminal Offenses -Civil $15,000 minimum U.S. District Courts

Trial and Appellate In addition to being divided into federal and state courts… …courts are then broken down into trial and appellate courts. Trial Appellate Trial Appellate

Trial Courts 1 Judge Jury Witnesses Attorneys Plaintiff/Prosecution – Defense/Defendant Introduction of evidence

The Role of the Jury The jury is to prevent government oppression of the accused. The jury listens to the evidence during a trial, decides what facts the evidence has established, and draws conclusions from those facts to form the basis for their decision. The jury decides whether a defendant is "guilty" or "not guilty" in criminal cases, and "liable" or "not liable" in civil cases. http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/trialjury_role.html Emphasize that the jury exists to stand between the government and the accused in order to insure a fair trial.

THINK ABOUT IT How would the justice system change if there were no such thing as jury trials?

Appellate Courtroom Party who loses in a lower court has the right to appeal the decision Panel of judges No juries No new evidence/no witnesses Review case records and listens to arguments from both sides Determines if the law was applied correctly and/or if the trial was fair.

Small group sessions Group 1 in the corner tables for Court Case Scenarios Group 2 in the center for Data Chats Group 3 along the far wall for Vocabulary Development with the computers Each group has 30 minutes before we rotate After two rotations we’ll merge back to seats and wrap up for change of classes

Checking for Understanding