State and Federal Court Systems Law Enforcement I

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Dual Court System There are separate state and federal court systems Federal courts deal with matters of federal law Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Dual Court System (continued) State courts deal with matters of state law Whether a case enters through the federal or state court system depends upon which law has been broken Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Criminal Court Structure Each Court system basically consists of the following: Higher Courts (superior) Lower Courts (inferior) The type of law defines the jurisdiction of each court There is one court of last resort There are some specialty courts Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Four Tier State Court Systems State court systems are structured as follows (from highest to lowest): Court of Last Resort Appellate Courts Courts of General Jurisdiction Lower Courts Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Lower Courts These courts are limited in what they can do They generally hear minor cases and conduct some pretrial activities for more important ones Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Lower Courts (continued) They are most organized at the town, municipal, or county level They are referred to as the lower courts or misdemeanor courts They dispose of minor cases Their sentencing options are restricted Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Courts of General Jurisdiction Controlled by state law Conduct preliminary activities and trials for felonies Conduct appeals from lower courts (trial de novo) Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Courts of General Jurisdiction (continued) These have general authority to conduct trial and pretrial activities in all criminal cases These are courts of record These courts have “exclusive” jurisdiction to try felony cases Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Appellate Courts There are rights of appeal as determined by law An appeal is not a new trial The courts review previous trials for procedural errors There may be two levels of appeals courts Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Appellate Courts (continued) Appellate courts do not try cases An appeal is based on some contention of law Many times multiple judges review a case Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Appellate Court Decisions The Appellate Courts may Order a new trial Allow the defendant to go free Uphold (sustain) the original verdict Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

States Court of Last Resort Each state has a court of last resort In most instances, this is referred to as the State Supreme Court It is the highest state court It reviews issues of law and facts appealed from the trial courts Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

States Court of Last Resort (continued) In Texas for criminal cases, it is the Court of Criminal Appeals Cases appealed from this court go to the United States Supreme Court Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Federal Court Structure From highest to lowest: United States Supreme Court Courts of Appeal District Courts Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

United States District Courts Each state has at least one federal district There are 94 districts in the U.S. These are the primary trial courts of the U.S. system Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

United States Courts of Appeal These are also called the Circuit Courts because the jurisdiction covers a large geographical area They are usually located in major cities They review cases from lower courts These cases involve constitutional issues Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

United States Supreme Court This is the highest court in the land - the court of last resort Their decisions become precedents They may choose to hear or not hear most of their cases It uses writ of certiorari to get case records Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

United States Supreme Court (continued) 9 Justices (1 chief justice and 8 associate justices) The full court hears about 100 cases per year 4 Justices must vote to hear a case There are majority, minority, and dissenting opinions Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

Resources Larry Bassi, The College at Brockport, State University of New York Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2011. All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.