The Court System By: Professor Mika Cleveland Marshall Law

There is both a federal court system and a state court system. Both the federal court system and the state court system deal with civil cases and criminal cases.

The lowest level of court is the trial court. Here, lawsuits are filed and trials are conducted. Trial courts are concerned with assessing the facts.

All litigants have one appeal as of right. Appellate courts are not overly concerned with the facts but how the lower court applied the law. Supreme courts are also considered appellate courts. In law school, we tend to study appellate court decisions.

Courts must rely on precedent in determining whether the law was applied properly in the lower court. Courts generally rely on precedent in their own jurisdiction but may be persuaded by precedent from other jurisdictions. Stare decisis results in predictability in the law.

Courts deal with both common and statutory law. Common law is composed of rules based on societal norms. Statutory law is law enacted by legislatures.

Terms Jurisdiction Binding Authority Persuasive Authority Common Law Statutory Law Stare Decisis