The History, Structure, and Function of the American Legal System

Rationale The American and state legal systems are important but complicated portions of our criminal justice system. A student needs to understand what kinds of cases each court hears so they understand when a court ruling affects their line of desired work, or where a court case may go after it has been ruled on in a lower court.

Objectives The student will be able to: 1. Analyze the impact of Supreme Court decisions such as Mapp v. Ohio, Terry v. Ohio, and Tennessee v. Garner; 2. Analyze the similarities, differences, and interactions between state and federal court systems; 3. Illustrate the progression of a case as it moves through local, state, and federal jurisdiction; and 4. Compare the characteristics of civil and criminal court systems.

Engage If you were charged with a controversial crime that you wanted the U.S. Supreme Court to decide on, how many courts would your case have to go through before it made it to the Supreme Court?

I. Vocabulary A. Jurisdiction – the authority of a court to hear and decide cases within an area of the law or a geographical territory B. Appeal – a review of lower court proceedings by a higher court

II. History of the federal court system A. Article III of the U.S. Constitution established a federal court system. B. The Congress created Article III on Sept. 24, 1789. C. Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which established 13 courts, one for each of the original states. D. Since 1789 there have been numerous Judiciary Acts passed that continue to define the American Court System. E. The Supreme Court originally had 6 justices.

III. Structure of the federal court system A. The structure of the Federal Court System begins with the Magistrate Courts and ends with the Supreme Court: 1. Supreme Court 2. Appellate Courts 3. Trial Courts

1. Created by the Federal Magistrate’s Act of 1968 B. Magistrate Courts 1. Created by the Federal Magistrate’s Act of 1968

C. Trial Courts 1. Also known as U.S. District Courts 2. There are 95 U.S. District Courts covering the United States and its Territories.

D. Court of Appeals 1. Also known as Appeals Court, Appellate Court, and Circuit Courts 2. There are 13 U.S. circuit courts and over 165 federal courts of appeals judges. 3. The court does not conduct a jury trial, but is made up of a panel of judges, usually 3.

E. U.S. Supreme Court 1. The highest court in the United States 2. It is made up of 9 justices. 3. A decision of the Supreme Court is final and cannot be overruled

IV. Function of the federal court system

A. Magistrate Court 1. They try Class A Misdemeanors and petty offenses, along with performing duties such as issuing warrants, arraignments, etc.

B. Trial Courts 1. These courts hear both criminal and civil cases, but the majority of cases are civil.

C. Court of Appeals 1. The Appellate Courts hear appeals from the U.S. District Courts. 2. The defendant can appeal their case based on a claim that they were denied a fair trial or the law they were convicted under was unconstitutional. 3. The court is to determine: If the district judge made a judicial error If the error could have substantially affected the court’s decision If the answer is “no” to both questions, the appeal is dismissed. If the answer is “yes” to one of the above questions, the court will review the appeal and issue a ruling.

D. U.S. Supreme Court 1. As a general rule, the court only agrees to decide on cases where there is a split of opinion among the courts of appeals, or where there is an important constitutional question or issue of federal law that needs to be clarified. 2. The court decides which cases it will hear. 3. It is the legal mediator for lawsuits between states, and between the United States and foreign countries. 4. It is the final authority for legal opinions binding on the federal government. 5. Once the court makes a ruling, the lower courts have to fall in line with that ruling.

6. The court must review cases when: A federal court has held an act of Congress to be unconstitutional A U.S. Court of Appeals has found a state statute to be unconstitutional A state’s highest court of appeals has ruled a federal law to be unconstitutional An individual’s challenge to a state statute on federal constitutional grounds is upheld by a state’s highest court of appeals

V. History of the state court system A. The Texas Supreme Court was established in 1836 after the Texas Revolution. B. In 1845 the Supreme Court was restructured, and in 1850 the offices of the Supreme Court were filled by elections. C. In 1876 the Court of Appeals was created to deal with criminal cases, to relieve the case load of the Supreme Court. It was later renamed the Court of Criminal Appeals. D. In 1980 previously established courts, the Courts of Civil Appeals, were renamed Courts of Appeals and designed to relieve the Court of Criminal Appeals’ caseload.

VI. Structure of the state court system

Texas Supreme Court or Court of Criminal Appeals Courts of Appeals A. The structure of the state court system began with the Justice or Municipal Courts and ended with the Texas Supreme Court or the Court of Criminal Appeals: Texas Supreme Court or Court of Criminal Appeals Courts of Appeals District Courts County Courts Justice Courts or Municipal Courts

B. Justice or Municipal Courts 1. 821 Justice Courts a) 821 Judges 2. 913 Municipal Courts a) 1,458 Judges

C. County Courts 1. 499 Courts a) 254 Constitutional County Courts b) 227 Statutory County Courts c) 18 Statutory Probate Courts

D. District Courts 1. 449 Courts 2. 449 Judges 3. 352 districts cover one county 4. 97 districts cover more than one county

E. Courts of Appeals 1. 14 Courts 2. 80 Justices

F. Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals 1. Both courts have only 9 justices.

VII. Function of the state court system

A. Justice Courts These courts handle crimes that are punishable by fine only. These courts can also handle civil issues such as issuing marriage licenses and settling small claims suits.

1. These courts handle crimes that are punishable by fine only. B. Municipal Courts 1. These courts handle crimes that are punishable by fine only.

C. County Courts 1. Constitutional County Courts Have appellate jurisdiction over the justice and municipal courts Preside over Class A and Class B Misdemeanors Deal with civil trials involving “moderate” amounts of money 2. Statutory County Courts and Statutory Probate Courts a) These courts deal with civil matters.

D. District Courts 1. The judges must be licensed attorneys. 2. They have original jurisdiction over felony cases. 3. Deal in civil disputes between $200-$500 and cases dealing with divorce, title to land, and contested elections

E. Courts of Appeals 1. These courts have intermediate appellate jurisdiction in criminal and civil cases.

F. Texas Supreme Court and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals a) Has final appellate jurisdiction in civil cases b) Responsible for licensing attorneys, and attorney discipline 2. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals a) Has final appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases

The History, Structure, and Function of the American Legal System Objectives The student will be able to: 1. Analyze the impact of Supreme Court decisions in assigned packets. 2. Analyze the similarities, differences, and interactions between state and federal court systems; 3. Illustrate the progression of a case as it moves through local, state, and federal jurisdiction 4. Compare the characteristics of civil and criminal court systems.

Activity # 1 Analyze the similarities, differences, and interactions between state and federal court systems Handwrite your notes of this presentation turn in to your teacher. Create History structure and function flowchart poster between the state and federal court systems

Activity # 2 – Research both criminal and civil courts Create a T Chart of both court systems characteristics comparing the two

Activity # 3 – Choose 1 Court Case Blue group - Hazelwood v Kuhlmeier Green Group – Mapp v. Ohio Red group – Tinker V DesMoines Yellow Group – Brown v Board of Education Purple Group - Gideon v Wainwright

Activity # 3 – Part I - Analysis of the impact of Supreme Court decisions Individual students will complete all activities within a famous court cases assigned by your teacher that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on and provide the following information. Complete Background Summary Questions Complete Vocabulary Create Flow chart how the case moves through the courts Complete Excerpt/Dissent/Majority Opinion Questions Complete Case Activities with questions