You will be able to:  COMPARE and CONTRAST federal and state court systems  LIST and EXPLAIN the differences between criminal and civil cases  DESCRIBE the basic structure of the Supreme Court  SUMMARIZE Supreme Court decisions

April 13  Review Questions  Discuss crossword and Judicial Branch worksheet  Notes over the Inferior Courts  The Courts Worksheet  Test over Chapter 18 Wednesday, April 15

 What jurisdiction does the Supreme Court have?  What is judicial review? What court case established the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review?  How many Supreme Court justices are there?

US GOVERNMENT The Judicial Branch Notes

The Inferior Courts  The lower federal courts, those courts that function beneath the Supreme Court.  They handle most of the cases tried in the federal courts.

Federal Judicial Districts  89 federal judicial districts, including DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, The Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.  Some states are divided into two or more districts.

District Court Jurisdiction  The district courts have original jurisdiction over most federal cases.  They are the principle trial courts in the federal court system.  Most of the decisions made are final. Some cases are appealed to the court of appeals.  They hear criminal and civil cases.

Criminal v. Civil Cases  Criminal – a crime was committed. Ex: Bank robbery, mail fraud, counterfeiting, and tax evasion.  Civil– no crime was committed. Ex: Bankruptcy, tax, labor relations, civil rights, and public lands.

Court of Appeals  12 Courts of appeals.  The US is divided into 12 judicial circuits. Ex: Eleventh Circuit is Alabama, Georgia, and Florida  A Court of Appeals has 12 judges and one Supreme Court judge that is assigned to each circuit.

 They have appellate jurisdiction. They hear cases that are being appealed from the lower courts.  Their decisions are final, unless the Supreme Court decides to hear an appeal taken from them.

Court of International Trade  Civil cases relating to trade and tariffs

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit  Appeals in federal cases from across the country

The Special Courts  United States Court of Federal Claims  Territorial Courts  Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces  Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims  United States Tax Court

United States Court of Federal Claims  Hears cases that involve claims against the US government  Claims that are won against the government can’t be paid until Congress appropriates the money

Territorial Courts  Hears cases that are like the ones heard in local State courts

Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces  Hear appeals of serious court- martial convictions  Military courts, court martial, serve the special disciplinary needs of the military and are not part of the federal court system.

Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims  Hears appeals from the decisions of the Board of Veterans Appeals in the Department of Veterans Affairs

United States Tax Court  Hears civil cases involving disputes over tax laws