Chapter 2 Section 1 A Dual Court System

The Federal Court System

Federal Courts are arranged in three steps  U.S. District Courts  U.S. Court of Appeals  U.S. Supreme Court

District Courts  They try federal cases the first time they are heard.  This is called original jurisdiction

Court of Appeal  Also called appellate courts  Courts that are between lower courts and the highest court (Intermediate Courts)  Determine whether the lower court correctly applied the law

Court of Appeal  U.S. is divided into 13 judicial circuits. Each has several district courts and one court of appeals.  In each court of appeal- 3 judges are responsible for decision, no witnesses, no evidence is presented, no jury. (They determine if the law was applied correctly).

Special U.S. Courts  Have jurisdiction only in certain kinds of cases  Citizens against the federal government  Disagreements over taxes on imported goods  Disputes between taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Services

Supreme Court  Highest court in the land  Hears all cases that involve the constitutionality of a federal law  Votes (4 of 9) to decide whether to hear additional cases from court of appeals or state supreme courts

The State Court System

Local Trial Courts  Limited jurisdiction therefore…  Misdemeanors  Civil Actions

General Trial Courts  Typically 1 per county, a.k.a. General Jurisdiction  Handles criminal and civil cases

Special Courts  Probate Courts- Involves property of deceased  Domestic Relations court- divorce, annulment, dissolution  Juvenile Courts- delinquent, unruly, abused, or neglected children

p. 31  What’s the difference between juvenile courts vs. other courts?  What’s the difference between a delinquent child vs. an unruly child?

Intermediate Appellate Courts  Hears appeals from general courts

State Supreme Court  Decides matters of law appealed from lower courts  They don’t retry, but decide whether error was made at lower court