State and Federal Court Systems

Dual Court System There are separate state and federal court systems Federal courts deal with matters of federal law 2 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

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 3 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

The American Court Structure A court’s jurisdiction is set by law and limited by territory and type of case. jurisdiction The authority of a court to hear and decide cases.

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 usually one court of last resort – Remember Texas has 2 high courts There are some specialty courts 5 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

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 6 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

7 Four Tier State Court Systems

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 8 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

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 9 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

Courts of General Jurisdiction Controlled by state law Conduct preliminary activities and trials for felonies Conduct appeals from lower courts (trial de novo) 10 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

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 11 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

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 12 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

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 13 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

Appellate Court Decisions The Appellate Courts may – Order a new trial – Allow the defendant to go free – Uphold (sustain) the original verdict 14 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

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 15 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

States Court of Last Resort (continued) In New Mexico, it is the New Mexico Supreme Court In Texas for criminal cases, it is the Court of Criminal Appeals Cases appealed from this court go to the United States Supreme Court 16 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

Federal Court Structure From highest to lowest: United States Supreme Court United States Courts of Appeal United States District Courts 17 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

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 18 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

United States Federal Courts 19

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 20 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

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 21 Santa Teresa High School Intro to LPSCS

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 22

Federal Crimes vs. State Crimes Most crimes are violations of state law – murder, robbery, burglary, arson, theft, rape, etc. Federal lawmakers can pass laws only where there is some federal or national interest at stake. – For example, counterfeiting is a federal offense because it is the federal government’s duty to print money 23

Federal Criminal Jurisdiction The federal government has jurisdiction over the following crimes: Any crime that takes place on federal land or involves federal officers, such as a murder in a national forest or on an Indian reservation, a theft on a military base, or an assault against a federal law enforcement agent, i.e. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent. A crime where the defendant crosses state lines. For example, a person who takes a kidnapping victim from Oregon to Nevada. A crime where the criminal conduct crosses state lines. For example, an Internet fraud scheme the has victims and perpetrators in multiple states, Immigration and customs violations. Such as importing child pornography, international human trafficking, international drug smuggling. 24

Criminal Statistics Federal Crimes prosecuted per year – 76,000 cases per year – 32% drug cases (24,000) – 30% immigration cases (22,000) – Firearms – Fraud – RICO – 52% of offenders were Hispanic – More than 40% filed in Arizona, New Mexico, Southern California, Western Texas and Southern Texas 25

Criminal Statistics State Crimes prosecuted per year – It is not uncommon for a large state to process approximately 1 million criminal cases per year – Texas 901,000 reported crimes with a 20% clearance rate – New Mexico 66,643 cases per year – The majority of state crimes committed are: Murder Rape Robbery Burglary Larceny Aggravated Assault or Battery 26