1. Today: What is jurisdiction? How is the U.S. Court System Organized?
9/27/16 BR: True or False? All court systems involve some type of jury. If my case is heard in Cook Co. it cannot end up at the U.S. Supreme Court Also, write your state and capital on your BR and CIRCLE IT!
Today: What is jurisdiction? How is the U.S. Court System Organized?

2. Important Terms: Jurisdiction Parties Litigator State of mind
Adversarial System
Inquisitional system
Trial Court
Court of Appeal
Affirmed
Remanded
Voir dire
Removal for cause
Peremptory challenge
Error of law
Precedent
Dissenting opinion
Concurring opinion
Petitions for certiorari
Litigator
State of mind
Mens rea
Actus rea
Causal link
Elements
Motive
Felony
Misdemeanor
Principal
Accomplice
Accessory before the fact
Accessory after the fact
Crime of omission
Solicitation
Attempt
Conspiracy

3. Jurisdiction
“The power, right, and authority to interpret the law.”

4. Our Court System
The U.S. court system is an adversarial system. two parties are adversaries. They each present their best argument (watched over by a referee-the judge) and the truth emerges.
Other systems are an inqusitional system. The judge takes an active role in questioning witnesses, presenting evidence, etc.

5. State and Federal Courts
There is a completely separate court system in the U.S. that handles different types of cases.
The State and Federal courts
Both systems can end at the U.S. Supreme court

6. Structure of the Court System
US Federal Courts
US Supreme Court
US Court of Appeals – 11 Circuits
US District Courts – 94 Trial Courts
State Courts
State Supreme Court
State Appellate Courts
State Trial Courts (Local, County)
US Claims Court, Tax Court, Bankruptcy Court, Court of Intl. Trade

7. Federal Court - Levels

8. State/Local vs. Federal
1. Hears cases concerning state laws and local issues.State courts hear criminal cases (minor and serious) as most crime is a violation of state law, civil disputes of individuals from the same state that involve less than $50,000, and other matters of state law.
There are about 1 million Federal cases per year and about 100 million state cases.
1. Hears cases that involve federal law, affect the nation, or incidents between states. Any case dealing with the Constitution, admiralty or maritime issues, or a ruling of an agency of the federal government.
Do you know the difference between a state and federal law?

9. State/Local v. Federal State/Local Federal
There are lots of state, municipal, and local courts (Cook County, etc.)
Local courts appeal to State Court of Appeal
There are not as many Federal Courts. The country is divided up into districts (94) these are in major population centers.
These 94 District Courts are Federal Trial Courts.
There are 11 Circuits. These are Federal Courts of Appeals.

11. United States Federal Court System
The 11 multi-state jurisdictions of U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals are indicated by different-colored regions (the D.C. Circuit is the 12th). Each state within a circuit is also served by a single District Court jurisdiction or, as indicated by the red lines, multiple District Court jurisdictions. Nationwide there are 94 such judicial districts. For an interactive map, click on the above image.

15. An Example of a Streamlined System

16. In both State and Federal systems..
There are trial courts and courts of appeals or “appellate courts.”
These courts serve two very different functions and are very different in how they operate.
You only go to the appellate level if there is an appealable issue such as: bad evidence, bad trial procedure, bad law, or constitutional issue.
You CAN NOT appeal your case just because you lost.

17. Trial Court vs. Appeals
1. Trial Courts are “cases of fact.” They try to determine what happened through the trial process of argument and presentation of evidence
1. Appellatte courts are “courts of procedure.” These courts try to determine if the trial court did anything wrong

18. Trial Court vs. Appeals
2. Trial courts are called the “court of original jurisdiction.” It means the place where the case was first heard
3. Lawyers use evidence and witnesses to prove their case
2. All courts after the trial court are appelate courts
3. There are NO WITNESSES or EVIDENCE at the appellate level. The lawyer presents their argument as to what was wrong at the trial level. That’s It!

19. Trial Court vs. Appeals
4. Trial courts result in the person going free or going to jail (or appealing!)
5. Both sides can appeal
4. Appellate courts can affirm the lower court’s decision (they got it right.) or it can remand the case to the trial court with instructions - Basically saying that you need to do the trial over and fix the problems.

20. Trial Court vs. Appeals
Case is decided by a judge or jury
Case is decided by a panel (3-9) of judges who listen to the lawyer and ask questions.

21. U.S. Supreme Court This is the highest appellate court in the land.
Each side speaks for approximately 1 hour. During this time the 9 Supreme Court justices fire questions at the lawyer while they try to give their speech.
Cases that start in state or federal court can end up here.
State Supreme courts can send cases to the U.S. Supreme court.
The Supreme court is concerned ONLY with cases that have Constitutional Significance

24. Types of Courts
Appellate Courts
Trial Courts

25. Exit Slip/Homework
What are some examples of issues that would be heard in Federal courts? How are they different from state or local courts?
There are _____ U.S. District courts (trial courts.) These courts are divided up into _____ appellate ________.
What is meant by jurisdiction of a court?
Use one of your terms correctly in a sentence.
What types of cases are heard in the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS)?