1. The State court system vs. the federal court system
Benchmark:
SS.7.C.3.11: Diagram the levels, functions, and powers of the courts at the state and federal levels.

2. Two Court Systems: Federal and State
The judicial branch is divided into two parallel court systems:
federal courts
and state courts.

3. The Constitution of the State of Florida
Where do courts get their
power and jurisdiction?
The Constitution of the State of Florida
United States
Constitution
Federal courts deal with issues granted to them by the U.S. Constitution and federal law.
State courts deal with issues granted to them by their constitutions and state statutes. They also handle legal issues not granted to the federal courts.

4. STATE vs. FEDERAL FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM STATE COURT SYSTEM State S.C.
County Courts
-Think Judge Judy
State
S.C.
U.S.
Supreme
Court
District
Courts of Appeal
U.S.
Courts of Appeal
Circuit Courts
-Criminal Offenses
-Civil $15,000 minimum
U.S. District Courts

5. Trial and Appellate
In addition to being divided into federal and state courts…
…courts are then broken down into trial and appellate courts.
Trial
Appellate
Trial
Appellate

6. Trial Courts 1 Judge Jury Witnesses Attorneys
Plaintiff/Prosecution – Defense/Defendant
Introduction of evidence

7. The Role of the Jury
The jury is to prevent government oppression of the accused.
The jury listens to the evidence during a trial, decides what facts the evidence has established, and draws conclusions from those facts to form the basis for their decision.
The jury decides whether a defendant is "guilty" or "not guilty" in criminal cases, and "liable" or "not liable" in civil cases.
Emphasize that the jury exists to stand between the government and the accused in order to insure a fair trial.

8. THINK ABOUT IT
How would the justice system change if there were no such thing as jury trials?

9. Appellate Courtroom
Party who loses in a lower court has the right to appeal the decision
Panel of judges
No juries
No new evidence/no witnesses
Review case records and listens to arguments from both sides
Determines if the law was applied correctly and/or if the trial was fair.

10. Small group sessions
Group 1 in the corner tables for Court Case Scenarios
Group 2 in the center for Data Chats
Group 3 along the far wall for Vocabulary Development with the computers
Each group has 30 minutes before we rotate
After two rotations we’ll merge back to seats and wrap up for change of classes

11. Checking for Understanding