1. State and Federal Court Systems
Law Enforcement I

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3. Dual Court System There are separate state and federal court systems
Federal courts deal with matters of federal law
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4. 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
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5. 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 one court of last resort
There are some specialty courts
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6. 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
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7. 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
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8. 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
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9. Courts of General Jurisdiction
Controlled by state law
Conduct preliminary activities and trials for felonies
Conduct appeals from lower courts (trial de novo)
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10. 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
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11. 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
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12. 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
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13. Appellate Court Decisions
The Appellate Courts may
Order a new trial
Allow the defendant to go free
Uphold (sustain) the original verdict
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14. 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
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15. States Court of Last Resort (continued)
In Texas for criminal cases, it is the Court of Criminal Appeals
Cases appealed from this court go to the United States Supreme Court
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16. Federal Court Structure
From highest to lowest:
United States
Supreme
Court
Courts of Appeal
District Courts
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17. 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
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18. 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
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19. 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
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20. 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
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21. Resources
Larry Bassi, The College at Brockport, State University of New York
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