1. CHAPTER 1 Overview of U.S. Legal Concepts Copyright © 2015 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.

2. THE U.S. SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT Copyright © 2015 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.

3. DUAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT  The U.S. legal system is based on a system of federalism  It has a dual system of government, composed of a federal and state system  It is based on decentralization  The individual states retain powers not specifically enumerated as exclusively federal Copyright © 2015 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.

4. BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT  Federal and state constitutions provide a framework for governance at the federal and state levels  The framework calls for three branches of government:  Legislative  Executive  Judicial Copyright © 2015 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.

5. LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE  Legislative branch enacts statutes that are subject only to constitutional restraints  Executive enforces and implements statutes via administrative regulations Copyright © 2015 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.

6. JUDICIAL  Judicial branch is composed of courts that interpret statutes and create laws in situations not addressed by statute  The federal and the state system each has its own set of courts with its own trial courts and appellate courts Copyright © 2015 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.

7. THE COURT SYSTEM Copyright © 2015 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.

8. THE COURT SYSTEM  Each state as well as the District of Columbia and the federal government has its own court system  Each court system is a separate jurisdiction  Jurisdiction generally is:  Power of a court to exercise authority over a matter  Area over which the courts of a particular system have the power to resolve disputes Copyright © 2015 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.

9. THE COURT SYSTEM: HIERARCHICAL  Structure of the court system is hierarchical  Courts are organized along a vertical structure  The position of a court within that structure has important consequences Copyright © 2015 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.

10. THREE TIER STRUCTURE  Three-tier structure is typical of state and federal courts  Lower “trial” court: fact-finding  Intermediate “appellate” court: appeals from the lower court  As of “right” from final orders  High or “Supreme” court: appeals from the intermediate court  Discretionary Copyright © 2015 Carolina Academic Press. All rights reserved.

11. The full set of PowerPoint slides is available upon adoption. Email crutan@cap-press.com for more information.