organization of the us court system

Each state is served by the separate court system, state and federal

What courts do?They apply the law to an actual

situationThey resolve 2 types of legal conflicts: Criminal cases Civil cases

A court determines whether the person accused of breaking the law guilty or innocent

If the person is found guilty the court decides the punishment

Criminal cases are always brought to court by the Prosecution or government body

A court settles a large disagreementDisagreements can be over many

issues: Auto accidents Broken contracts Divorce Violation of constitutional rightsCivil cases are brought to court by

plaintiff(s), or people that issue complaints against another party

Judges:•Apply the law to the conflict between the 2 parties•Direct the courts proceedings but must remain neutralAll federal judges are chosen by the President and approved by the SenateJury:•Decides the facts of the case, what happened and who is responsible

Common pleas courts

( jurisdiction in probate, domestic relations, juvenile matters)

Municipal courts County courts Mayors’ courts

Review cases appealed from trial courts to determine if the law was correctly interpreted and applied

Consists of a chief justice & 8 associate justices

Decides whether the law passed by the Congress agree with Constitution

To hear cases about :

•federal laws•constitutional rights• cases involving disputes between 2 states•cases between citizens of 2 states • between state governments and a foreign government • when ambassadors have legal problems with a foreign government;

To guarantee the appeals processTo decide disputesTo settle special problems about federal taxes, customsTo decide cases concerning naturalization

Settle routine cases where no constitutional question is at stake;

Handle both civil and criminal cases

can send a drunk to jail-for thirty days;fine a motorist for speeding; receive a man accused of murder and decide whether to hold him for trial in a higher court.

receive a man accused of murder and decide whether to hold him for trial in a higher court.

Crime- an act committed or omitted in violation of a law forbidding or commanding it and for which punishment is imposed upon conviction.

Pretrial motions- before a criminal case goes to trial, the prosecution and defense engage in all kinds of maneuvering, submitting.

Indictment- is the formal accusation by a grand jury that a person has committed a crime.

Arrest- the act of taking a person into custody, esp under lawful authority.

Arraignment- the procedure that brings the accused before a judge to hear the state’s charges.

Sentencing- when the jury returns with the verdict there is the act of pronouncing a judicial sentence on a defendant.

Imprisonment - putting someone in prison or in jail as lawful punishment.

Parole- is a system that rewards imprisoned convicts for good behavior and releases them from custody before they have completed their sentence.

The O. J. Simpson murder case (officially called the People v. Simpson) was a criminal trial held in Los Angeles County, California, Superior Court in which former American football star and actor O. J. Simpson was charged with two counts of murder following the deaths of his ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in June 1994. The case has been described as the most publicized criminal trial in American history. Simpson was acquitted after a lengthy trial that lasted over nine months—the longest jury trial in California history.