chapter 4 condensed

4-14-1The Court SystemThe Court System

Hot DebateHot Debate

Turn to page 52Turn to page 52 What would likely happen to Anthony What would likely happen to Anthony

if he turns to the courts for help in if he turns to the courts for help in ending the discrimination?ending the discrimination?

Does Anthony have a duty to Does Anthony have a duty to anyone, legally or morally, to bring anyone, legally or morally, to bring such a lawsuit?such a lawsuit?

First ThingsFirst Things

Settle disputes four different ways:Settle disputes four different ways: Negotiation – discuss the problem calmlyNegotiation – discuss the problem calmly Mediation – invite an independent third Mediation – invite an independent third

party to develop acceptable solutions. party to develop acceptable solutions. Mediators do not bind partiesMediators do not bind parties

Arbitration – Arbitrator holds an informal Arbitration – Arbitrator holds an informal hearing. The decision is binding by both hearing. The decision is binding by both partiesparties

Litigation – take dispute to court Litigation – take dispute to court

What’s Your Verdict?What’s Your Verdict?

Can 7-Eleven compel its franchises to Can 7-Eleven compel its franchises to use arbitration instead of litigation?use arbitration instead of litigation?


Why did Doyle have to go to court?Why did Doyle have to go to court?

Different Levels of CourtsDifferent Levels of Courts

Court – governmental forum that Court – governmental forum that administers justice under the lawadministers justice under the law Decide civil disputes and criminal casesDecide civil disputes and criminal cases

Two levels of court:Two levels of court: Trial courtTrial court Appellate courtAppellate court

Trial CourtTrial Court

Trial court – first court to hear a disputeTrial court – first court to hear a dispute Original jurisdiction over a caseOriginal jurisdiction over a case Consist of:Consist of:

JudgeJudge Lawyers –officers of the courtLawyers –officers of the court Clerks – enter cases on calendar, keep records of Clerks – enter cases on calendar, keep records of

proceedings, compute court costsproceedings, compute court costs Sheriffs – summon witnesses, keep order, and Sheriffs – summon witnesses, keep order, and

carry out judgments in state court systemscarry out judgments in state court systems Marshals – carry out judgments in the federal Marshals – carry out judgments in the federal

courtcourt Jury members – decide issues of factJury members – decide issues of fact

Appellate CourtAppellate Court

Reviews decisions of lower courts Reviews decisions of lower courts when a party claims an error was when a party claims an error was made during the previous proceedingsmade during the previous proceedings

Do not hear witnessesDo not hear witnesses Generally do not accept new evidenceGenerally do not accept new evidence Concerned with errors of law rather Concerned with errors of law rather

than questions of factthan questions of fact

Appellate CourtAppellate Court Examine transcriptExamine transcript Read briefsRead briefs Listen to attorneys’ oral argumentListen to attorneys’ oral argument Question attorneysQuestion attorneys Decide whether the lower court decision Decide whether the lower court decision

should be:should be: Affirmed – upheldAffirmed – upheld Reversed – overturnedReversed – overturned Amended – changedAmended – changed Remanded – sent back to trial court (possibly a Remanded – sent back to trial court (possibly a

new trial)new trial)

ReviewReview

What is the difference between a trial What is the difference between a trial court and appellate court?court and appellate court?

4-24-2Federal Court SystemFederal Court System

Origins of Federal Court SystemOrigins of Federal Court System

Constitution states the U.S. should Constitution states the U.S. should have one Supreme Courthave one Supreme Court

Federal Judiciary Act – established Federal Judiciary Act – established the U.S. Supreme Court and court of the U.S. Supreme Court and court of appealsappeals

Articles of Confederation did not Articles of Confederation did not allow for a Supreme Courtallow for a Supreme Court

Jurisdiction of Federal CourtsJurisdiction of Federal Courts

What is a federal court?What is a federal court?

Jurisdiction of the Federal CourtsJurisdiction of the Federal Courts

General Jurisdiction – can hear General Jurisdiction – can hear almost any kind of casealmost any kind of case

Three levels of federal courts with Three levels of federal courts with general jurisdiction:general jurisdiction: Federal district courtsFederal district courts Federal courts of appealsFederal courts of appeals U.S. Supreme CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Special Jurisdiction – hears only one Special Jurisdiction – hears only one specific type of casespecific type of case

Federal District CourtsFederal District Courts

Lowest level of federal courtLowest level of federal court Trial court of the federal systemTrial court of the federal system Have original jurisdiction over:Have original jurisdiction over:

Federal questionsFederal questions Lawsuits between citizens of different Lawsuits between citizens of different

states and between a U.S. citizen and a states and between a U.S. citizen and a foreign nationforeign nation

Lawsuits of more than $75, 000Lawsuits of more than $75, 000


What arguments could you make for What arguments could you make for holding this dispute in a federal holding this dispute in a federal court?court?

QuestionQuestion

What is the highest federal appellate What is the highest federal appellate court?court?

Federal Court of AppealsFederal Court of Appeals

Have appellate jurisdiction over Have appellate jurisdiction over district courtsdistrict courts

Do not accept new evidence or call Do not accept new evidence or call witnesseswitnesses

Review trial transcripts and Review trial transcripts and arguments of attorneysarguments of attorneys

No appellate court, not even the U.S. No appellate court, not even the U.S. Supreme Court, can change factual Supreme Court, can change factual determinations of a jurydeterminations of a jury

Federal Court of AppealsFederal Court of Appeals

13 federal courts of appeal13 federal courts of appeal 12 are assigned to a specific region12 are assigned to a specific region 1313thth dedicated to “federal circuit” and dedicated to “federal circuit” and

deals with patent casesdeals with patent cases Also handles appeals from bodies like the Also handles appeals from bodies like the

International Trade CommissionInternational Trade Commission

Other CountriesOther Countries

Page 56Page 56 Sweden’s judicial systemSweden’s judicial system

Use GOOGLE to search for the court Use GOOGLE to search for the court system of other countries. system of other countries. From the information, prepare a 1-2 From the information, prepare a 1-2

page report about the court system.page report about the court system. We will discuss our findings in classWe will discuss our findings in class

ReviewReview

How many federal courts of appeal How many federal courts of appeal are there?are there?

What is special about the 13What is special about the 13thth??

ReviewReview

What are three types of disputes that What are three types of disputes that can only be heard at the federal can only be heard at the federal level?level?

What are the three levels of federal What are the three levels of federal courts?courts?

U.S. Supreme CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Both original and appellate jurisdictionBoth original and appellate jurisdiction Most important function is appellate Most important function is appellate

jurisdictionjurisdiction Over cases on appeal from the U.S. Court Over cases on appeal from the U.S. Court

of Appealsof Appeals If the Supreme Court decides to take a If the Supreme Court decides to take a

case, it will issue a writ of certiorari to the case, it will issue a writ of certiorari to the last court that heard the caselast court that heard the case

““Writ” forces the state court to turn over Writ” forces the state court to turn over the record of the case the record of the case

U.S. Supreme CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Jurisdiction over state supreme Jurisdiction over state supreme courts is only when a federal courts is only when a federal question is involvedquestion is involved

Decisions that interpret and apply Decisions that interpret and apply the Constitution are finalthe Constitution are final

Can only be overturned by the Can only be overturned by the Supreme Court itself or a Supreme Court itself or a constitutional amendmentconstitutional amendment

4-34-3State Court SystemsState Court Systems

State Court SystemsState Court Systems

What is the difference between a What is the difference between a federal court and a state court?federal court and a state court?


Page 58Page 58 Can she take it to the U.S. Supreme Can she take it to the U.S. Supreme

Court?Court? Can she take it to the state supreme Can she take it to the state supreme

court?court? Why is our legal system organized in Why is our legal system organized in

tiers?tiers?

State Court SystemsState Court Systems

State system very similar to federal State system very similar to federal systemsystem

Courts of general jurisdiction have Courts of general jurisdiction have three tiers:three tiers: Bottom tier – trial court (geographically Bottom tier – trial court (geographically

based)based) Middle tier – appellate courtsMiddle tier – appellate courts Top tier – state supreme courtTop tier – state supreme court

A TYPICAL A TYPICAL STATE COURT SYSTEMSTATE COURT SYSTEM

Supreme Court

Family Court

Probate Court

Criminal Court

Juvenile Court

Municipal Court

Justice’s Court(The Court of a Justice of the Peace)

Small Claims Court

Trial Court(Of Original General Jurisdiction)

Intermediate Appeals Court(In Populous States)

State Trial CourtsState Trial Courts Known as circuit courts, superior courts, Known as circuit courts, superior courts,

district courts, and courts of common district courts, and courts of common pleas depending on the statepleas depending on the state

Court of record – keeps an exact account Court of record – keeps an exact account of what goes on at trialof what goes on at trial

Record includes:Record includes: TranscriptTranscript EvidenceEvidence StatementsStatements JudgmentJudgment

Very important for appealsVery important for appeals

State Courts of AppealsState Courts of Appeals

Appeal is reviewed by a panel of no Appeal is reviewed by a panel of no more than three judgesmore than three judges

No new evidenceNo new evidence Only check to see the correct law was Only check to see the correct law was

usedused If incorrect law, appellate court may If incorrect law, appellate court may

send the case back down for a new send the case back down for a new trialtrial

If correct law, the judgment will standIf correct law, the judgment will stand

State Supreme CourtsState Supreme Courts In all legal issues, we are entitled to one In all legal issues, we are entitled to one

trial and one appealtrial and one appeal Only cases dealing with complex legal Only cases dealing with complex legal

issues are taken to the state supreme courtissues are taken to the state supreme court Panel of three or more justices review the Panel of three or more justices review the

casecase Issues the final decision, unless federal Issues the final decision, unless federal

issues are involvedissues are involved In some states, state supreme courts have In some states, state supreme courts have

both appellate and original jurisdictionboth appellate and original jurisdiction Original jurisdiction over most state Original jurisdiction over most state

impeachment casesimpeachment cases

ActivityActivity

In pairs, research a major state or In pairs, research a major state or federal trial that has been held within federal trial that has been held within the past few yearsthe past few years

Complete a who, what, when, where, Complete a who, what, when, where, result analysisresult analysis

Find how much the trial cost Find how much the trial cost taxpayers and the defendanttaxpayers and the defendant


Page 59Page 59 Will Reid be treated differently in Will Reid be treated differently in

juvenile court than in an adult juvenile court than in an adult criminal court?criminal court?

Should all juveniles be tried as Should all juveniles be tried as juveniles?juveniles?

Should juvenile offenders of serious Should juvenile offenders of serious crimes be sent to adult prisons?crimes be sent to adult prisons?

Associate Circuit CourtsAssociate Circuit Courts

Associate circuit courts/county courts Associate circuit courts/county courts – courts below main courts– courts below main courts

Examples:Examples: Minor criminal casesMinor criminal cases State traffic offensesState traffic offenses Lawsuits of small amountsLawsuits of small amounts

No courts of recordNo courts of record Can be appealed to circuit courts to Can be appealed to circuit courts to

be on recordbe on record

City or Municipal CourtsCity or Municipal Courts

Administer ordinancesAdminister ordinances Divided into traffic an criminal Divided into traffic an criminal

divisionsdivisions Can be appealed to circuit courtsCan be appealed to circuit courts Not considered criminal laws, but Not considered criminal laws, but

punishment can be just as severepunishment can be just as severe

Small Claims CourtSmall Claims Court

For minor individual suitsFor minor individual suits Usually disputes of $2,500 or lessUsually disputes of $2,500 or less Attorneys generally not allowedAttorneys generally not allowed No jury or formal rules for evidenceNo jury or formal rules for evidence Decisions can be appealed to circuit Decisions can be appealed to circuit

courtcourt

Juvenile CourtsJuvenile Courts

Juveniles – 13-17 years of ageJuveniles – 13-17 years of age Should not be held as responsible as Should not be held as responsible as

adults for crimesadults for crimes Full Constitutional rightsFull Constitutional rights Emphasis on rehabilitation, not Emphasis on rehabilitation, not

punishmentpunishment Juvenile cases not public knowledgeJuvenile cases not public knowledge No records open to publicNo records open to public

Probate CourtsProbate Courts

Probate Courts – courts that Probate Courts – courts that administer wills and estatesadminister wills and estates

When people die, their belongings When people die, their belongings divided according to their wishesdivided according to their wishes

Process is complexProcess is complex

Probate CourtProbate Court

Why are courts needed to administer Why are courts needed to administer wills?wills?

Why can’t the family settle the will Why can’t the family settle the will among themselves?among themselves?

Do you think the courts are just Do you think the courts are just trying to get the family’s money?trying to get the family’s money?

ActivityActivity

Turn to page 64, #25Turn to page 64, #25 Complete Who, what, when, where, Complete Who, what, when, where,

result analysisresult analysis

Additional ActivityAdditional Activity

Page 65Page 65 Read the caseRead the case Answer the questions with a partnerAnswer the questions with a partner

ReviewReview

What are probate courts?What are probate courts? What ages are children considered What ages are children considered

juveniles?juveniles? Name one characteristic unique to Name one characteristic unique to

juvenile court.juvenile court.

Current EventCurrent Event

Teens ordered to stay homeTeens ordered to stay home Jury called back – one year laterJury called back – one year later

chapter 4 condensed

Education