THE JUDICIAL BRANCHChapter 18

PART 1What is the US Court System?

BASIC VOCABULARY Jurisdiction: the limits or territory within which

authority may be exercised Circuit: The area or district covered under the

jurisdiction of a judge Plaintiff: person who files the suit Defendant: person whom the complaint is against Docket: list of cases to be heard in a court Appeals: The transfer of a case from a lower to a

higher court for a new hearing Habeas Corpus: “unlawful detention” a person

under arrest must be seen by a judge. Writ: Legal action

TYPES OF JURISDICTION

Exclusive: Cases only heard in

either the State or Federal Courts

Concurrent: Cases that can be

heard in either the State or Federal Courts

Original: The court in which a

case is first heard

Appellate: A court that hears a

case on appeal from a lower court

2 SEPARATE COURT SYSTEMS IN THE US

National/Federal

120 Courts throughout the Country

State

Each state has their own system

They hear most of the cases

FEDERAL VS. STATE JURISDICTION

State Federal• Cases involving state laws• Family law issues• Real property issues• Most private contract disputes• most professional malpractice issues• most personal injury lawsuits• Most workers’ injury claims• Probate and inheritance matters• Most traffic violations and registration of vehicles

•Crimes under statuses enacted by congress•Most cases involving federal laws•Matters involving interstate and international commerce•Cases involving securities and commodities regulations•Patent, copyright and other intellectual property issues•Cases involving rights under treaties•Bankruptcy matters•Disputes between states•Habeas Corpus actions•Traffic violations on certain federal properties

FEDERAL COURTS BROKEN DOWN FURTHER

Supreme Court (Created by the

Constitution

Inferior Courts (Created by Congress)

Constitutional Courts

Special Courts

CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS

Federal courts that Congress has formed under Article III

“Judicial Power of the United States”

Includes:94 District Courts12 US Courts of AppealsUS Courts of Appeals for the federal

CircuitUS Court of International Trade

SPECIAL COURTS Created to hear cases arising out of the

expressed powers of congress More narrow range Includes:

US court of Federal claimsTerritorial CourtsCourts of DCUS Tax CourtUS Court of Appeals for Armed ForcesUS Court of Appeals for veterans claims

PART 2Judges

BASICS Why does the Judicial branch need to be

more or less independent from political parties?

President with the Senates help chooses federal judgesUsually whomever the Senate from the

state where the judge will serve is nominated

Anyone can be chosenUsually: lawyer, legal scholars, law school

professors, former members of congress, state court judges

TWO TYPES OF JUDGES Judicial activists:

Believe they should use their position to promote desirable social ends

Judicial restraint:Believes in making decisions judges

should defer to the actions of the executive and legislative branch

TERMSSupreme Court Justices serve for

lifeRemoved by impeachment

Constitutional Court Justices serve for lifeRemoved by impeachment

Special Court Judges serve for a certain term length

COURT OFFICERS Judge:

With clerks, bailiffs, court reporters etc Magistrate:

Appointed by district court judge (400) 8 year term Do smaller things that the judge doesn’t have time for

Bankruptcy Judge: Each federal district has at least 1 (350) 14 year term

US attorney: President and Senate appoints 1 for each district The Government’s prosecutor