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What is the purpose of the Judicial Branch of
government?
Interpret the law: what does this mean?
What is the difference between criminal & civil
cases?
How about statutory & common law?
It is an adversarial system: meaning what?
Who are litigants?
Individuals or groups with standing to sue
Class action suits Justiciable disputes
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STATE ROUTE FEDERAL ROUTE
State Trial Courts
Intermediate
Appellate Courts
50 State Supreme Courts
94 District Courts
12 Circuit Courts of
Appeals & Court of Appeals
For the Federal Circuit
Supreme Court of
The United States
Original Jurisdiction:
Cases involving
ambassadors &
diplomats; some cases
in which a state is a
party
Cases involving state
law are tried in state
trial courts
Party loses & appeals
Further appeal for ruling
by highest state court
Cases involvingConst. / federal law
are tried in federal
district (trial) court
Appeals of ruling by districtcourts & decisions by regulatory
or administrative agencies
Legislative Courts
Mil. Appeals,
Internatl, Tax; Judges
have f ixed terms
Less than 5%
Almost 30%; mustraise a f ederal
questionOver 65%
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The State Trial Courts ² State Courts of Original Jurisdiction:
The vast majority of cases occur in the state system, &most (whether criminal or civil) never actually end up in
trial ² why not?
In Illinois, we call the state courts the ´Circuit Courts,µ &
they include a number of different categories (criminal,
divorce, traffic, etc.)
In the state system, these are the only courts in which an
actual ́ trialµ will ever occur ² what does this mean?
What about Judge Judy, The People·s Court, etc.?
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The Federal District Courts ² Federal Courts of Original
Jurisdiction:
There are a total of 94 - in the federal system, these are
the trial courts
What kinds of cases start in the federal district court,
rather than the state trial courts?
Federal crime/federal civil law
Diversity of citizenship
Federal Magistrates are hired (due to workload issues for judges) to handle warrants, simple motions, bail issues,
preside w/ consent of parties
U.S. Attorneys prosecute cases on behalf of the U.S.
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The Federal Courts of Appeals ² Courts of Appellate
Jurisdiction:
There are a total of 12 Circuits, each with jurisdiction over
an area including a number of district courts, & including
one ´Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuitµ which
serves as a nationwide appeals court for certain issues
(patents, etc.)
Typicall y work in panels of three, except for ver y
significant cases in which the y hear cases en banc
U.S. Solicitor General·s office is charged with handling
a ppeals on behalf of the U.S., determining whether to
seek a ppeal to Su preme Court
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Chief Justice John Roberts
Elena Kagan
Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy
Clarence ThomasRuth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito Jr.
Sonia Sotomayor
Liberal ConservativeSwing
Kagan
Ginsburg
Breyer
Sotomayor
Scalia
Thomas
Roberts Alito
Kennedy
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