Federal Court System
Lacie Blankenship
District Courts
District Courts: federal courts where trials are held and lawsuits start
- each state has at least 1 district court
- for each federal court case the district court has the original jurisdiction
- original jurisdiction: authority to hear the case for the first time
- district courts hear civil and criminal court cases
- consists of at least 2 judges
- has magistrate judges that do the judges' routine work
- each federal judicial district has a U.S. attorney that looks into the charges and presents the evidence in the court room, prosecutes accused people and represent the U.S. in civil government cases
- each federal judicial district has a U.S. marshal that makes arrests, collects fines, takes convicted people to prison, protects jurors, maintains order in the court and serve subpoenas ordering people to show in court
Court of Appeals
Appeals courts: review the decisions made in district courts, do not decide guilt or innocence or the winning side of a suit- rule on whether or not the original trial was fair and protected the rights of the person being tried
- people that lose their district court case can appeal to the court of appeals, a step higher than the district courts
- appellate jurisdiction: authority to hear a case that has been appealed from a lower level court
- consists of 6-27 judges
- the 12 courts of appeals cover a specific geographic area referred to as a circuit
- appeals courts do not hold trials
- panel of judges review case records and listens to both sides' arguments
- judges decide in 1 of 3 ways; original decision, reverse original decision or remand the case (send it back to lower court to try again)
- Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: 13th appeals court that has a nationwide jurisdiction
- appeals court decisions are mostly final unless appealed to the Supreme Court
- one judge writes an opinion that explains the thinking behind the court's decision- this opinion sets a precedent (model for other judges to follow in making a decision on similar cases)
Supreme Court
- consists of 9 justices
- final judge in cases that involve Congress laws and Constitution
- justices are nominated by the President
- highest court system
- limited by other government branches
- the court chooses the cases they hear
- justices meet to discuss cases, share their thoughts and debate
- conclusion is made when each justices takes a side on the case