How the Federal Court System Works
Created by Jordan Bowes
U.S District Court
- District Courts are the Federal Courts where trials are held and lawsuits begin.
- All States have at least two
- District Courts hear both civil and criminal cases
- They are divided into 94 Federal Judicial Districts
U.S. Court of Appeals
- Appeals Courts review decisions made in lower district courts
- Each Appeals Court has between 6 and 27 judges
- There are 12 U.S Courts of Appeals and each one covers a particular geographic area called a circuit
- Appeals Courts do not decide guilt, innocence, or which side should win the suit
- They rule on whether the original trial was fair and protected the defendant's rights
- Most Appeals Court decisions are final
The thirteenth Appeals Court (The U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)
- This court has nation wide jurisdiction
- No trial is held, they just review the case records and listen to lawyer's arguments on both sides
- The judges for this and all Appeals Courts are appointed by the President, and approved by the Senate
- The judge may decide the verdict in three ways. To uphold the original decision, reverse the decision, or remand(Send it back to the lower court) the case
And let's not forget the highest Court in the land...
The U.S. Supreme Court
- Normally consists of a Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices
- They Practice Judicial Review (determining whether a law is Constitutional or not)
- The primary way to get the Supreme Court to hear your case is through a Writ of Certiorari (The Supreme Court orders a lower court to send up the record for that case for review)
- Typically the Supreme Court accepts between 100-150 of the 7,000 cases petitioned each year
- Four of the 9 justices must vote to hear a case
- After the case, the judges produce opinions (explanations) on why some judges made the decision they did
- once a case has been decide upon, other courts will use the different opinions issued by the supreme court to rule on future similar cases. This is know as a Precedent
Types of Jurisdiction
- Appellate Jurisdiction-The authority to hear a case appealed from a lower court (Courts of Appeals, Supreme Court)
- Original Jurisdiction- The authority to hear a case for the first time (District Courts)
Things to Know
- A U.S. Marshall makes arrests, collects fines, brings people to prison,protect jurors,keep order in the court and is the one that will be serving you a subpoena if you are ever ordered to appear in court (Note:Every Federal Judicial District has one so don't think you can avoid one if you ever get into any legal trouble)
- The U.S. Attorneys are the ones who will be prosecuting the people who break federal laws
- Federal Court judges serve for life terms
- Magistrate Judges are the people who decide whether people should be held in jail or released on bail. They also determine whether the case should go to trial