Federal Court System
Created by: Brittany Downs
How It Works!!!
If a person loses in a district court, they may be appealed to the next highest level of court.... The Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals begins with an Appellate Jurisdiction which is the authority to hear a case from a lower court. The Court of Appeals has the option to remand this case, which means to send it back to the lower court to be tried again. An "Opinion" can also be made which, in the court system means it explains the legal thinking behind the courts decision in a case. Models for judges to follow in marking their own decisions on similar cases is known as a precedent. The place or geographic area of a US Court of Appeals is called a circuit.
The Supreme Court is known as the highest level in the federal court system. In this level, there are many different types of officials. Judges in the Supreme Court are called justices, there are 9 of them. The head judge is known as Chief Justice. They are appointed by the President with Senate approval and have the opportunity to hold office for what is known as a life term. Another type of official in the Supreme court is a Magistrate Judge. Magistrates handle the judges routine work and decide whether accused people should be held in jail or released on bail. US Attorneys are government lawyers who prosecute people accused of breaking federal laws. The final official in the Supreme Court System is known as a US Marshall. US Marshall's make arrests, collect fines, take convicted people to prison, protect jurors, keep order in court and serve subpoenas.