Monday, February 6 2017
• Which court would handle the first appeal
of a case tried in a state trial court?
A. district court
B. intermediate appellate court
C. municipal court
D. state supreme court
Today you will
• Be able to …….
– Recognize the difference between the trial
process and the appeals process
THE JUDICIAL BRANCH:
Appeals PROCESS
EQ: what is the jury role in
different types of cases?
The Federal Compromise Produces
a Dual Court System
State Appeals
• 2 levels of appellate courts in most
states
– Intermediate
– State Supreme
• Intermediate = small panel of judges
• State Supreme= 7 judges
• Request for Judicial review = Supreme
court reviews rulings
The Federal Court System (cont.)
• Jurisdiction: authority for the type of cases they can
hear
• The allocation of original vs. appellate jurisdiction in
today’s federal courts:
• District courts: 100% original (only hear trial cases)
• Courts of Appeal: 100% appellate ( only hear appeals)
• Supreme Court: ~ 99.9% appellate, ~0.1% original
• As previously noted, state court systems typically follow
the same three-tiered structure as the federal system.
The Dual Court System (Resulting from the
Federal Compromise)
The Writ of Certiorari (cont.)
• The SC can use the petition for writ
certiorari procedure to “screen” cases for
its consideration and thereby it can
largely control its own agenda, i.e.,.
– Writ of certiorari is official request to have case
reviewed
• The SC uses the “rule of four” (4/9 rule)
in deciding whether grant “cert.”
– 4 of the 9 justices must agree to hear the case
SC Decision Making: The Conference
• Following oral argument, SC members discuss a case
and then vote in the SC Conference.
• In its appellate role, SC must either affirm or overturn
the lower court decision.
• The Chief Justice first presents his views and tentative
conclusions, followed by the Associate Justices in order
of seniority.
• 5 of the 9 justices needed to make majority decision